Thinking about others…

Thinking about others, that’s kind of the whole job. A grocery list tells a story: a party, a new diet, allergies, preferences, priorities. Some customers are fiercely brand loyal. Others just want max value for their buck. But no matter who they are, one thing's true. Shopping isn’t just grabbing stuff off shelves. There’s a whole ecosystem behind it.

And here’s the part that gets me every time. We’ve got brands from pickles to perfume to popsicles, and stores of every shape and size, pouring billions into logos, color palettes, jingles, influencers. Every ounce of effort spent trying to look the part. But when it’s time to deliver the actual experience, the moment that really matters? They hand it off to whoever happened to accept the order that morning. Bedhead and all.

We’re the last link in the chain. On the porch. At the door. The literal face of your brand. The final interaction with the customer you’ve spent years trying to win over.

And yet so many brands treat service like it’s optional. Like care is outdated. Like investing in people is a nice idea, but not worth the hours. Cutting hours ain’t cutting it. You can’t slash your way to loyalty.

Here’s the truth. Service isn’t dead. It’s been ignored. Abandoned. Outsourced to apps and left in the hands of strangers.

But thinking about others? That’s still the job. Always has been. And if stores and brands won’t invest in the customer experience, we will. We already are. And if you keep pushing service to the sidelines, don’t be surprised when customers follow the people who actually give a damn.

Because if the final impression is the only one that counts, we’re the ones making it. Not you.