The Fruit of Professionalism

My husband and I went to a diner. It wasn't a fancy one, but a grade above the greasy spoon type.

We happened to arrive during a busy morning. Most of the tables in the double "L" shaped room had customers. A short staff bustled about and the manager manned the cash register.

One waitress looked our way and turned to another. "Have you cleared off tables number...?" 

"No, I haven't" The other waitress snipped. "I've been busy." Her grumpy day showed all to clear with the scowl on her face.

The first waitress returned a few minutes later and led us to our table. She plopped down the menus and disappeared. 

The conversation in the seated area seemed friendly. A family across the way spoke nice to their three little boys, one of which played the dropsy game with his bottle. My husband and I talked for a while then noticed a few groups of people who had been seated after us eating their served food. We still had not seen our waitress.

We had a choice. Go to another restaurant or wait. 

We decided to wait. Ten minutes later, a pleasant waitress who served customers on the other side of the room came over to our table, her pony tail bouncing as she walked. "I saw you still sitting her without being served. Figured I'd come over and take your order." 

How sweet.

We told her what we wanted and noticed she extended her services to other tables not in her section. I asked my husband, who faced the kitchen area if he saw our assigned waitress, the grumpy one. "Yes, she is sitting at the counter writing something. The people at the table behind you, who came in before us, haven't been asked for their order, yet." 

In the meantime, the pleasant waitress who chose to serve our table brought our drinks, served our food, stopped back to check on our meal, and refilled our coffee. She smiled and thanked us for waiting. She never mentioned the grumpy waitress assigned to us. 

As I sipped my second cup of coffee and finished my meal, our assigned grumpy waitress served the meal to the table behind me and accidentally dumped the plate of food on the customer. She didn't say a word of apology.

While it may seem unfair to call one waitress grumpy and the other pleasant, I must say something in the pleasant waitress' defense. She walked to another table she chose to help, where five or six people had been served, scooped up the few coins left for her tip, and walked away. All the while maintaining her smile and bounce to her step. 

We all have things happen that can make us grumpy. There is a time and a way to vent and a time not to. God knows we get grumpy that's why He told us in Philippians 4:8 to think of the lovely things. 

Refocus the mind. 

Flee from the nasty thoughts Satan plants. 

Find the pleasant smile and the bounce to your step. 

So, reader. I challenge you today to go and have a pleasant day. Maybe a reader is having a grumpy day, or just needs to know someone cares to say something nice. Would you leave a pleasant comment for others?