Why It Pays To Show Our Best Behaviour In Public
People notice it. Sometimes, they reward it.
How people behave in public places falls across a spectrum.
Some are nice, others are indifferent.
What’s nice behaviour is a subjective thing. Many people smile at strangers and engage in small talk with them. Others keep civility to the bare minimum required and mind their own business.
What about people working in the service industry, like waiters, cashiers, hotel staff, security personnel, flight attendants, etc.?
Service sector staff are, by nature of their work, required to be cheerful and courteous, regardless of how they feel in a moment or the status of their clients.
Like the general public, all service people are not the same. Some do what’s expected of them, which is serving customers politely.
There’re a few outstanding staff members who stand out for their sunny disposition and joyful behaviour. They go the extra mile or walk beyond the call of duty and make the customers feel great and happy. Anyone who’s lucky enough to interact with them will choose to visit their establishment again.
Some customers are so smitten by the friendly disposition of the staff members that they do all they can to reward the exceptional service. Here’s a beautiful, real story told on lovewhatmatters.com.
Tracey Ferrin and her husband visited Wendy’s (a fast food chain of hotels) on Good Friday last year.
The waiter who welcomed them was grinning from ear to ear. His cheerful behaviour was so conspicuous and natural that it attracted her immediate attention. Rarely had she seen such friendly behaviour from a waiter.
Tracey recorded him on her phone and posted the video on Facebook. Her post attracted about 100 likes.
She later posted the video on TikTok. This time, the response was overwhelming. Her followers asked her to do a Venmo Challenge, where one person collects money from their followers. They use the money to tip a stranger who usually works in fast food or is a server at a restaurant. Then they record the recipient’s reaction and post it to their followers to see.
Tracey got hold of the friendly waiter’s name, Eric, from another staff member. She went back to Wendy’s and saw Eric beaming with smiles as he served customers. She made another video and posted it on TikTok.
Meanwhile, donations poured in and touched the $40,000 mark. Tracey met Eric and introduced herself as a writer who wanted to interview him. She invited him to her home for dinner.
The Chief Operating Officer of Wendy’s came to know about the campaign. He wanted to attend the check presentation ceremony.
Eric came without knowing what was waiting for him. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw the COO of Wendy’s. They presented the symbolic check to him. The check reads:
Pay to the Order of Eric, our favourite Wendy’s guy: $40,000
For: Spreading Joy
From: Your TikTok Family
We can take away two important life lessons from this story. One is that we must always exhibit our best behaviour, especially if we work as service staff members. Cheerfulness attracts people like a magnet. People feel valued and happy when we lavish our kind and joyful attention on them. Excellent conduct draws praise and surprise rewards. When we spread joy, the universe responds positively.
Another lesson is that we must never fail to acknowledge and compliment excellent service. If possible, spread the word and reward the staff member. People like such positive news, and they’ll gladly support any gesture to reward the employee.
Tracey Ferrin said,
“It pays to be kind, literally and figuratively. You never know who is watching and how you are impacting their lives. Never dim your light out of fear of shinning too bright! We could use more light in this world.”
Thanks for reading!
