Saturday, May 19, 2007

The Perfect Disguise ...

This post is again going to be on what I had observed/did at my last visit to a restaurant two days back; so for those readers who have already been bugged up by now, stop here itself ;-)

My friends and I had been to a nearby restaurant at Belapur as it was a party thrown by a friend of mine, and it was my duty to handle the servers (the waiters here). It was the same restaurant where we had been many-a-times and we appreciated the way they treated us, but the other day, it was not good.

The waiter was hardly paying any attention to us, rather I should say no attention at all. One of my friend out of agitation did shout at him, but then I tried to calm him down. And still, there was no change at all, in fact his attitude towards serving us was very wrong. Next time again, he did the very same thing, and now I got a bit frustrated and started speaking in a very rude manner but luckily, I was able to control the pitch of my voice.

After the meals, the cheque was to be paid; I took up the responsibility from my friend, though the cash were all his and not mine - remember, he was throwing the party! The very simple reason was that I was able to recall that the restaurant had a feedback form, and I asked the same waiter to get me one.

He was left with no other choice, other than to get me one. I asked his name, and wrote it down, and then simply wrote words in his appreciation, stating that "Mr. X, has served us in a very excellent manner, we certainly liked the way he has treated us - a very nice gesture, on his part." I did leave my name and email address for their reference.

I asked the waiter if he understood as to what I had written, and why? He said "Haan Ji, Samajh gaya!" I directly went up to the cashier cum manager's desk and handed over the same into his hands.

I don't know as to what and how should I have reacted in such a scenario? The only thing which I could recall off is a similar scenario wherein I was with my elder brother, and instead of saying harsh words or criticizing one, he praised the same person in front of his sub-ordinates, the person was the manager at our Delhi Showroom. My brother then immediately did the same thing, he asked the manager if he understood why he had done this? And the answer was the same, "Haan Ji, Samajh gaya!".

I could see the same sense of embarrassment and shamefulness in the waiter's eyes which I had seen in our manager's eyes. I think my brother was right the other day, he could have shouted at him in front of everybody, but then others would have had a not-so-good impression of his!

I had then replicated the same. Instead of shouting at the waiter or complaining about his service to the manager, I decided to praise him before his manager, but make him feel that he was wrong, and if he would get any appreciation from his honcho for the same, then it would time and again make him realize that these were the harsh words which I intended to say, but in "the perfect disguise".

I don't know whether I was wrong or right? But the only thing I knew was that I had to say something to the waiter, and found no better choice/option than this. I don't know as to how long will the waiter remember it, but his eyes said me that "I will!".

My friends were so irritated the other day, by his attitude, that they have decided not to pay a visit to it again, but I now have a corner there and would like to pay a visit, at the same table, just to check whether those eyes were saying the truth or were merely eyes.

I feel that I need to understand the very same fact, as not to shout or curse one for one's behaviour, rather to appreciate one, such that the sense of embarrassment would bring down the person. The essence of touching one's heart is much effective than touching one's brain!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

a nice article.. and a good approach.. wud like to try it next time i m in a similar situation

dangiankit said...

Thanks Meghan. By the way, who/from where are you?

Anonymous said...

Well I am a girl in case the name confuses you :-). Accidentally landed on your page.

dangiankit said...

Well, that was not what I was asking! I would appreciate if I could know something more. Anyways, not a problem! :-)

And yeah, was the "accidental landing" worthwhile? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Yes it was. :-) .. abt knowing more.. well u can read my blog .. there u ll come to know a lot abt me

dangiankit said...

Thanks! ;-) And yeah, I'll do that.