one event; three perspectives

So here's what happened.

Off the selling floor are various large rooms where inventory is stored. There are rows and rows of clothes, with narrow aisles in-between. Every rack has a wheel-like thing on it that one can turn to move the rack right or left. If someone is standing in an aisle racks away they can end up getting squished between the racks.

This happens all the time. The typical response goes something like this:  "STOP! SOMEONE IS HERE!" And then the person turning the wheel stops. No one ever gets angry. And no one ever gets hurt.

But today, that's not what happens. 

The person I accidentally squish gets really angry at me when I squish her between racks. This certainly wasn't my intention. Then she sits down, gets all teary-eyed, and is comforted by two of her colleagues. I ask if she's okay. (She looks fine). She glares at me, and her co-workers tell me she's okay and to just leave. I do. But I feel bad.

I separately tell three of my co-workers and their vastly different responses typify their personalities.

Employee One

She's a tell-it-like-it-is kinda girl. She has little patience for some of the drama that often erupts at work.  I tell her what happened and she responds, "I would tell Marlin (our boss). That's just not right. You didn't do anything wrong, and she shouldn't have gotten so upset and make you feel bad."

Employee Two
She exudes warmth. She doesn't like conflict, and if two co-workers aren't getting along, she will work hard behind the scenes to restore peace. She is a mother of three young kids and her nurturing spirit is obvious in everything she does. Her response? "Oh Lyn, is she okay? Was she hurt? You should really go back and just check and make sure she's all right."

Employee Three
She is reliable, even-keeled, little bothers her. She never complains, follows the rules, and is someone I can't even picture getting angry or flustered. Whatever happens, happens. I tell her and she says, "Ya, so?"

I love working with all three. They are a great group of hard-working, honest, and trust-worthy woman. Spending time with any one of them is always time well-spent.