Many people believe that their suggestions or ideas are never taken into consideration by institutions or organizations, so they don't even bother proposing them. It's true many times a customer's complaint or request may be ignored.

But persistence and the desire to create positive change can have an impact and sometimes making even the smallest suggestions can result in incredible improvements.

Take these simple examples:

"Every time I came to the co-op looking for a cockroach trap, I didn't find any, so I had to buy it from other co-ops that are far from my house. When I was at the cashier the last time, I noticed the supermarket manager was present, so I went to him and asked him if they might bring this product to the store. He listened politely and agreed but honestly, I didn't believe anything would change, but imagine my surprise when I went only after three days and found the glue trap. I was impressed with the quick response," Nouf told Kuwait Times.

Aisha is a vegetarian and loves coffee with milk, but doesn't drink cow's milk. She made a suggestion, and got what she wanted. "Based on my suggestion, two different cafes added more than one plant-based milk alternative instead of regular milk, in addition to soymilk. I'm really happy that now I can drink the coffee that I like outside the house," she noted.

Even a pharmacy took suggestions into consideration. "I noticed that a pharmacy was displaying medical machines and tools in a bad way, as they were not easily seen by customers. So I suggested to the pharmacist to change the display to make them more visible to the customers when they enter the pharmacy. When I returned after a week, I saw that they had changed the display," Mohammed said.

Omar noticed that the food at a popular Lebanese restaurant was a bit salty, so he suggested reducing the quantity of salt in their dishes. "I submitted my suggestion to them, and on my next visit, when I ordered my favorite dishes, they were not as salty as they used to be. I was impressed that they responded positively to my suggestion," he said.

Suzan frequents a cafe near her house, but was annoyed by the music played there on a loop. "I filled the suggestions card with my comment, asking the management if they can change the CD that they were playing repeatedly. The manager agreed that it was boring to hear the same songs all the time. When I came back after two days, the music was different. I was pleased that they responded to my suggestion, as I wasn't sure that anybody would read the suggestions card," she told Kuwait Times.

Violation of the labor law was behind Maha's suggestion for having an extra day off for the employees at a hotel. "We only had one day off per week, and we were working 10 hours every day. This is against the law, as we should only work for eight hours daily, unless we have two days off per week. After I submitted my suggestion to the management, they agreed to give all the staff a second day off every week," she said.

Maryam was also surprised that her suggestion at a salon elicited a quick response. "I suggested to the salon where I do my nails to have a wider selection of nail polish, especially sparkly ones, which is a trend now. When I came back the next week, I found it available, which really impressed me," she said.

Suggestions can also help the community. One resident asked that delivery restaurants provide people ordering food with the option of 'opting' out of plastic forks and knives. This not only saves restaurants money but is good for the environment and is now being adopted by many local delivery services.

Offering ideas on how to make the world a better place can extend far beyond asking for specific products at the local market or reducing plastic waste. But it first requires that people within the community believe that their voices, and suggestions, will be heard.

By Nawara Fattahova