Thank you for your understanding sir.
Recently I start spending some time on a popular website called reddit (if you don't know what reddit is click here: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Reddit , otherwise proceed). When I used to work in the wonderful corporate world reddit was basically where you would find me most of the time trying to keep myself entertained while performing mundane work tasks. I never really posted much on it back then, but recently I start being more proactive and have become intrigued. More specifically, I have been posting thoughts on a subreddit named 'talesfromyourserver.' The name of the community is pretty self explanatory; a community that brings together people in the service industry to share their experiences. It's crazy how so many people can relate to the simplest things and how just a few words can spark meaningful conversation amongst so many random people all over the world. Not only is conversation sparked but amongst this conversation you may find messages of hope, empathy, and humanity. Below is an example of a brief moment I had at the restaurant one day which I shared on reddit. It was only 3 sentences long and on the outside not seemingly a big deal.
"A customer today kept telling me to take my time and not to rush every time he needed something and I looked at him and said “I really appreciate that but this is my job, I have to do it right.” He then responded “I know but the customer needs to be more conscious about their server and also care. All I could think was, "thank you for your understanding sir."
Maybe to the average person this sounds like a silly little experience, but to me and apparently many others it wasn't. When I posted to the 'talesfromyourserver' sub-reddit it was viewed by over 15k people. Almost 2k people upvoted it. I'd like to equate those upvotes to a sign of appreciation for the story by others who also endure working with the public on a daily basis. Or maybe some of those upvotes came from difficult customers who may have came across the post and possibly decided to reevaluate their dining habits.
Some of the feedback received in the comments was as follows:
"Aww that makes my heart happy!" (I made someone smile)
"Makes me want to cry. There are good people out there." ( I made someone cry, out of joy of course)
"Great, thank you for settling that for me! I will try to be better in the future! (This sub has taught me so many things it's amazing)" (I made someone become more conscious of their dining out habits in the future)