WHEN THEY DON'T WANT A HANDOUT...

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31)

Many local readers are aware that the small church I pastored for many years was closed by the Assemblies of God hierarchy last March. 2010 has been a year of radical change and transition for me! I’ve found myself employed at jobs I never thought I’d be doing. One is working as an operator at a local telephone answering service. Another, which will be the focus of this column, is as a temporary part-time “handout distributor” at a local wholesale warehouse store.

From time to time, I’ve been able to come in and spend three or four hours at the store entrance handing out fliers about the latest Optical Department sale. I’ve typically done this about five times each month for the past few months. During the over twenty-five years I served in full time ministry, I thought I’d learned a lot about people. In these past few months as a handout distributor, I’ve learned a lot more.

Handing out fliers is really not HARD work; but it COULD be depressing and demoralizing if you allowed it to get to you! The good news is that at least two-thirds of the people receive the handouts in a pleasant and polite manner. When I’m working, I try to greet people in a friendly and enthusiastic manner. I was handing out fliers on Labor Day afternoon, and I greeted each customer with a smile and an enthusiastic, “Happy Labor Day!” The 66.9% of people who took a flier and wished ME a “Happy Labor Day!” as well were appreciated. But THEN there were the OTHERS!

This would make an interesting sociological study: For some reason, foreigners and people from ethnic and racial minorities are MUCH more likely to take a flier and be friendly. White upper middle-class people are likely to refuse a flier and to be unfriendly. (Of course, there ARE exceptions!) The people who act most annoyed are macho good looking guys, and feminine, beautiful women. Is it that whole high school thing about the football stars and cheerleaders who treat others like dirt? Honestly, that’s what it SEEMS to be!

Here is what I’ve WANTED to say to those who refuse the fliers:

This wholesale club offers GREAT deals! Even allowing for the Membership fee, you save SO much money shopping here! With Membership in ANY group, there are certain responsibilities and obligations. Maybe YOU aren’t interested in the Optical sale I’m promoting, but the success of EACH department of the store ensures the success of the store and the wholesale club. Even if YOU don’t need glasses, maybe you have a friend who’d appreciate knowing about the sale.

Some people say, “NO, I don’t want to take a flier; I’m trying to SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT!”

I’ve SO want to respond, “HOW do you think you’ll save the environment by not taking a flier? Many thousands of these have been printed up and are being distributed everywhere. The sale is time sensitive. If nobody takes the fliers they’ll just be thrown out anyway! If you take one and put it in your recycling bin, you may well do MORE good as far as the environment goes!"

In fact, when the fliers are distributed, sales at the Optical Dept. DO go up. That’s not only good for the Optical Dept. but it’s good for the entire warehouse club. Sadly, a many fliers are left in shopping carts and in the parking lot. When I see them, I try to pick them up and dispose of them properly. That gets me to another pet peeve: Not only should people NOT leave trash and papers in shopping carts, it’s SO much easier if they’ll take a minute and wheel the cart back to the inside of the store. Almost NOBODY does that at any store. That was one of my late father’s rules. I will admit that from time to time I do leave my own shopping cart in the parking lot, but at least 75% of the time I wheel my cart back inside the store. I always feel SO good when I do that. I know some will ask, “Yes, but what about the people who are employed getting all the shopping carts from outside and bringing the carts inside?” Don’t you think it would be much more cost effective and make for much more pleasant shopping to have those folks working inside the store on other matters and available to help you when you have questions and needs?

Bottom line, next time you see a guy or gal handing out fliers at a warehouse store, SMILE AND TAKE ONE. And, bring your cart back when you’re done putting your groceries into your car!