We decided to try out a new restaurant in B-town which had been greatly anticipated.
You probably know by now that I am a very particular person and when I know what I want- I expect to get it. Whether that is a class in school or goal of mine, I expect myself to get reach it. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all about giving chances and being patient.
However- I don't think we will be making a second trip to this particular restaurant.
1) Our server was glacially slow. Seriously. She was only taking 1 other table besides ours and the restaurant was not busy at all. Slow in every aspect. :/
2) The food came out cold and less than average.
3) The water tasted like it had chemicals in it
4) Everything was very over-priced considering what we got to eat
5) The overall feel of the restaurant was dull
6) There were about 15-20 people working in the restaurant, all of which were teenagers from the local schools in my area. They all looked frantic and confused. They were slow and unprofessional, inefficient, dazed, looked like lost puppies, and had zero ability to multi-task.
7) My food was so cold that I asked them to reheat it for me. Ok, I'm picky but not THAT picky. I seldom say anything about my food unless it's really that bad.
8) The quality of the food was not nearly as good as other places that compete
9) My mom and I watched the servers and workers as we waited... and waited.. and waited.. they were so entertainingly funny. There was one girl who went back to the kitchen 4 times. Each time carrying 2 cups from a table she was clearing. I wondered if she might consider using a tray instead of making the commute each time just to carry 2 cups.
10) The manager came to apologize for my cold food but in such a scary tone that both mom and I broke a small sweat.
11) So many mistakes...
We filled out a comment card (I promise I wasn't mean, just friendly constructive criticism) and it told us to leave it at a box in the front of the restaurant. There was no box to be found so we asked the two girls at the front desk. They both looked at each other in frenzy and finally gave us another card. No, I smiled and explained. Where can I put this card? Ohhhh! Uhh... here, we can take it- just give it to me.
With that, my mom and I looked at each other and kindof nervously smiled and said thanks and left. Card in-hand.
Overall, I would just describe the experience as: Unimpressed.
But you see, the above mentioned things would not have bothered us so much if for one thing.
Anyone in the restaurant smiled.
We made this observation as our meal progressed that everyone was really dull. Like there was no happiness there. It kindof exhausted me to be honest! I definitely can say some good things about the place. It was clean, the ice was my favorite kind, and it was nice of the manager to come out immediately and apologize. I know it was the first week it opened and so the servers and staff were unexperienced and probably nervous to be working in (most of their) first jobs. But, no one was smiling. At least not for real. We both left the restaurant $30 poorer and laughing about how sadly pathetic it was.
After dinner, we went to the store. Immediately after we walked in, the cashier of the store looks up and with no emotion in her face says "Welcome to ____". I was like uhh.. thanks. Don't be too excited. We spent a good half an hour in the store perusing and ended up not finding anything. But, the entire time, I could only think about one thing. The awfully sad or expressionless welcoming we got to start our entire trip inside their business. No sincerity, no happiness, no smile.
This has consumed me for the last day and a half. At a leadership conference I attended earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to listen to various speakers from around the world about everything from Shakespeare to Chemistry, Diversity to Happiness. One of my favorite speakers shared some thoughts on the Power of a Smile. This was a PERFECT topic for me. I absolutely loved what he had to say about how a smile has the ability to turn a day around, to make someone happier and to bring someone joy. That is incredible.
At the conference, I was given the nickname "Smiles" because well.. yeah, I do love to smile;) I think that people like being around people who are happy. Smiling has the power to erase bad feelings or negative aspects because smiling=happiness, and happiness=lack of negativity. It's important to me to share my smile and not take it for granted because I know like so many of the children I met in Jordan and also all around the world, their smiles are something they wish to have.
On my mission, I vividly recall the immense happiness I felt while I was with the kids. I did not remember their deformities or burns, clefts, and anomalies, but the happiness I felt in their spirits and their eyes. They had beautiful smiles to me- but we were able to give them a much more beautiful outlook on life.
A smile is one of the most powerful and influential forces on the earth. I truly believe that if anyone at either the restaurant or the store had given us a genuine, happy smile- all the negative aspects of the experience would not have seemed so bad. Maybe this post would rather have told about the one server who took our table and even though it was chaotic and not the best, but made our meal so extraordinarily pleasant because of a happy, smiley personality.
After all, "A Smile is a curve that sets everything straight"
;) Oh come on, I had to interject a little cheese in here somewhere haha
I hope that you can take away what I was trying to say today. No matter what is happening around you- but especially in times of chaos or need, evaluate those things around you that you can't change and the things you can change. Oftentimes it is a rarity to be able to completely change every single circumstance, but the one thing you can change about any given situation is yourself. Sure, maybe you just started your job and you don't really know how to do it well yet, or maybe you are seasoned at it but just hate it. Look at yourself and see how you come across. Remember this post and maybe, remember to Just Smile.
"The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have"
At the conference, I was given the nickname "Smiles" because well.. yeah, I do love to smile;) I think that people like being around people who are happy. Smiling has the power to erase bad feelings or negative aspects because smiling=happiness, and happiness=lack of negativity. It's important to me to share my smile and not take it for granted because I know like so many of the children I met in Jordan and also all around the world, their smiles are something they wish to have.
On my mission, I vividly recall the immense happiness I felt while I was with the kids. I did not remember their deformities or burns, clefts, and anomalies, but the happiness I felt in their spirits and their eyes. They had beautiful smiles to me- but we were able to give them a much more beautiful outlook on life.
A smile is one of the most powerful and influential forces on the earth. I truly believe that if anyone at either the restaurant or the store had given us a genuine, happy smile- all the negative aspects of the experience would not have seemed so bad. Maybe this post would rather have told about the one server who took our table and even though it was chaotic and not the best, but made our meal so extraordinarily pleasant because of a happy, smiley personality.
After all, "A Smile is a curve that sets everything straight"
;) Oh come on, I had to interject a little cheese in here somewhere haha
I hope that you can take away what I was trying to say today. No matter what is happening around you- but especially in times of chaos or need, evaluate those things around you that you can't change and the things you can change. Oftentimes it is a rarity to be able to completely change every single circumstance, but the one thing you can change about any given situation is yourself. Sure, maybe you just started your job and you don't really know how to do it well yet, or maybe you are seasoned at it but just hate it. Look at yourself and see how you come across. Remember this post and maybe, remember to Just Smile.
