Lesson #1 - Cleaning Lady
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?". surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello."
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
So tell me, do you know the name of the person who cleans your office? Classroom? This is one area that I'm no longer good at. When I volunteered at my children's elementary school, I knew most of the day-time staff to at least smile at. I was there so often that I was able to remember who else was supposed to be on campus and got quite good at asking people if they needed directions.
Lesson #3 - Always remember those who serve
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.
The little boy counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There placed neatly beside the empty dish were two nickels and five pennies.
You see, he couldn't have the sundae because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
I had class one semester with a waitress, oops-server, and we got to talking about tips. I mentioned that I liked to just double the tax, rounding up for better service, and asked her if that was the right way to do it. She kind of laughed and said she wished everyone would at least leave the tax. Now, here I'm thinking I'm not leaving enough and come to find out that some aren't even leaving the 8% that our tax is.
How you figure the tip when you go out to eat?
Just something to think about.
copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2011
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