Same Order...Different Service!

I wonder what the difference is? Those of us who call Williamsburg home are blessed to live in a community that is very diverse...very diverse! The diversity seen here is often limited to much larger cities where crossroads of the world meet. Our little town with its streets lined with beautiful shade trees and houses reminding us our antiquity is at the center of the history of our great country. However, it is, also, a place that many foreign students flocked to each year to work in the numerous service projects available. I remember asking one young man, who was thousands of miles from home, why he would leave home to be a waiter at IHOP. His response was simple, "I can make more money here waiting tables during the busy season than I can at home in a year!" There you have it, but that's not my point!

What fascinates me is the difference in cultures. I frequent McDonald's restaurant each day with the same drive-through order: "large unsweetened iced tea with ten Splendas." The window is served during the summer by young adults from the far east who are so different than those who have the same job in the fall and winter. The "summer" crew is polite, courteous, and greet the consumer with a "Good morning!" and a hardy "Thank you for coming!" They will go out of their way to be sure your order is correct. It is very refreshing! However, during the "off season" one gets no conversation, no greeting, and often an incorrect order. It is not very pleasant to be served in such a bland, non-friendly manner.

If I am not mistaken, most of these young adults are about the same age with nearly the same education, but there is a difference! While some are sullen and appear to be angry, the others are smiling and enjoying their opportunities. What makes these young adults so contrasting?

Could it be the influences that have shaped their lives? Could it be the difference in parenting styles? Could it be while one appreciates the chance to improve his life, the other believes the world owes him a life? The answer to the previous three questions is probably , "Yes!"

Is it any wonder that the consumer gets a bit frustrated with some while not so with others? Without the consumer there would be no jobs for these young adults. There would be no places to work...even minimum waged jobs! I know flipping hamburgers all day and getting someone's "large unsweetened iced tea with ten Splendas" is not the same as discovering the cure for some dreaded disease, but it is better than having nothing to do at all, right?

Be grateful for small blessings, at least, until your blessings can be larger!