There’s a business I used to frequent — often a few times a week — before the Minisa Bridge in Riverside closed for repairs. Lately, I’ve been making an effort to get back there even though it’s out of my way. (That bridge can’t reopen too soon for me.)
What brought me back is how good I used to feel walking in that shop. Invariably, the radio station playing in the store was the same one I had on in my car. More importantly, there was an employee who always seemed to be there and never failed to greet me, no matter how many other customers were there.
Over the years, this employee came to call me “C” in that friendly sort of way you nickname someone you like. I came to call him “D.” D and I would chitchat, and he happily stocked any of my special requests. Shopping at this store was less of a chore than it could have been just because D made it so enjoyable.
I actually came to feel guilty that I was shopping other stores because the bridge is out. So I made a point the other day to stop in. D wasn’t there. A few days later, I returned, and D still wasn’t there. Another employee confirmed my suspicion: D is gone.
Apparently, D called to say he wasn’t going to make it in one day — something it sounds like he may have occasionally done. He was told that if he didn’t make it in, he shouldn’t ever come back. So he didn’t. This same employee also tells me that the store is now calling D regularly to plead for his return.
Now, I certainly don’t know the full story. But if store management didn’t realize what they had in D, then shame on them. No employee is perfect. Sometimes the best ones are particularly idiosyncratic and perhaps need to be given a little more leeway — as long as they’re worth it, of course.
I’m not going to picket the store or anything, and I won’t swear off going there. But if someone doesn’t rectify this D situation, I’m not going out of my way to go back. In fact, I can’t say I’ll swing by regularly even after the bridge reopens.