If you’re like me, you’ll find certain behaviors and protocols odd.
For example, my home office has a view of our front door so when I saw a package left at our front door and the courier took a cell phone picture of the item, I asked myself for what purpose. He or she could take a picture and then walk away with the package. Am I being too cynical?
One time a package was left at foot of the mailbox at the entrance of my driveway. I called Amazon and told them that I never ordered the hats that were in the package. They told me it was a mistaken delivery and I should keep them. So what did I do, I gave them out to friends and acquaintances. What did the hats say? Do Not Disturb!
One time a patron complained bitterly about the service he received … ranting on and on how he would never patronize our restaurant again. With that, he asked for change of a twenty dollar bill and then proceeded to hand the server (the same server who provided the worst service ever) an extremely generous gratuity! Go figure.
Recently, a man who received a $100 gift card complained about every single item that was ordered. The one and only thing he raved about was the exceptional service he received from the waitress. Beyond the service he said Not a single thing was good, the soup, the matzoh ball, the Cole slaw (a freebie), the hot dog, the sauerkraut, the hot open roast beef sandwich or mashed potatoes, etc. Four things were taken off the gentlemen’s bill when he was in the restaurant. But that wasn’t good enough. He wrote a review and wanted his money back. For the sake of peace and harmony we offered to refund the amount of his bill that was already discounted. But woe … that wasn’t enough. Not only did he want his bill refunded but he wanted his tip back. He wanted to be assured the server would get her tip but he didn’t want to pay for it. Having heard enough, the Vice President of the company told him she would refund the entire $100 gift card and send him a check … if and only if he never stepped foot in any Ben’s location. This man was a first class schnorrer.
These vignettes taught me one very important lesson, that is, you never stop learning and seeing quirks in our world no matter one’s age. At the ripe old age of 75 people don’t cease to amaze me.
Oh, and don’t forget to order a self-service BBQ for ten people or more and, remember, that Rosh Hashanah orders are now being taken … Thank you.
See ya at the Deli,
Ronnie
