I recently had to visit a Federal building with a coworker. I went through the metal detector at the entrance with no problem (okay, I had to remove my watch). My cohort forgot to remove the small pen knife from her keychain, and had to surrender it. The guard promptly tossed it into a garbage can below his desk. We were only a few minutes in the building. As we walked toward the exit, my coworker commented about how annoyed she was that she lost her knife. I politely and meekly went up to the guard and asked if we might get the knife back. He was busy checking a few people through and gruffly told me to wait a minute. After they passed, he turned back to me and I made my request again (in my sweetest voice). Amazingly, he bent toward the garbage can, retrieved the knife and handed it over with a reminder to leave it at home next time.
Sep 12
Sep 16, 2009 at 11:11 PM Have you noticed being polite only cost you time...
Sep 17, 2009 at 12:09 AM I once buried keys with a penknife (or some such knife) in the churchyard garden across from our county's courthouse when I had been notified to serve for jury duty. I just didn't think that anyone would be as nice as that, even though I grew up here and it's still kind of a "small town atmosphere"!
Your experience seems unusual.
Sep 17, 2009 at 1:38 AM I think you are smart. It always pays to be polite
and doesn't cost a thing. I would have done what the
guard did.
Sep 17, 2009 at 1:56 AM Margie,
I agree that being polite helped to get back the pocket knife; however, that fact that you are an attractive woman, and the guard was a man, cannot be discounted. It's just a shame that society has degenerated into such a state of paranoia that even a small pocket knife is feared as a deadly weapon. You know, a person can kill an opponent with a pencil to the heart. I don't see them confiscating pencils. They should only confiscate truely dangerous weapons.
Sep 17, 2009 at 2:31 AM I would have thought one would be able to retrieve one's possessions when 'exiting' the building. Perhaps the guard knew this, and wasn't being that nice after all.
Sep 17, 2009 at 3:59 AM You reminded me of the line I used to tell my daughter when she was a young girl (and up to now).
"When you want something, say it nicely and with a smile"
In my 3 decades of professional experience this tactic has never failed me!
Sep 17, 2009 at 5:01 AM It's a self fulfilling prophesy. If you act nice & expect the best of people you will likely find it. And even if your expectations are not met you will have given a gift to yourself, that is calmness -essentially anti-stress.
Sep 17, 2009 at 5:34 AM Wouldn't it be nice if the world worked that way? But, in this society, where so many people like to slide by doing as little as possible on the job, polite often goes in one ear and out the other. It's very often that the louder, squeakier wheel attracts the attention needed to get things done. I see it everywhere, even though people start out being polite.
Sep 17, 2009 at 9:49 AM This is a petpeve of mine...People are rude everywhere you go. They bump into you and do not say excuse me. They rush to get in front of you always thinking of themselves first. I am not perfect in this myself. But I try to always be kind and to give others respect. A smile and kind word only takes a second. Letting someone go ahead of you or being curteous in driving cituations is very important. If we do not do these things and value each other it is the beginning of the end of our society. Each person is valuable and deserves our kindness and respect. A smile is free. When we do these things we are helping ourselves fell good and those who are blessed to come in contact with us. Lets teach our children especially by example how to live this way. Each one of us can make a change and turn this cituation around by our own example whenever we come in contact with people.
Sep 17, 2009 at 1:51 PM Try this - when you have been waiting in a line anywhere to be served and the servers seen grumpy first look to see whether they have a name tag and then address them with a "Hello John or whatever - how's it going? or some such comment - they usually brighten up and are happy to serve you well. Works 90% of the time.
norman
Sep 17, 2009 at 4:34 PM I bet that would not have worked on an airliner. I believe the circumstances allowed the guard to be nice. In a more dangerous environment, he may not have had a choice. But I do agree that you get more flies with honey than vinegar ! I'm in sales, and people tell me all the time the only reason they bought from me, is that,"they liked me". Guess what, I love people too !
Sep 18, 2009 at 4:38 AM I Agree with almost everyone "Politeness WORKS" even if it doesn't on the person for whom it is intended, it woeks for you because you feel better about yourself. I believe it is posiyive energy. And to Gayle, as far as retrieving ones possessions...I know You CANNOT at airports.
Sep 18, 2009 at 3:55 PM Well, I guess you're right. By being polite and a little sweet smile I could manage not getting ticket for turning on the wrong way when I drove in rushed to get to hospital. The policeman said that he could understand when I said how sorry I was for not seeing the sign, because they just put it there recently. So, I didn't get the ticket and lost my driving licence. Being polite is the only thing we could do to brighten our days and make living more enjoyable. Thanks for sharing.
Sep 30, 2009 at 9:02 PM I recently had jury duty and as I emptied my pockets before passing through the metal detector I realized I still had my pocket knife. The guard noticed it and I told him I would be right back. I returned to my car and left it there...problem solved!
Oct 7, 2009 at 10:57 AM My daughter was devasted when flying out of LAX when she had to surrender the tiny pink Swiss Army knife she had on her keychain. She flew in with in, but not out of LA. Her dad had given her the knife when she was a teenager. He spent some time getting a replacement (pink is evidently hard to find) but managed to find one to give her as a replacement. He died the next year. She now keeps her keepsake in a safer place. Who would have thought this would be a danger, but remember 9/11 hi-jackers used box cutters. Anything can be a weapon. It was just sad she did not think and lost her little knife to the system.
Oct 15, 2009 at 4:23 PM Funny story: Several yrs ago I had a court date and totally forgot I had a small pistol in the bottom of my deep purse. Naturally, it was discovered and the cops called. I was told I would be taken downtown after the court session and arrested. I was terrified having never been in trouble before with the law.
During the court, it was discovered that the pistol was not only not loaded but was, in fact, a pistol they start races with, so it could never harm anybody. When the cop and baliff told me, we all shared a big laugh together about it and I also breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. It was some of the best news I ever heard.
Apr 8, 2010 at 10:56 AM Shortly after 9/11, my husband and I were going through airport security with our carry-on luggage; our baggage had already been checked. I had a favorite pair of gold-plated scissors in my make-up bag that was deemed a threat and the TSA agent would not allow me to board with them. He suggested that I go to a shop in the airport and purchase an envelope & postage and mail them home to myself. Brilliant, a bit inconvenient, but it worked perfectly.