Ordinary situations......or are they?

So what do you do when you get that late table, it’s the snowiest night of the year, everyone else is one their way out, and you could’ve been on your way out the door also?

Nothing. However……you can go in the kitchen and vent….and then hope they will hurry along….after all, you’re not the only one stuck there. The cook has to stay, I was bartending that night and I had to stay along with the server, and of course, the manager has to stay.

Then as if to pour salt on the wound, they take their sweet time. Do they not notice that they are the only ones there? Are they oblivious to the weather conditions? And then you find out it is their first date.

So yes, they are oblivious to the weather and all else. If you have any compassion in your heart, you put yourself in their shoes and do whatever you can to make it a memorable evening. You realize in the overall scheme of things, another 30 or 40 minutes doesn't matter all that much.

I am amazed at how many people come in and say, “We had our first date here.” The time span for this statement ranges anywhere from last year to forty years ago. So just like the couple on that first date, we too, only get one chance to make a first impression.

This may become their “special place”, the night they’ll remember that they had the whole dining room to themselves, it was really rather romantic, and no one hurried them along, they just enjoyed their first date…..or someplace they want to share their fond memories with others. Either way, you’ve just gained some lifelong customers.

Of course on the flip side…….(you knew that was coming)….if it’s a night where you absolutely don’t feel like cooking or just don’t have the time, you just want a bite to eat….then “Let’s move it along people! The roads aren’t getting any better!”