I had a wake up call the other day when I found myself getting snappy and raising my voice on the phone at the Pizza Hut lady. She didn’t listen to a word I said, and kept repeating unwanted ‘specials’ for the week. When I did the pizza pick-up, I met the lady I’d been abrupt with. She was a woman in her 40s, but she looked to be at least 60 and barely hanging on. She appeared tired and beat down by life’s unending cruelties, and offered a depressed apology when she realized it was me, the lady from the phone call. The mean lady!
So I slunk away with my extra large veggie pizza in my new Mercedes to rejoin my upbeat, opportunistic life… far, far away from her world. And I was embarrassed.
Instead of forgetting about this incident, I thought back to all the many conversations I’ve had with our fast food friends; they take our thankless orders, survive hours on a food assembly line, and continually deliver us delicious and highly non-nutritious treats. I know they’re trained to speak using scripts and formulaic interaction with clients, yet every time I placed an order, I had the desire to deliver all the information with the stern, jack rabbit quickness of a drill sergeant, in hopes that the fast food worker would adapt to my style of communication.
Worker: “Hello Miss, Welcome to (fill in the blank), can I take your order please?”
Amie: “Hi, yes, I’d like one Meal #3, hold the onions, a large coke, easy ice, extra ketchup and napkins, and a side of special sauce, to go please! I’m paying cash.”
Worker: “Do you want onions on that?”
Amie: “No, um, I just said…”
Worker: “What kind of drink do you want?”
Amie: “I already told you, coke.”
Worker: “Is this for here or to go?”
Amie: (sigh) “To go.”
Worker: “Is that cash or credit?”
Amie: “Take the $10 out of my hand that I’m waving at you!”
Amie: (In my car driving away) “Doh! They forgot my special sauce.”
I took a few lessons from this reminder and metaphor in life, some of which I’ll discuss in later blogs. Firstly, I am thankful for these fast food workers doing the job we don’t want to do, (someone has to make our burgers, sandwiches and pizza!) I have not walked in their shoes, and frankly the closest I’ve come to a fast food job was 1-hour a day cafeteria food preparation stint when I was a freshman in high school.
Secondly, I should not treat my communication style like a project manager’s efficiency contest. Not everyone processes information the same way. As business professionals and leaders, we must adjust our communication styles, levels, and nuances to connect best with our employees, investors and clients–not the other way around. (Face it; we do what we do because we’re fantastic communicators.)
Lastly, patience is a virtue that we should foster daily. (For me, sometimes it’s an hourly effort.) Practicing Zen while ordering fast food is a great place to start! This wonderfully woven tapestry of diversity among people is the spice of life. If we look at interactions with individuals, and make it a point to mindfully connect in a relatable space, we are presented with an incredible and endless opportunity, versus a chore. I’d take a smile and brief but positive exchange with a stranger, over getting my special sauce on my hamburger any day!
