Two Hundred
Cookies
A man stopped at a fast-food restaurant and placed an order
that included a cookie. The server said,
“And would you like a cookie with that today?”
The next time he returned he place the same order, cookie included, with
a different server. Again, the server
politely asked, “Would you like a cookie with that?” The third time he dealt with yet another
server. This time he was feeling a
little mischievous. He placed his order,
then added, “And I would like two hundred cookies.” To which the server said, without a trace of
irony, “I’ll get that for you, sir. And
would you like a cookie with that?”
A Valuable Service
We expect the people who serve us in stores to be there for
us. But are we there for them? A man was talking on his cell phone as a
clerk rang up his purchases. Suddenly,
he said into the cell phone, “I need to hang up now so I can be with the clerk.” The clerk looked into his eyes and said, “Thank
you, You just made me valuable.”
Are you present in everything you do?
The Concept of Be Present
A) What is Be Present?
1) “The past is
history; The future is a mystery; Today is a gift; That is why we call it the present.”
2) Play and Make
Their Day: When you are playing and making others days you must be present.
B) Benefits of Be Present
1) You will get
more out of your-self.
2) Your customers
will get more out of you.
3) Your co-workers
will get more out of you.
4) Customer and
co-workers will want to be around you.
5) Life will be more
full-filling.
C) Ways to Be Present
1) Look at the
person you’re talking to.
2) The person in
front of you is the only person that matters.
3) Play with the people around you.
4) Look for ways
to make a person's day.
5) Choose the positive
attitude that you will give someone.
John offered a personal story. “I was living a busy life,” he said with
sadness in his voice, “trying to make ends meet and working both side against the
middle. One day my daughter asked me to
go to the park. I told her it was a
wonderful idea, but I had a lot to do at that moment. I said she should wait until later, after I
had a chance to catch up. But there
always seemed to be some urgent and pressing work to do and the days
passed. Days led to weeks and weeks to
months.” With a choking voice, he said
that four years passed and he never did go to the park. His daughter is now fifteen and no longer
interested in the park, nor, for that matter, in him.
John paused and took a deep breath. “I talked to one of the fish guys about being
present, and I realized how infrequently I was really present at home or at
work. The fish guy invited me to visit
the market with the whole family. My
daughter didn’t want to go, but I finally wore her down and she came
along. We had a good time, and I worked
on being present with my children. When
my wife took my son down the street to the toy store, I sat down with my
daughter and told her how sorry I was that I really hadn’t been there for
her. I told her I hoped she could
forgive me and that while I couldn’t change the past, I let her know that I was
now dedicated to being present in the present.
She said I wasn’t that bad a dad-I just needed to lighten up a
little. I’ve got a ways to go,” he said, “but I’m improving. Being present could help me recover something
I wasn’t aware I had lost: a
relationship with my daughter.”
We get so busy in life. We have so much going on at our jobs. We have so much we have to get done. But when we are interacting with a customer or co-worker you must be present with them. Everyone deserves the respect of having you present with them.
