We Love to See You Smile

I meant to write about this earlier, but was too consumed with Harry Potter excitement. On Thursday, when I arrived to Leicester Square a little early for the movie, I was feeling that my small portioned British dinner was not going to hold out. So, I did the American thing and slipped into the nearby McDonald's. It was a little hectic, but ok. However, I quickly realised (British spelling) that the Brits didn't quite have this fast food thing down. It didn't look like people had assigned tasks. People were all doing different things. Someone working at the cash register would abandon it to go start making meals while some others walked around confused. Despite the warning signs, I went ahead and placed my standard order: Quarter pounder with cheese, ketchup, and pickles only, medium fries and a coke. The lady at the cash register looked terrified at my custom burger order. I knew I had made a mistake.

I waited 10 minutes for my sandwich while everyone around me was getting their food. She looked at me apologetically and said, "I'm so sorry, it will be ready in a few minutes." I replied, "It's fine. I know there's nothing you can do about it, but I am going to have to go. I've got tickets to a movie, and I just had time to drop in and eat on the way." She said, "Ok, we can fix this! Pick anything on the menu that doesn't need to be custom made. Anything you want. And you can have any dessert you want. Just whatever you want!" I told her some chicken tenders with my coke and fries would be great. She scurried to grab them, and I thanked her profusely. I walked away very content with my meal. You know, we've mastered efficiency and all that good business stuff back in the States, but somewhere along the way, I think we forgot how to take care of people. I walked away thinking it was possibly the best fast food experience I'd ever had. Silly, I know, but it was refreshing. I wonder how many disastrous situations could be avoided by just working hard to take care of people.