We have the most wonderful customers.  You share your lives with us and honor us with your trust to help you get dressed for your most important life events.  You come to us when you need an emotional pick me up of “retail therapy” or when you need some mental down time or a great distraction.  We so enjoy getting to know you better each time we help you find clothing.  It’s a great day when we have one happy customer after another.  It’s a not so great day when we have unhappy customers.  We hate that – because we want you to be happy.  I’ve noticed, sadly, that our society seems to be moving towards a communication style that scares me a bit – the “I’ll say anything I like, in as mean a way as I like and I don’t care if it hurts you” approach.  What happened to the old addage, “you get more with sugar than you do with vinegar?”  Have we really begun to believe that if we are pushy, brash, harsh and mean, we might be more likely to get our way?  If so, I for one say NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  I want to live in a world where we are cooperative and work together to solve a problem and where we can disagree without dishonoring or disrespecting one another.  There will always be times when we disagree with a policy, proceedure or an action that someone else takes, but can’t we simply say, “I really didn’t like that and I would appreciate it if we could discuss it further.”  I’ve been guilty of loosing me cool a time or two.  I’ve also been guilty of falling into the trap of thinking if I get pushy, I might get my way.  Having been on the other end of that, I regret ever acting that way because I know how horrible it makes the other person feel.  Let’s be kind to one another, considering the needs of others as much as we consider our own.  Our world will be so much better off for it!