Photo courtesy of the Meitner Family Archives – Christmas 1994
I read some of the angriest emails in the world, just about every day.
Currently, I work in the glamorous world of customer service, answering emails all day. When you go to our store’s website and click “Contact Us”, those emails get sent to my department. On Black Friday this year, we had a huge Early Bird special starting at midnight. I started work at 9:00pm on Thanksgiving night and worked until 5:30am the next morning (like I said, glamorous). At midnight, emails began pouring in by the hundreds.
Our website had gone down. At midnight. On Black Friday.
Here’s just a sample of some of the comments we received over this problem:
- “Our Christmas is RUINED. Why didn’t you prepare for this?????”
- “In this economy, every penny counts. Maybe it doesn’t matter to you, but it does to people like us. I see how much you care about your customers.”
- “Your web designer should be taken out back and SHOT.”
- “You are the REAL grinch that stole Christmas!”
- “I demand that you send me these items, or I am reporting you to the BBB.”
- “If I don’t get these items at this price by Christmas, I won’t have anything to give my family!”
- “What am I supposed to tell my kids???”
Now, I won’t defend the fact that the site had gone down. We absolutely should’ve done a better job there. But look at some of these comments. These are sent between midnight and 5:30am on November 30th. Christmas – the last time I checked, anyway – is usually on December 25th. So I could rant and rave about how they have a whole stinking month to get something else for their kids, but that’s not where I’m going with this. One of my co-workers put it best at around 3:00am:
“This is supposed to be the season of peace and love…”
I don’t know her that well, but she doesn’t strike me as the hippie-“free love”-type. This was an honest comment from a normal person. What has happened to treating your fellow man (or woman) with a little bit of respect around the holidays?
It’s gone the way of the dodo bird. In its place? STUFF. Getting things. Look around – how many kids do you see who sit on their computers while their parents are hanging out in the other room? Are they learning anything about how to treat people? When you see somebody under the age of 20 walking down the street, are they interacting with the people and the environment around them? Nope. They’re listening to their iPods (or their Zunes!).
Never is this more apparent than at Christmastime. Hit the streets and watch people interact with cashiers and with other shoppers. It’s about the Almighty Deal – getting that discount before anybody else. The season of giving is now the season of getting. You can argue that you are getting these things to give to somebody else, but the bottom line is this: you will insult, push, shove, and cut in line to get that toy/TV/computer/whatever. You are perfectly fine cutting throats to get this item.
I hate it. I wish there was a way to stop it. Why can’t we teach children (and adults!) the true meaning of Christmas? Now, that means talking about Christ. If you don’t want to go there, then at least stick with peace and love. Watch those old Christmas movies and smile. The happiness that comes out of Christmas is from the interactions between people and loved ones. The love that they share.
I’ve heard the neverending argument: “But I love watching their faces light up when they open those gifts that I got them!” Does that gift necessarily have to cost an arm and a leg? Does that gift have to be some big-ticket item that you can only get on Black Friday? The gift isn’t what makes that moment special – it’s the person.
This Christmas season, why don’t we all take stock in what really matters? Think about ways you can get a warm smile from that loved one. Instead of blowing all your cash, take them out for a different experience. Stop putting all the weight of the holidays on your pocketbook. Take them to a movie. Take them ice skating or sledding. Give them an experience that will last a lifetime.
I got a lot of cool gifts when I was younger. Heck, I got cool gifts last year! But when I look back on past Christmases, the moments that bring a tear to my eye are the laughs and smiles I’ve shared with the people I care about, not what was inside the box.
Spend your Christmas talking with family and friends. Don’t spend it talking with Customer Service.