Jim Cassity is a good friend of mine. He is like me in a number of ways, and unlike me in whole bunch more. One of the traits we share unfortunately is impatience. We honestly recognize that each of us could use a lot of improvement in this area. A couple of weeks ago Jim relayed a story to me that I want to pass along to you. It demonstrates what being patient and kind can do.

On Mother’s Day, Jim took his family to a local restaurant for lunch after church that morning. The party included eight people, which qualified the group for “phone in seating.” Jim had taken advantage of this opportunity and expected to be seated soon after the group’s arrival at the restaurant.   Well, it didn’t exactly turn out as planned, however the host explained that due to it being Mother’s Day the diners were taking a more relaxed approach to their meal, and were staying longer than the restaurant had planned.

After a wait of around twenty minutes his group was seated, and then another wait began. The service was slow, and the time began to drag. However, from time to time the waiter would come by to check on the guest, and relay their apologize for the delay. Jim told me that he would realize that he was becoming annoyed, and just about that time the wait staff would come by again to give them an update on the status of the meal. He said that each time the waiter came by his level of discomfort dropped a few notches. Well the meal finally arrived, and the food was good. The waiter went out of their way to make sure every thing was taken care of, and then offered to provide desert for the party, as a gift of appreciation for their patience.

Once the tab had been settled, and the family rose to leave, Jim asked to speak with the manager. He told the manager how much he appreciated the wait staff and their diligence in keeping him informed. He wanted the manager to know that the meal had been good and the service had been great. He wanted the manager to know that normally, he would have been annoyed by the situation, but because of the service he had received during stressful circumstances he had enjoyed the experience.

The end result was a win-win. The manager thanked Jim for his comments about the staff, and gave Jim four certificates for use during their next visits. Please take notice of what happened. Good service kept a stressful situation from becoming a problem, and the customer awarded the server with a heartfelt thank you. Everyone left the encounter happy. I want to encourage you to go out of your way to give good service today. I want you to go out of your way to acknowledge good service today. I want you to humbly accept a complement today. Oh, by the way, you can even do this at home. I am willing to bet that someone at home will serve you today. Be sure to give them a hug and let them know how much you appreciate what they do.

Till next time,

Grump