I stopped at the Sonic on my way home from the vet this morning to pick up some lunch. I pressed the button and waited. After a while, I wondered if perhaps I hadn’t pressed it hard enough and pressed it again. Still no service. One of the wait staff had passed to go to another car earlier. She was visiting with them. When she finally came back by, I asked her to check to see if the light was coming on as no one had checked in. She pushed the button several more times and promised to take my order herself when she got inside.
Of course, the minute she came on the speaker, my vet called. I apologized and told them I had to take the call. They told me it was fine and to just press the button when I was ready. I had to wonder if they were standing in the window and watching for me to press it, because when I pressed it, they were there right away, apologizing for the wait. I told them it was OK and ordered.
The manager came on the speaker while I was waiting for my food. He asked if I’d had problems with the button. I told him I’d pressed twice with no luck, but just caught the lady on the way by and that she was very helpful. He thanked me for being nice. He told me he’d had the button fixed twice. I told him I believed him and it was OK, “these things happen.” That’s when he told me he was sending me out lots of coupons. I was surprised, but said, “Thank you.”
My order came out shortly, with the same lady delivering it. She was also thanking me for being so nice. I was beginning to think they were making a big deal of not much, but she told me how nasty some folks got. I was given three coupons for a free hamburger and a coupon for a free drink. Nice coupons! I gave her my normal 50 cent tip and completely floored her. “See,” she said, “that’s nice!” I just laughed, thanked her, and headed home.
What I did shouldn’t have been a big deal. I was just a touch patient, didn’t lose my temper, and was courteous to those who were not at fault. It is true that I am a regular and my order is just strange enough to cause notice. It never occurred to me that they had noticed, though, until today, and something the manager said made me think they did recognize me for a regular.
I’m not perfect and there are times I get impatient, just like everyone else. Most of the time, though, I find that staying pleasant makes life a lot smoother. Rewards like today, though, are real nice.
Internal soundtrack: Leap of Faith Soundtrack, Are You Ready for a Miracle?