When we work in customer service, particularly if we work at a restaurant, we have to deal with a wide variety of people. Some of them are going to come and go without much fanfare but others are going to have an impact on us that can last for quite some time. Automatically, most of us will think about somebody who had a rude word to say or perhaps did something that offended us. In the following fictional story, you learn that there is much more to life than what we see that is negative.
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? the boy asked shyly.
50 cents, replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it.
How much is a dish of plain ice cream instead? he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was slightly impatient. She wanted to serve the child, but her other customers seemed more important.
35 cents, she said brusquely to the child.
The little boy again counted the coins. Ill 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 departed.
When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw.
There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were 15 cents her tip.
The boy chose to tip the waitress rather than get the more expensive treat that he wanted. A small gesture, but it meant the world to her.
