A friend of mine recently told me about a date she went on...and how she was surprised at the disrespectful way that her date treated their server.
This hit a nerve with me. You see, I put myself through graduate school by being a server. I'd wake up first thing every morning, go to class all day, get home, change clothes, work until 11 or so at night, go home from work, study until one or two in the morning, sleep, wake back up and do it all over again.
Needless to say I was exhausted but proud to complete my education. You can understand then, how it made me CRAZY when I had to deal with "that guy" at work who treated me like I was "just a waitress". Regardless of whether I was putting myself through school or not, there was something about an arrogant person who assumed they were better than the "working class".
One of the worst experiences that I ever had to deal with, was a high roller who laid into me because his rice pilaf wasn't steaming. He literally wanted STEAM to come off of his food like I had anything to do with the preparation. The tables in my section stared in disbelief as he yelled and grabbed my right hand, actually sticking it into the rice screaming, "Does THIS feel HOT TO YOU?!" The manager rushed over to pacify the man by giving him (of course) a free meal to soothe his anger - but I never forgot him.
On the TOTAL flip of that, two little old women came in for lunch one Saturday and ordered coffee and dessert...nothing else. I knew that I would get a small tip if any, but they were so much fun and so cute that it didn't matter. They stayed for a loooong time which meant that the table didn't turn over, missing more and more groups of the important Saturday crowd and tips. The two women were so great that I didn't care though. They were wonderful.
When it was time for them to leave, they stood and gave me a hug. I cleared their coffee cups and picked up the black folder with their check. Walking to the back, I opened the folder but there was over 100 dollars inside. I panicked realizing that they were elderly and had mistaken the bills so I shot through the restaurant and out to the parking lot to catch them.
Handing the folder full of money to them, they gave each other a twinkling smile and said, "She really was the one".
Evidently, the women had been friends since they were young girls and even waited tables together in their early 20's. Someone left a big tip for one of them saying that they had to do the same one day when they could.
The two women said that they always remembered that and looked for a waitress to give it to, but it never felt right until that day. They told me that it was my job to find a server who was a hard worker and could really use the help when I could give it to them as well.
To this day, my husband and I give each other a secret grin when we're at a restaurant waiting to see if it's "the one" but we haven't found them yet. It will be fun when we do.
All in all, I try to think of our kids when I write this blog. I want to leave them with not only memories of their childhood, but also of lessons learned.
With that being said, take this example on how to act towards people. It's always easy to show respect and kindness to those when it benefits your best interest. You can tell a lot about the soul of a person though, by how s/he treats those who can do nothing for them.
If you have a quick second, please click the picture of this Mama for a vote. Thank You!!!
This hit a nerve with me. You see, I put myself through graduate school by being a server. I'd wake up first thing every morning, go to class all day, get home, change clothes, work until 11 or so at night, go home from work, study until one or two in the morning, sleep, wake back up and do it all over again.
Needless to say I was exhausted but proud to complete my education. You can understand then, how it made me CRAZY when I had to deal with "that guy" at work who treated me like I was "just a waitress". Regardless of whether I was putting myself through school or not, there was something about an arrogant person who assumed they were better than the "working class".
One of the worst experiences that I ever had to deal with, was a high roller who laid into me because his rice pilaf wasn't steaming. He literally wanted STEAM to come off of his food like I had anything to do with the preparation. The tables in my section stared in disbelief as he yelled and grabbed my right hand, actually sticking it into the rice screaming, "Does THIS feel HOT TO YOU?!" The manager rushed over to pacify the man by giving him (of course) a free meal to soothe his anger - but I never forgot him.
On the TOTAL flip of that, two little old women came in for lunch one Saturday and ordered coffee and dessert...nothing else. I knew that I would get a small tip if any, but they were so much fun and so cute that it didn't matter. They stayed for a loooong time which meant that the table didn't turn over, missing more and more groups of the important Saturday crowd and tips. The two women were so great that I didn't care though. They were wonderful.
When it was time for them to leave, they stood and gave me a hug. I cleared their coffee cups and picked up the black folder with their check. Walking to the back, I opened the folder but there was over 100 dollars inside. I panicked realizing that they were elderly and had mistaken the bills so I shot through the restaurant and out to the parking lot to catch them.
Handing the folder full of money to them, they gave each other a twinkling smile and said, "She really was the one".
Evidently, the women had been friends since they were young girls and even waited tables together in their early 20's. Someone left a big tip for one of them saying that they had to do the same one day when they could.
The two women said that they always remembered that and looked for a waitress to give it to, but it never felt right until that day. They told me that it was my job to find a server who was a hard worker and could really use the help when I could give it to them as well.
To this day, my husband and I give each other a secret grin when we're at a restaurant waiting to see if it's "the one" but we haven't found them yet. It will be fun when we do.
All in all, I try to think of our kids when I write this blog. I want to leave them with not only memories of their childhood, but also of lessons learned.
With that being said, take this example on how to act towards people. It's always easy to show respect and kindness to those when it benefits your best interest. You can tell a lot about the soul of a person though, by how s/he treats those who can do nothing for them.
If you have a quick second, please click the picture of this Mama for a vote. Thank You!!!
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