cantoresq, I would love to invite you to the post topic Customer Service in frum businesses that I created today in recognizing that the points of the lack of costomer service of many and the lack of menchlichkeit of few beg to be addressed in a way that we, you and I, that consider ourselves in the know of how to interact with the outside world. I say that because I relate to your wifes interaction with the cashier as I mainly get positive feedback when I or my wife encounter “hamoin am’. Never the less I would love to see this post continue in a positive light as the contents of the idea is deeper than meets a fast glance. read it slowly in honestly. We now have two incidents that you have related. Using these two incidents to knock down a concept that we despertely need is not justified.
We cannot let the actions of few cast a shaddow oover many. Rather let you & I shine through onto others. The light will prevail.
I can not know what you do for a livng nor do I know your religious affiliation, but there are two things I can tell you. One, that our fellow yidin accross all spectrums are suffering greatly in this economic crises and the tzidaka orginizations across all spectrums of our society are running dry and this has created a visious cycle of people falling to levels of hardship that they cannot bare. When orginazatoins like Tomchei Shabbos for example have in the past steped up to the plate for needy families. Today they report that the nature of the needy have grown to include your neighbors,freinds & relatives as well as mine, that we once considered well off.
It is unfortunate that that the we are learning how to cope with new realities & one of these realities is that a)people have taken such great financial hits that they cannot give tzidaka as they used to and B) those that perhaps are still blessed with wealth find the burden enormous to carry alone.
With that in mind I embraced the idea the author proposed. Although we might not have to give, we are all consumers and can help in that way. It goes around a verry long way/ As I said on another post. why let the yetzer hora stop us from doing this because some bad behavior on the part of some. Rather let us embrace the yetzer tov and walk into en establishment, tell you freinds, tell your relatives & tell your children what you have embraced. Tell the business owners, with a smile why it is that you are shopping there. You will be suprised at the power you have to influence many. Let alone the spiritual merits that are created and act to protect us all as a nation.
I wish you all the best regardless of your position, but I would love if you would try & overcome that negitive cycle that is so a part of socicety at large.
good luck!