Storytime #5: My wife and I went out to dinner last night. We consider ourselves to be connoisseurs of fine restaurant dining. Well, we decided to partake of our Sunday dinner at our local steakhouse. Our waiter was a young African-American young man who came to our table. He welcomed us as he placed the tray of bread on our table. He proceeded to take our drink order. My wife’s ‘intentional leadership’ kicked in. She, in a respectful and non-confrontational way, commented to the young man that we needed plates for our bread on the table. The waiter quickly returned with our drinks and the plates for our bread.
We could tell because of his nervousness that this was all new to him. We assumed that his manager or someone had not appropriately trained him. We were right in our assessment. The young man went on to share with us that this was his FIRST DAY of being a waiter. He said that we were his first table. He told us that he has been working for the past two years as a cook in this restaurant. I sat there with this big Cheshire cat smile on my face as my wife offered to share her previous experiences when she was a waitress. The waiter asked her if she would share a few tips that he could use that would make him a better waiter.
The conversation would continue between the two of them between the arrival of the appetizers going right straight through the completion of the main course meal. My wife and I introduced ourselves to our waiter whose name was Nick. I could tell that Nick seemed a bit more relaxed and confident of himself. Most of all, he was given some ‘intentional leadership’ guidance to help him move forward into the next phase of his career at the restaurant. He thanked us and we wished him well with a promise to return and that we would ask for him to be our waiter. Good job Nick! Now I know why I do what I do.