8       TIPPING POINT

KEY CONCEPTS:  balance, juggling finances, service, opportunities, people pleasing, devotion, hard work, vocation, a person inclined to be of service to the querent, possibly the querent.

MESSAGE:  Our waitress looks frazzled from the breakfast rush.  When we bust our butter pats trying to please everyone, we lose sight of syrupy stacks that remain.  Look beyond java drips and batter spatters. Thirty dirty tables and an urgent need for bus tubs need not throw you in the weeds...but if you’re dishing out a side of resentment, it’s just bad service.  Our waitron’s first mistake came from needing to coax a smile from every face, when some customers prefer to sip their morning coffee with a cranky scowl.  Do you take everything personally?  It’s not always about you.

When you’re called to serve It’s an honest living.  Here’s a tip: kill ‘em with kindness.  Make sure no one leaves hungry or neglected from your section.  Choose to view each snafu as opportunity in disguise.  Remember, Spirit is the only patron we need please.  Great service means cheerily washing dirty dishes without expectation of reward, even when it’s not in your job description.  Sometimes you’ll shake a leg and still get stiffed…but maybe big bucks await under those dirty plates! Treat co-workers as congenially as your customers.  Don’t get mad at the cook for hollering from the kitchen rather than rushing to your side: why assume he acted out of anger, or to inconvenience you?  Maybe he burned his hand in the fryer and needs your help!  Don’t let your mug furrow over imaginary slights. The Tipping Point occurs when you realize that the whole cuppa joe must be emptied…before it can be filled with Infinite fresh-ground brew.

RELATED SITES:  TEXAS LONGHORN CAFE, GLENRIO, TX; COZY DOG DRIVE-IN, SPRINGFIELD, IL; ROCK CAFE, STROUD, OK; MIDPOINT CAFE, ADRIAN, TX; ARISTON CAFE, LITCHFIELD, IL; CLANTON’S CAFE, VINITA, OK, RED CEDAR INN MUSEUM & VISITOR’S CENTER, PACIFIC, MO.