Entitled Grace. Or Not.

Is grace an entitlement?
Clearly, some take grace for granted and expect it as an entitlement, especially when they are being serviced by sales personnel.

A lady came forth to pay for her purchases, which had included some bandages and alcohol swabs, and presented a ten-dollar note for payment. However, the note was significantly damaged; the Singapore crest on the top left corner was desecrated, so much so that half the crest could not be seen. To protect the interest of the store, I declined the note as legal tender, and explained that we cannot accept the note due to the damage.

The lady was relentless and insisted I accept the note. She claimed that she did not have other notes to pay for her $3.65 purchase, and she needed the items urgently for her daughter. She further insisted that the bank will definitely accept the damaged note, and taunted us to contact her if the bank refused. I looked at her daughter, who seemed absolutely fine with no imminency of a haemorrhagic shock. The lady further explained that she had gotten the note from elsewhere in a weak attempt to justify her request.

I stood firm and rejected the note, quoting Section 19 of the Currency Act. Finally, the next customer, who happened to be a neighbour offered a intact ten-dollar note. The lady declined at first, saying, "What if the bank doesn't accept?" Eventually, she accepted the goodwill and the transaction commenced. On her departure, she labelled me an inflexible service staff. She then asked for my particulars and threatened to lodge a complaint against me "for my inflexibility", and added that she was "disappointed" with me.


Clearly, there is a conflict of interests here, between that of the consumer and retailer. On my side, I need to act in the best interest of the customers without compromising on that of the company and staff. I was not planning to take on such a liability for the possibly selfish desire of the customer. Especially when her claim of desperation and urgency was not at all compelling. It would not have been fair to the company and staff, or any other unfortunate customers who may end up taking up the damaged note. I was both legally and morally justified to decline.
On the other hand, the lady had probably felt that she could stomp her way through, banking on her status as a customer. It was apparent that she knew her request was not a legal one, and she was trying her luck with the store. When a social grace was not entitled to her(which was not to her expectations), she turned nasty and decided to launch a threat in attempt to force her way through. Child's way.
In retrospect, she probably felt upset for her mistake in accepting the damaged note, and hoped to rectify it by paying it forward(literally). She was clearly abusing social graces, and expected it as her right. Despite that, I did have the choice to "dispense" her a social grace, and offer to settle her purchase out of my own pocket.

In reflection, I have only one question to pose: Do you accept the note?

EDITED

Chinese Bull vs Western Bull

To take the bull by the horn means to face difficulty directly, and fearlessly. This is the explanation I had been offered by freedictionary.com.

In Chinese Idioms, there is an seemingly similar phrase: 钻牛角尖
A literal translation is to bore through the tip of a bull's horn. The phrase is commonly used to describe fixating on futile plans.
However, I had a prior misconception on its meaning and use, and thought it was the chinese equivalent of "taking the bull by the horn". This led me to put a negative connotation on latter, and thought that it described doing things the hard way. After verifying the true meanings of both idioms, what that had seemed like misunderstanding attributed to a cultural difference was actually one that was due to my own ignorance. Shame was quickly followed by an epiphany: Besides pride and prejudice, ignorance is also a major barrier to effective communication! Kudos!

Anyhow, the morale of the story was actually to not assume anything too soon. At least, make sure the facts are right in the very first place.

Super Salad?

Communication is a means by which individuals connect. It is a two-way process, where conveying and receiving are both critical. As an inevitable part of everyone's life, it is apparent why effective communication skills are important.

It is especially so for professions that are constantly at the frontline dealing with customers or clients. An example would be the class of healthcare professionals.
A physician would not be able to efficiently and accurately diagnosis without effective communication; a pharmacist would not be able to properly counsel a patient without effective communication.

In my experience, I find it impossible to help patients in any way if I do not know their needs. When such situation arises, good communication have to be employed to elicit any signs (or symptoms) that may indicate their needs. These signs are almost never straightforward or logical. I once encountered a patient seeking for “Super Salad” in the pharmacy. It was frustrating then for there were no reasonable leads as to what she truly needed. It was only upon further enquiries—questions about what she planned to use it for and what was wrong with her—that I realised that she had meant Spersallerg eyedrops for her itching eyes. Good communication skills save the day!

EDITED