You make a difference. Let it be one you can feel good about.

My husband had a reaction to a herd of wasp bites recently which ended up in a visit to our local hospital where all ended well, but we had a little adventure along the way that wasn’t so pleasant and it could have been so different had those involved been just a fraction kinder and more mindful of their impact on others.

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Initially the reaction appeared to be hives with what looked like welts all over his under arms and on his torso.  The itch was driving him crazy so we set out to find a chemist so that we could obtain an antihistamine and relieve his discomfort.

It was Sunday night so we needed a day/night chemist.  Google told us that we had an hour to reach a chemist within 10 minutes of home so we drove straight there to find that the chemist had changed its hours and had in fact closed an hour earlier without changing their details on Google which was most inconvenient but we soldiered on.

We drove past 2 other day/night chemists over the course of the next 20 minutes only to find them closed and then my husband suggested we ring one that was about a 20 minute drive away to find out if they were indeed open as Google suggested they would be.

Success.  I spoke to a young woman who told me that yes they were open and that they would be open until 8pm.  It was 7.40.  I told her how relieved we were and that we would probably just make it but we were on our way.

We rushed over, without speeding of course, but you know when you are in a hurry that all the slow people sit side by side on the road and don’t let you through, so that happened.

Then, when we arrived my iPhone said it was 8:00 on the dot and so did my husband’s digital watch but the lights were out and no body came to the door when I knocked.  I was quite shocked and in disbelief that we had rushed all the way over there after ringing to be sure they would be open, only to find the doors locked and the lights out.

If this was a joke it wasn’t a very funny one.

We returned to the car to regather and decide where to go next when 2 young women came out of a side door of the chemist.  I jumped out of the car and approached them, asking what happened and why they closed early when they knew I was coming and asked also if we could just get an antihistamine for my husband who was having an allergic reaction to some wasp bites.

They told me they that they closed at 8 and that they couldn’t help me then because they had already counted the till.

I told them that I was knocking on the door at 8 which they must have heard for themselves, but instead of sympathy for my husband’s condition or regret for closing early, the older of the 2 became very defensive and told me that she told me on the phone that she closed at 8 and not that she was open to 8.

Huh?  Is there a difference?

My mouth must have been touching the ground.  I couldn’t believe how this woman was justifying encouraging us to hurry over there only to find them shut early.  If she had done what she told me and been open until 8 I would have been walking into an open chemist that might have been starting to close.  We would have bought what we wanted and we would have left feeling very grateful.

The chemist we arrived at was well and truly closed with no one in sight which meant they must have closed early.

I told them how disappointing their behaviour was, which they didn’t seem to like much but that is what happens when you don’t think about the impact you are having on others.

I didn’t ask for or expect anything of those women that they hadn’t committed to give.  I just expected them to do as they said and had they done that, we all would have left there feeling very different to the way we did.  I honestly think they just wanted to go home and get on with their lives and my husband’s allergic reaction was of no consequence to either of them at all.

It all ended up ok and I am glad we ended up going to the hospital because Stu’s throat started swelling, his voice was a bit funny and his ears were beginning to feel odd so it was the safest place to be.

We will never return to the United Chemist at Astley Parade North Lakes however and we wouldn’t encourage anyone we know and love to go there either.  They don’t have a duty of care and they aren’t worthy of our business.

The moral of the story:

If you say you are going to do something, do your best to do it because you don’t know who is relying on you or why.

Depending on what it is you said you’d do, people will probably forgive you for not following through but they will never rely on you or trust you again.

The same goes for businesses.  Make sure your message is clear and stand by it.  Be in integrity.

Think about how your decisions are impacting on others and the legacy you are leaving behind.  What seeds are you sewing?  What do you want to be known for?  How do you want to feel about your connection with others – personally and through your work?

In every interaction we are either giving something or we are taking something away.  There is no in between.  Try caring, and be willing to go a little further because your life will be so much richer if you do.

PS. If you live in the Redcliffe area and you need a chemist, go to the Woody Point Pharmacy.  They care a lot, which makes a world of difference. <3

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