The Human Connection

I waited on this young, adorable Columbian couple a couple days ago (one of the greeters likes to seat me guests who speak Spanish just so she can see the look on their faces when the blonde Gringa speaks their language).  As soon as I hear my guests speaking Spanish, I immediately ask, “De donde son?”  I learned they were Columbian, and so naturally, I immediately told them I’d been there.  Of course they were familiar with all the places I’d traveled.  And boom, as simple as that, I made my instant connection.  After my initial conversation with them, I quickly told another server (who’s actually Columbian) to go say hello.  It’s one thing if I make a language and travel connection to guests, but it takes that connection to a much deeper level when I can introduce them to someone who is actually from their country.  My fellow Columbian server went over there and chatted it up for a while, laughing and sharing in their mutual connection.  I knew they’d appreciate meeting a fellow Columbian in San Diego.  Who wouldn’t want to talk to someone from their own country while traveling abroad?  My effort in making multiple connections paid off, as in a 25% tip paid off, which I’d like to think wouldn’t have been as high if I hadn’t of put in the extra effort.   Not only did it pay off financially, it paid off for me personally, because as they walked away, I felt so satisfied inside, like I actually made a difference in their day.  

Later that evening (as I was knocking out a double shift), I met a sweet, older Belgian couple.  When I first started to wait on them, they were a bit shy and reserved.  They weren’t speaking much English, so I was pointing to the menu a lot and speaking as slowly and clearly as possible.  Yes that can be frustrating (especially on a busy night), but its part of the nature of working at a restaurant of this caliber, and not to mention iconic, internationally renowned Downtown San Diego.  Between their basic, broken English, I somehow managed to figure out what style of dry white wine they desired, and after deciding on one, they seemed to enjoy it.  As the flow of the evening progressed, they mostly talked among themselves and didn’t interact with me much.  However, either with some liquid courage or whatever mood suddenly struck them, at the end of their meal, the female started to engage in conversation with me.  She asked me about some tourist areas and the bridge to Coronado.  She actually spoke better English than I’d realized.  Not great, but good enough.  She was stumbling, but I helped her through it.  She asked me if I had something she could take home, but couldn’t remember the word.   She started describing it, using hand motions and everything, fumbling over words and obviously getting frustrated.  Finally I realized she was talking about wanting matches.  She apparently collected matches from her travels all over the world and wanted some from our restaurant.  I immediately brought her two packs of matches.  I then took a page from my server pad and wrote in all caps, “MATCHES” so she would know the word for next time.  In the end, they both said they would always remember me whenever they looked at those matches, and how friendly and kind I’d been to them.  That made my night.   

For me, making a personal connection, bringing a smile to someone’s face and giving them something to remember forever is what truly makes my day memorable.  Because if all I consider myself is a server, than I’d be miserable.

 

It’s all about making connections in this world.  Whether it’s through using another language, or using another server, or using slow, pronounced English, it’s all worth it. 

And it makes me feel good.   ~ HK ~