This post has been floating around in my head for the last couple of weeks, and hopefully I’ll keep it short since it should be common sense:

Be nice to people.

That’s all.

This topic came to mind as the ice cream shop was closing for the season. You really do see all kinds when dealing with the public, and I feel like we’ve encountered all kinds of people. You would think that all people are happy when they come to get ice cream, and most of them are, but you do get some who are just angry.

We’re all human so sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes people are cool with it and take the cone even though we rolled it in the wrong sprinkles. Other times we’ll remake the ice cream and people are fine with that. But then there are just some people who get really mad about the littlest things. If you have trouble ordering ice cream, how are you in other aspects of your life?

We do have some nice regulars who we enjoy seeing. There’s one guy who will call ahead with his order—he’s the only person we let do that—and he knows mostly all of us by name. He’s awesome. There’s also an elderly couple who come multiple nights during the week, and if we see them pull in the parking lot or the wife waiting in line, one of us will start their order—they always get the same thing—so it’s ready by the time they get to the window. And I’m sure we have other regulars but since I don’t work as much as I used to, I don’t see as many people. (If anything, I’ll remember orders but not what the people look like.)

So moral of the story here is be nice to people and they’ll hook you up.

I’ve always been considerate to anyone in food service but once I started working at the ice cream shop, I really try to be really good. Like I don’t ask unnecessary questions and make sure I know what I’m ordering before I get to the counter. If someone is new, I try to make it easy for them and I totally understand they’re still learning the ropes. And I always tip.

I also feel like you can tell a lot about other people by how they treat waiters/waitresses or the guy making the coffee or the girl making your panini sandwich. Fortunately I haven’t been around someone who treated them poorly, but if I did, I definitely think I’d think of them differently.

Do you/did you ever work directly with the public? How was your experience?