Welcome to Florida
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 4:15 pm
Being a trainer, I always seem to get placed at the station next to the new kid. It was her first day on her own, and she was ready for it. Good knowledge, unafraid of the computer, and a sincere friendliness. She belonged, but she was green.
A New Yorker came up to her. I could tell he was a New Yorker; he had the accent, he had the look, and he had the attitude.
Placing a Ten quietly on the counter, he bid her, "Get me a table for four at Chef Mickey's tonight."
She smiled the Disney smile, looked it up in good faith, and told him, "I'm sorry, but Chef Mickey's is sold out for the whole night."
The guest sighed, replaced the Ten with a Twenty, and said, "Get me a table anyway."
"Sir, we just don't have any tables left, and Chef Mickey's isn't taking walk-ins tonight."
The guest glared, added the Ten to the Twenty, and said, "Get me a friggin' table!"
The new kid was starting to sweat, so I stepped in. "Sir, have you seen the TV ads for Florida Vacations? The one that says, 'Welcome to Florida, the rules are different here'? Well, one of the things that's different is that when we say, 'There are no tables available,' it means, 'There are no tables available.' It's not a request for a larger tip."
"What the hell kind of crazy place is this a guy can't get a table for dinner?!?" he shouted.
"We call it Florida. Welcome. Can we help you find a table somewhere else?"
Apparently not. He stormed off while the new hire stepped back to recover from the shock. She's a shoe-in to win the prize for Best Question of the Month, and has a good head start on Best Question of the Year... but I got the attaboy from a GSM who almost lost it listening to my answer.
Life isn't exactly good, but it does have its moments.
A New Yorker came up to her. I could tell he was a New Yorker; he had the accent, he had the look, and he had the attitude.
Placing a Ten quietly on the counter, he bid her, "Get me a table for four at Chef Mickey's tonight."
She smiled the Disney smile, looked it up in good faith, and told him, "I'm sorry, but Chef Mickey's is sold out for the whole night."
The guest sighed, replaced the Ten with a Twenty, and said, "Get me a table anyway."
"Sir, we just don't have any tables left, and Chef Mickey's isn't taking walk-ins tonight."
The guest glared, added the Ten to the Twenty, and said, "Get me a friggin' table!"
The new kid was starting to sweat, so I stepped in. "Sir, have you seen the TV ads for Florida Vacations? The one that says, 'Welcome to Florida, the rules are different here'? Well, one of the things that's different is that when we say, 'There are no tables available,' it means, 'There are no tables available.' It's not a request for a larger tip."
"What the hell kind of crazy place is this a guy can't get a table for dinner?!?" he shouted.
"We call it Florida. Welcome. Can we help you find a table somewhere else?"
Apparently not. He stormed off while the new hire stepped back to recover from the shock. She's a shoe-in to win the prize for Best Question of the Month, and has a good head start on Best Question of the Year... but I got the attaboy from a GSM who almost lost it listening to my answer.
Life isn't exactly good, but it does have its moments.