Day 298. The Hostess One.

Last week, I met a friend at one of my favorite local haunts, J. Liu. Those of you who know me know that we've been going to this restaurant since it first opened and we have quite a few friends who work at both locations. But as time moves on, new people join the team as servers, hostesses, etc. and, as I am not someone to walk around saying "I am a regular! Pay attention to me!" we go with the flow.

So, Wednesday. I showed up around 7 to a happily crazy busy restaurant, was greeted by a new hostess, and was told that there would be a 30 minute wait for a table for two. No problem, says I, I'll hang at the bar. And, I asked if my friend, who is the executive chef, was at this location or the other this evening. "Here," she said and gave me a quizzical look. So, off I went to the bar. I wasn't silly enough to think I'd get a table right away at prime dinner time. I sat on the end of the bar and said hi to all the folks I knew as they walked by, we crossed paths, whatever. Up comes the hostess. "Wow, you sure know a lot of people here!"..."well, we've been coming here since it opened so you know, you get to know everyone". (I felt ridiculous, as obnoxious as many of you know me to be, drawing attention to myself in a blatant ego-feeding way makes me gag...now if you want me to make a fool of myself...well, that's a story for another day :) )

So, and here's the kicker. This lovely girl says "Oh well hello! My name is Megan, I've just started here so I don't know all the regulars yet and I know i should. Its so nice to meet you!" And, within 10 minutes, I had a table.

I share this story not to highlight that I got special treatment, rather, I was astounded by this amazing display of customer service and kindness from someone who couldn't have been older than 20.

I focus on customer service a lot, and the reason that is is because for me, treating each other with respect is one of the most important things in life. Whether you are a customer, a boss, a hostess or a passerby on the street, we don't know another's story and how wonderful when we can take the time to understand another's needs and, when possible meet them.

Trust me, I've told Megan's two bosses how great she was. She didn't act fake, she didn't act weird and she wasn't flustered by the either me or all the inherent craziness already going on in a busy restaurant. The entire night was lovely particularly because Megan started it so nicely.