For the last couple of weeks Sarah and
I have been getting bad service everywhere we go, literally everywhere.
Bad service is one of those things that gets annoying really fast.
This last weekend we went on a girls
trip to Whistler, BC. After a long six hours in the car and
hauling six bags of luggage, for three women, for a four-day trip, we
were ready for a nice cold beverage and a club sandwich at the local pub. We
were so excited, we walked to that pub like we were evacuating our fifth grade
class for a fire drill, let’s get this party started.
The waitress greets us with an, I hate
my life and I wish I wasn’t here, slight tilt of her mouth. Great,
here we go again. First item, drinks for the table. When Older S took
her first sip of the red ale beer she was not happy at all. She asked the
waitress if she could change it and her response was, “oh no, sorry honey,
you already took a sip out of it.” I think she forgot this is a restaurant
where they only provide food and beverages with the mission to
please their consumers. “No, you can get your manager if you need to, but I
will take a different beer.”
I have always admired this about
Sarah. If you are paying for it, you should be happy with it. You work too hard
not to get value out of where your money is going. Sarah does not make excuses
for anyone.
The next morning we woke up ready to try
again. There is a breakfast spot in Whistler across the street from our condo
that is a must visit every year when we go to whistler. Two important things to
know about breakfast for Sarah and Samantha: one, it is our favorite meal, and
two, we always make it an experience.
We head across the street with an extra
pep in our step, all to head into disappointment once again. They stopped
serving breakfast just 10 minutes prior. I looked at the waitress like, you are
telling me that nice looking man standing back there is not going to throw eggs
benedict on the grill because we are ten minutes late? Nope. The waitress seemed
slightly irritated with our over-irritation.
Sarah grabbed my arm and looked at
me with genuine eyes, “I think God is trying to teach us something right now,
patience.”
In that moment everything changed.
We chose something else on the menu,
ordered a bottle of champagne, and let it go. We enjoyed every
moment, the waitress started smiling and telling jokes with us, and
we promised to be back.
The next morning we arrived at the
same breakfast spot, on time. The hostess greeted us with a
smile and a bottle of champagne they had chilling, waiting for
us. The waitress served us with a positive attitude and great conversation.
The rest of our trip we got the best
service every where we went.
The point is that it is not about
what life throws at you or how other people treat you, it is about how you
react to them.
Life is always going to give you those
moments where everything is just annoying. How you respond is key. Put a smile
on your face, keep a positive attitude, and take that moment back.
There is power in how you respond to
situations. You get back what you put out. The minute we changed how we viewed
the situation and changed how we responded, was the minute we started truly
enjoying ourselves in every moment.
