Forgiving the angry worker

Today I went to return a piece to American Furniture Warehouse. On my way inside, I heard a lady complaining while walking to her car. "I just don't understand why I should have to pay 300 dollars more for a bed that wasn't blah, blah, blah." I knew right away that I was going to be talking face to face with the workers that just had to deal with this lady. By the way, I'm not saying this angry lady was wrong. I'm just saying that there seemed to be a little conflict inside. Anyway, I walked in and set the semi-heavy piece down. I walked over to the service counter and the ladies were all in a commotion, but then straightened up. One of the ladies sighed and asked "Can I help you?" I said "yes, I'd like to make a return." She asked "well, what is it?" I said."It's that night stand right by the door." She asked "why?" I said "because it doesn't look good." She asked "do you have your receipt?" I gave it to her. She asked "do you have the original card?" I said "yes, do you want it?" She said "no, I'm not ready for you yet, just hold on." I didn't say anything. "Okay, now I'm ready." "Here you go, do you want to see a photo ID?" Sigh. "Well...yes." As she swiped my card, I gave her a little smile.
I knew she had to deal with that other lady walking out. I didn't say anything. I didn't care what the issue was and who was right or wrong. All I knew is that some days just don't go well. She deserved a mulligan.
"192 Dollars will go back on your card, okay?" I said okay. I did tell her to have a nice rest of her day.
Had I not seen the angry lady walk out, I would have just assumed that this girl was a bitch and I would have responded by acting like an asshole. But recognizing that a different issue probably caused her to get frustrated and act that way. It made me think about how this type of situation occurs all the time and everywhere. I'm sure the majority of the time, the people who don't deserve to be treated like this particular lady treated me, responds by getting angry themselves and maybe even complain to a manager. However, you could probably say that you treated someone unfairly just because a prior moment caused a bad feeling inside you. Just something to think about.
Next time you encounter a grumpy worker and you are on the other side of the counter, think about the worker's situation. Would you like to be working in their position? Do you think they get treated well by bosses and co-workers? Do you think they are human and get tired of arguing with unhappy customers in which they were not the ones who even sold the piece of shit to them in the first place? Customer service is hard and draining!!!
Even if the person is bent out of shape for their own issues and mistakes, it is better to not bring more negative attention to the situation. In fact, smiling and sincerely urging him or her to have a great or better day, will do better. It also will help the person think about their actions and reflection will be clearer. Maybe she will come to the conclusion that letting an angry purchaser get to her in the first place was as silly as the situation was. There are so many more things to be upset about in this World. I'll get to that on my next posting.

Forgiving the angry worker