“Fan The Flames Of Kindness”

I wish it weren’t so but I often eat at fast food restaurants given the fact that I work three jobs. And I have the waist line and cholesterol pills in my medicine cabinet to prove it. I have noticed a growing trend in fast food restaurants the last few years, and that is poor customer service.

More times than not I find that the folks taking and serving my order don’t seem to appreciate the fact that my business is paying their salary. At best they often act like they don’t care, not saying thank you or may I help you or any other pleasantries. At worst they are down right rude. Throw in the high error rate for getting my order wrong and it’s a wonder I even stop at the fast food businesses any more.

But fortunately there are always exceptions. Last week I was in the Burger King on Highway 90 East. The lady that took my order was very pleasant, which now days stands out like a sore thumb. As I was eating my meal a man took his order back to the counter and loudly proclaimed “I ain’t eating this hamburger, it ain’t cooked enough.” The lady took his hamburger, assured him they would get him another burger in just a moment. A couple of minutes later she took his freshly cooked burger to his table. To which he then loudly proclaimed that he wanted a fresh order of fries, saying his previous order was now cold. The lady calmly and politely dealt with him as best as possible and eventually agreed to get him another order of fries.

My first thought was to go and tell the fellow quit making a scene and get some manners. But I didn’t. I then thought that on my way out I should compliment the lady on how she handled the matter. But I didn’t do that either. As usual I got in a hurry, thinking only of myself and the fact that I needed to get back to work. That I didn’t offer her an encouraging word has bothered me all week. It might just have made her day to have a stranger offer her a compliment. I know I feel good when someone pays me a compliment and it even adds a little pep to my step.

So I am challenging myself and all of you to a kindness competition. For one week let’s see how many people we can catch being kind. Then offer a word of thanks or encouragement to that person. I would welcome your emails of acts of kindness you caught. I know is sounds corny but I really believe kindness can be contagious. So Simply Put, let’s fan the flames of kindness.

From the front porch: Coach said what lies behind us and what lies before us pale in comparison to what lies within us.