A waitress worth her weight in gold
Nowadays, Hong Kong is an international financial city. Often we miss the personal touch of someone who cares. Waiters in restaurants are usually just interested in taking orders and getting tips. But some waiters are very helpful, very patient and very careful. I was impressed recently by one caring waitress who works in a Japanese restaurant.
A few weeks ago, my family and I went to the restaurant to eat lunch. When we ordered food, she made a point of telling us that the dish we ordered was extremely spicy. She advised us to change it for another dish. Then, a waiter slipped and dropped a bowl of soup. Some drops of soup stained my shirt. The waitress immediately got a bottle of soda water to clean my shirt. She smiled at me and said: 'Don't worry dear. I will clean it for you.' Because of all this I remember her.
Tsang Ho-kan, Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College
From the Editor
Thank you for your letter, Ho-kan. You have just shown how important it is to be kind and thoughtful towards others. Your experience shows that it costs us nothing to be helpful, to smile, to hold the lift door open, or to pick up something someone has dropped. But it can make a world of difference to that person and how their day goes.
Often when people are tired, stressed or miserable, they make mistakes or get snappy with others. If we take it upon ourselves to be pleasant, that unhappiness can stop. It reminds me of a story about a man who bought a newspaper every day from the same newspaper seller. The paper seller was a grumpy fellow, with never a pleasant word to say about anyone or anything. But the customer never complained, always smiled and greeted him in a cheery manner.
His neighbour had been observing this for some time and eventually approached the customer. 'Why are you always so polite and cheerful when this man is always so rude and miserable?' he asked. The customer thought about it for a while and then said: 'Because I don't let anyone dictate to me how I feel.'
Susan, Editor
