Hello shoppers...
...and welcome to the start of the work week.
While we may be less than thrilled at the idea that next weekend is five times further away than the fun-filled one we just finished, there is light at the end of our tunnel - and you lucky blog readers don't even have to wait till the tunnel ends to get it...
May I present the non-stop smiling face of Kay Roberts, Smile Project winner #7.
I met Kay - who has been renting 1, 2 and 3 bedroom dwellings for Cambridge Court Apartments in West Des Moines for about a year - while searching for a new place to call home; I didn't have to get any further than CCA's office to feel like I'd found it.
That's where Kay greeted me yesterday with the sort of ingratiating smile, warmth and genuine desire to please that one normally associates with someone who is paid to sell a house, not rent out a 900 square foot two bedroom apt with cat deposit and optional garage. (Click to see how often Des Moines real estate agents smiled during similar visits.)
When I let the cat out of the bag and told her she'd just won $25 for doing what she likely does naturally and for free, Kay wasn't buying - at first.
"Is this for real?" she asked.
I let Jackson and Lincoln answer for me.
Kay was equally surprised when I told her I'd only been smiled at seven times by someone in retail, since The Smile Project began four months ago. (Click to find out how it got started.)
"I can't believe that."
Tell me about it. (Click to read about previous Smile Project winners.)
What's equally hard for the world's unsmilers to understand is the complicated process which Kay uses to ensure that potential renters will see, feel and experience her grin.
"It's easy. I just smile."
I hope all retail frowners are taking notes.
Meantime, your endearing smile and contagious joy is enthusiastically noted here, Kay, on display for the blogging minions to see and not just those stopping in, seeking a place to call home.
For them, the garage may cost extra. But Kay's smile is on the house. :)
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
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Phone: 515-480-4190
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