09/03/2026
At Mamusia’s, you know we love a good blog and discussion post, and we couldn’t help but keep thinking about this one.
We were shopping at Lowe’s a few days ago when this sign caught my eye:
“Thank you for treating our associates with respect.”
And I thought to myself, wow. We’ve really come to a place as a society where we have to ask people for respect. Respect, which mind you, should be the bare minimum.
But apparently, somewhere along the way, people started leaving it at home.
And honestly, this hit home for us as a small family business.
Anyone who has followed Mamusia’s for a while knows our little slogan: Worth the Wait. And while it started as a fun way to describe handmade Polish food, there’s a deeper reason we came up with it. We’ve had interactions where patience, kindness and basic respect were completely lacking, and sometimes you can only be pushed so far before you have to say, enough is enough.
We aren’t claiming that businesses don’t have flaws. We aren’t claiming business owners or employees don’t have bad days. We’re human too.
But when people are pushed and pushed and pushed, and are continually treated with disrespect, eventually things get out of hand. That’s when signs like the one at Lowe’s become necessary.
And honestly, that’s the part that made me sad.
The fact that we’ve gotten to a point where we need signs reminding people to treat other human beings with respect.
Because the speed of life has completely overtaken us.
I get it. Times are tough. People are stressed. Everyone has things going on that we know absolutely nothing about. And a lot of the time, the person someone is lashing out at isn’t actually the reason they’re angry. They’re just the person standing in front of them.
But maybe this is a reminder to take a step back. Take a deep breath. Give yourself a second before reacting. And put the principle of respect back at the center.
And can we please remember the Golden Rule?
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Thank you to my second grade teacher for having that plastered right above the whiteboard for the entire school year, because apparently I needed the reminder to last a lifetime.
Even in disagreements. Even in confrontations. Even when you’re frustrated. You can still maintain respect.
And I’ll close this by saying this:
Please remember to respect small family businesses.
If we continue treating small businesses like punching bags, you’re going to see more and more of them close their doors. Because yes, we know business isn’t for the faint of heart. We signed up for the long hours, the hard work, the stress and everything that comes with it.
But being a good customer, and more importantly, being a kind customer, is what keeps small family businesses going.
Your patience matters. Your kindness matters. Your words matter. And sometimes, a little grace goes a whole lot further than you realize.
And to those of you who are always kind to us, on our best days, on our challenging days and on our everyday days…
We see you. We know you. And we love you.
