Practice Hospitality - Talking to People in the Store

When I go shopping I'm usually on a mission to get in and get out! 

When I stopped at Sam's Club to buy 8 pounds of unsalted butter I was on that mission. Get the butter and get out. I had a lot on my mind as I was getting ready for a party I'm hosting and I had a long list of things to do. Making 4 dozen cupcakes was one of the items on my list.

I got the butter and was heading for the checkout when I remembered I was out of milk so I took a side step to picked up a gallon. That's when an elderly gentleman stopped me and asked me about the milk. Whole, fat-free, 1%, 2%??? He was completely lost. So for 10 minutes we talked about milk. I didn't know that a simple product like milk could be a topic of conversation! 

When we parted company he said to me "thank you for talking to me". 

It was a brief encounter but his words stuck with me all day. 

"Thank you for talking to me." 

I don't know the facts and figures but I read somewhere that loneliness is rampant in our society. Especially in the elderly who are often time widowed and have lost many of their friends. 

Whether this gentleman was lonely or not I'm glad I took a few minutes out of my busy schedule to have a simple conversation about milk.

Do you talk to strangers when you're out and about?

Check out this post for a few ideas for talking and listening to people when you're out and about.