Would you like some courtesy with that?
The other day I stopped by a Papa Murphy's Pizza (NOT Papa John's) for one of their marvelous chicken / herb-garlic pies. I'd phoned in the order and when I came in they told me the pizza would be ready in a minute or so (you buy the raw pizza and bake it at home - half the price of a regular takeout pizza). They were making it right now. I said, "Sure, no problem," and sat on the bench to wait.
The guy making my pizza said, "I wish all the customers were like you."
I blinked. I re-ran the very small verbal exchange to figure out why he'd said that. All I'd done was walk in, greet them, agree to wait, sat down...
Oh.
I'd been polite to them, and pleasant - and that made me memorable. And how sad is that? I'd greeted them when I came in, didn't blame them for the wait, didn't snap that my yelling kids were hungry NOW and why wasn't it DONE yet you lazy BASTARDS who wouldn't even HAVE a job if it weren't for ME buying their damn PIZZA.
I told them I'd been in their shoes - working in a pizza parlor back when the minimum wage was $3.25/hour ("But two hours' work paid for an album. It's about the same now for a CD, right? Or about 16 iTunes downloads?").
Some things you don't forget from a job in the food service. One of them is how precious a "please" or a "thank you" can be. Another is how some people who've never dirtied a finger in their lives for less than a 5-figure salary (or who married their money) treat those who serve them.
I enjoyed that pizza a little more than usual that night - knowing that I'd made its creator's day a little less of a trial.
The guy making my pizza said, "I wish all the customers were like you."
I blinked. I re-ran the very small verbal exchange to figure out why he'd said that. All I'd done was walk in, greet them, agree to wait, sat down...
Oh.
I'd been polite to them, and pleasant - and that made me memorable. And how sad is that? I'd greeted them when I came in, didn't blame them for the wait, didn't snap that my yelling kids were hungry NOW and why wasn't it DONE yet you lazy BASTARDS who wouldn't even HAVE a job if it weren't for ME buying their damn PIZZA.
I told them I'd been in their shoes - working in a pizza parlor back when the minimum wage was $3.25/hour ("But two hours' work paid for an album. It's about the same now for a CD, right? Or about 16 iTunes downloads?").
Some things you don't forget from a job in the food service. One of them is how precious a "please" or a "thank you" can be. Another is how some people who've never dirtied a finger in their lives for less than a 5-figure salary (or who married their money) treat those who serve them.
I enjoyed that pizza a little more than usual that night - knowing that I'd made its creator's day a little less of a trial.