Service Without a Smile is Hardly Service

I went on vacation to Florida in mid-May, hence the reason why I haven’t written in a while (I’m keenly aware that’s no excuse for not writing).   However, it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to write about since my return.  Work has been slow and not much has been going on.  The Rock and Roll Marathon came and went without as much as a hiccup.  Sure I had to practically drive through Mexico to get to work on the day of the marathon, but besides that, work has been quite void of any noteworthy stories. 

But as my writer friend tells me, there’s always a story somewhere.  So I thought back about my vacation and I realized I do have a service industry related story. 

My flight attendant was extremely rude.  Not only did this offend me as a paying passenger but it also offended me on a deeper level as someone who makes a living in the hospitality industry.

The poor guy next to me thought he was going to be sick.  He was gripping the puke bag and his head was on the table.  I thought for sure he was going to loose it at any second.  The flight was turbulent and the captain had ordered people to stay in their seats.  But this guy clearly needed help.  He got up once and went to the lavatory.  The flight attendant got on the speaker and reminded everyone to stay in his or her seats and then reminded us to only ring the service button for emergencies.  The sick man returned to his seat, looking slightly better but mostly defeated and annoyed.  His wife asked him, “Was that announcement referring to you?“  I asked him if he needed a 7-Up or ginger ale.   He said a ginger ale sounded good.  I pushed the attendant button.  I looked back at her.  She gave me the death stare and mouthed, “Is this an emergency?”  I nodded yes.  She reluctantly came over.  I said, “This man is sick.  He needs a ginger ale or something.”  She actually made the “Ugh” sound and walked away.   

I couldn’t believe what I’d just witnessed.  It’s her job to help people be comfortable on their flight.  It’s her job to help a sick person in need.   This guy wasn’t rude in any way and yet she decided to be rude and show how annoyed she was right to our faces.  Perhaps she was having a bad day or a bad shift.  But that’s no excuse to treat someone like that.  I have bad days at work; rude and awful guests and I still have a smile on my face because it’s my job. 

Negativity is like a nasty virus.  It spreads very quickly.  Once the flight attendant was rude, we became irritated.  Because of this, we were on a short fuse, potentially taking our anger out on the next stranger we encounter… and so on.

As I try to do with everything in life, I try to turn a negative situation into a positive one.  This nasty flight attendant became a reminder of how important genuine hospitality truly is.  Even though I wasn't actually working, I helped this poor guy out.

And that's serving humanity, no matter which way you look at it.  ~ HK ~
  

The Common Bond is Strong With This One

A warm front in San Diego was passing though along with a urology convention.  It was the first hot, sunny day in May and another busy lunch shift was upon us.  At the convention’s noon break time, the line at the host stand quickly developed and flowed out the door and onto the boardwalk.  Although we were prepared for the lunch rush, it was still difficult to maneuver among the swarming doctors and focus. 

In the midst of the crazy rush, I greeted a table of three somewhat grumpy men who were all wearing name badges; complete with what city they were from.  I looked at the first one and it said, “Orange, CA” which is where I was born and raised.   I decided even though I was busy, I had to mention this to make a connection and to see if I could get any of them to possibly cheer up.

I looked at him. “Are you from Orange? That’s where I’m from!  Which area exactly?”  He answered unenthusiastically, “Well, I moved there a couple years ago. It’s a nice community.”  Okay...Well that didn’t change his demeanor much, but at least I tried.  I decided to look at the next doctor’s name badge.  It read ‘Washington D.C.’ I couldn’t help myself and I said, “Oh nice.  D.C.  My cousin recently moved out there.  She’s enjoying it a lot.  Beautiful city.”  The doctor responded, “Well, yes, it nice.  Not quite like San Diego.”  To which of course I replied, “Nope.  No city is quite like San Diego.”    I looked at the third doctor’s badge and it read ‘Toronto.’  A big smile came over my face.  I looked at the Toronto doc and said, “I actually used to date a guy from Toronto.”  At this point, I finally got a chuckle out of them all.  Yes!  Success.  He looked at me and asked with a smile, “Seriously?”  I told him he was actually from Burlington (a suburb of Toronto) and I’d been there to visit his family and friends, including a quick day trip to Niagara Falls. The man from Orange jokingly said, “Well he used to live in South America.”  Now I chuckled.  “You’re not going to believe this but I honestly used to live in South America.”  Shocked, the doctor from Orange looked up and me and said, “Actually that was a joke.”  I replied with, “Well, I liked it.  It was definitely fitting.”  I decided to change the subject and get their order’s taken.  It was busy and they were on a time crunch.  “Okay, enough bonding.  Now, I know you’re hungry so let’s order.” 

Not that it’s that bizarre to have commonalities with three random strangers.  It’s just that it all happened so unexpectedly and so quick.  Funny how just knowing a city where someone is from (or just moved to) can easily strike up a conversation.  It’s remarkable what one simple common bit of information can do to easily bring people together. 

I love when this happens.  And on that note…

While I was dropping off their checks, I asked them to confirm if they they were urologists.   Dr. D.C. responded, “Yes.  We are actually pediatric urologist.”  No way.  I grinned again.  I had to say it. “I actually had chronic kidney infections growing up and had to have surgery when I was eight years old.”  Dr. D.C. replied, “Oh.  You had reflux.”  He was spot on.  “Yes I did.  You’re good.”  As I brought their credit card slips out, I thanked them for coming in and then said,  “And thank you doctors, as well, for saving lives.”  A bit dramatic, maybe, but I was serious.  A pediatric urologist did save my life.  I felt I owed them a sincere thank you as if I was saying thank you to their entire medical community.  Perhaps I should have been their keynote speaker. 

Now they learned even more about me; a stranger, their server.  Someone they wouldn’t normally even think twice about.  I’m sure I didn’t make too much of a difference in their day.  At the very least I hope I made their lunch more enjoyable. 

But more important, they made my day more meaningful.  Perhaps this is why I make the effort to bond with my guests.  Not only to serve humanity, but to serve myself in a way.  

Maybe I need it more than they do.  ~ HK ~

Good people DO still exist

It was a busy Wednesday lunch shift.  Convention attendants filled the restaurant on their brief hour and a half break.  I was working in fifth gear, in my flow, feeling proud of my impeccable multi-tasking abilities and generally feeling great. 

When I went to grab the check from my largest party of the day (three times as much as any of the others) I realized the credit card slip was missing.  Only the itemized copy was there.  My heart sank.  This was a table of 5 convention men who were friendly, ordered a lot of food and beverage and were more than pleasant to wait on.  My gut told me there’s no way they meant to stiff me. 

I swiftly bolted around the table to see if I could find the signed receipt lying somewhere in the vicinity.  It was a breezy afternoon and it was entirely possible for it to have simply blown away.  I spotted a white piece of paper next to the stone-lined boardwalk about 30 feet away.   I briskly walked over to it.  Damn.  A chopstick wrapper. 

Defeated, I walked back into my section as I continued to be sat new tables. As I greeted the new guests, I couldn’t focus.  I was completely distraught.  All I could think about was that missing credit card slip.  Even as I took orders, I continued to look around to see if I could find another white piece of paper anywhere. 

It’s amazing how one snafu in your day can begin to screw up your focus and your flow for the remainder of your shift.

I had a thought.  Did that table have a reservation?  It was, after all, a party of five.  I asked the host.  She checked the computer.  It was.  I jumped a little and almost screamed from excitement.    That means there was a phone number I could call.  We looked up the name and it wasn’t the name of the person who paid (I didn’t remember his name exactly but I knew it wasn’t the name on the reservation). 

I decided to call anyway, although I was a bit nervous.  I got his voicemail.  Screw it.  If I’m going this far, I might as well leave a message. The worst that could happen is I don’t get a call back and I don’t get a tip (which was the case at that point anyway).  I left a voicemail asking him to contact the man who paid and ask about the slip’s whereabouts.  It was an awkward voicemail to say the least. 

However, at that point, I felt better.  At least I could say I tried and did all I could to get that tip back, regardless of the outcome.  I continued to wait tables and go on with my day, although still a bit distressed.   

About a solid forty-five minutes later, as I was talking to a guest I saw the host staring at me and waving me over.  I quickly finished my conversation at the table and walked over to her.  She said, “You’re guy called back and he’s on hold.”   My mouth dropped.  Will this be good or bad news?  I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. 

The guy said he talked to his friend who paid and he accidently took both credit card slips.  He tipped me (close to $100) and said he was very sorry about the mix up.  I waved my manager over so he could confirm the amount with her.  I thanked him several more times again and told him how much he truly made my day.  

Wow.  There are still good people out there.  Lord knows as servers, many days we aren’t so sure.  But when a situation like this occurs, I’m reassured I can still have faith in humanity.  ~ HK ~