Have you ever stopped to consider how apt we humans are to complain? You’re at a restaurant and receive bad service, so you make sure to let your server know of your displeasure. You visit a retail store and don’t like the way your cashier handles your problem, so you ask to speak to the manager.

Now I’m not saying that it’s wrong to report poor treatment or that we should always ignore it; however, let’s look at the other side of the coin. When you receive good treatment or excellent service, are you just as apt to pay a compliment or speak a word of praise to the supervisor? Or do you just let that go and go about your merry way?

I had two experiences recently which really brought this home for me. First, I was installing a new modem on my computer. I had to call the cable company to get the service working properly, and thankfully, I had a technician who was extremely patient.

On a couple of occasions I said to the technician, “Okay, I think the problem is solved,” and I was ready to hang up. But the technician said, “Well, I’m going to stay on the line until we can be sure.” Then she made me go through a few more steps just to be sure.

Many times that I’ve received service over the phone, I’ve had the technician hang up only to realize that my problem was not fixed. Then I’ve had to call back and start all over again with someone new, re-explaining the problem, going through the same troubleshooting suggestions and wasting lots of time. Thus, I appreciated the fact that this technician was as concerned about solving my issue as I was. So before hanging up, I made a point of letting her know how much I appreciated her thoroughness, patience and attention.

On another occasion, I had some furniture being delivered. One of the young men who was moving the items was very friendly. Noting that I was pregnant, he asked me about the baby, when I was due, etc. Then he said, “Now that we’re finished up, is there anything else that I can move for you while I’m here?” I didn’t need anything else moved, but I was very touched by his offer. He had noted my condition and was willing to go the extra mile if I needed additional help.

After he and his co-worker left, I realized that I didn’t want to let his kindness go unnoticed. So I picked up the phone and called the furniture company and asked to speak to the delivery supervisor. While the supervisor wasn’t available, I was able to leave a message with the secretary who assured me that she would pass along my compliment. Then she said, “Thank you so much for calling. We get a lot of calls with people complaining about poor service, but very few people take the time to call and say something nice.”

Isn’t that true? If there were a problem, I bet I would surely call to complain without even thinking about it. But it took me a moment to make the decision to call and pay a compliment. But from now on, I want to make a point of doing that. I want complimenting others to be more natural than complaining!

There is enough negativity in the world. So instead of looking for that, why not look for the positive? And instead of keeping it to yourself when you see it, think about how much a positive word of encouragement has meant to you in the past, and say something! You never know how your words might affect someone else — perhaps by brightening their day or even getting them a well-deserved raise or promotion!