If Only
一念之差
Having worked at a 7-Eleven store for two years, I thought I had become successful at what our manager calls "customer relations." I firmly believed that a friendly smile and an automatic "sir," "ma'am" and "thank you" would see me through any situation that might arise from soothing impatient or unpleasant people to apologizing for giving out the wrong change. But the other night an old woman shattered my belief that a glib response could smooth over the rough spots of dealing with other human beings.
我在一家“7时-11时”便民连锁店工作,已有两年。我想,在我们经理所说的搞好“顾客关系”方面,我的表现也算得上是相当成功的了。我坚信,一个友好的微笑和一声脱口而出的“先生”、“女士”和“谢谢您”,就足以让我应付任何可能出现的情况,从安慰缺乏耐心或难缠的顾客到为找错零钱而道歉。我原本相信,凭着和颜悦色的巧言应对就能捋平处理人际关系时的各种矛盾疙瘩,但是我的这一信念,被前几天晚上所遇到的一位老妇人,砸得个粉碎。
The moment she entered, the woman presented a sharp contrast to our shiny store with its bright lighting and neatly arranged shelves. Walking as if each step were painful, she slowly pushed open the glass door and hobbleddown the nearest aisle. She coughed dryly, wheezingwith each breath. On a forty-degree night, she was wearing only a faded printdress, a thin sweater too small to button, and black slippers with the backs cut out to expose calloused heels.There were no stockings or socks on her blue-veinedlegs.
老妇人一进店门,立即和灯光辉闪、货架排列齐整的明亮店堂形成了鲜明的对比。她举足维艰,每跨一步似乎都很痛苦;她慢悠悠地推开玻璃门,沿着最靠近店门的过道,一瘸一拐地往前走。她干咳着,每次呼吸都气喘吁吁。在一个气温只有华氏40度的夜晚,她只穿着一件褪了色的印花连衣裙,一件薄薄的、小得连扣都扣不起来的羊毛衫和一双黑色的塑料拖鞋,拖鞋的后帮已经剪掉,露出了长满老茧的脚后跟。青筋暴突的腿上,既没穿长袜,也未套短袜。
After strolling around the store for several minutes, the old woman stopped in front of the rows of canned vegetables. She picked up a can of com and stared with a strange intensity at the label. At that point, I decided to be a good, polite employee and asked her if she needed help. As I stood close to her, my smile became harder to maintain; her red-rimmedeyes were partially closed by yellowish crusts; her hands were covered with layer upon layer of grime,and the stale smell of sweat rose in a thick vaporous cloud from clothes.
老妇人在店堂里转悠了好几分钟,然后在搁放蔬菜罐装食品的一排排架前收住脚步。她拣起一罐玉米,用一种紧张得出奇的目光,盯着那上面的标签左看右看。在这一刻,我决定以一名彬彬有礼、训练有素的雇员出场了,问她有什么需要效劳的。当我站到她身边时,我觉得要保持微笑就很难了:她眼眶发红的双眼部分地被略带黄兮兮的眼屎遮住了;她的两手积满了一层层的污垢;衣服上散发出的一阵阵汗臭味,像一层厚厚的云雾扑鼻而来。