Take Back Your Life!

“I speak to everyone the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.”  ~ Albert Einstein

About 7 years ago, I wrote about the issue I have with people assigning human worth to job titles.

For example, if you are a VP of Marketing, according to our system you are a more worthy and important person than a home health worker. And deserve to be treated in a better way.

Please, no.

My philosophy is to treat everyone in the better way.

On shows like American Idol, there were contestants with a wide variety of jobs, many of them low paid. Once they won the show, they were held in high regard because they left those jobs behind.

That people value them more makes once they appeared on the show makes no sense.

This is why I always ask the waiter for his or her name. Right off the bat. And always call them by their name rather than,”waitress.” (I did some research and it seemed that most wait staff of any gender preferred to be called waiters, not waitresses or food servers.)] 

I’ve seen some waiters treated really terribly, even with people I was with and it makes me not want to go out with them again. I often ask why they do that and they don’t seem to even know.

Maybe it is because I was a waitress in HS and had some odd experiences. I don’t recall anyone asking what may name was except maybe a HS guy trying to pick me up. Don’t think we wore name tags either.

I always get fantastic service when I call a waiter by name. We both feel good during the interaction. It is a profession like any other and ought to be treated accordingly.

You can learn something from every one, all the time.

We had a waiter last week who was really sweet to my mother on her birthday. I asked for a candle on her slice of cake and the first thing he said to me was, “What is her name?” He brought out a dish with her name scripted around the edges. It was really pretty! She was so happy.

He took good extra care of us and it showed.

Maybe it was because I asked him his name? We make people feel important when we ask them their names and then use it.

Hey, you matter is the message that comes across.

Recently, I read parts of Dale Carnegie’s book: How to make friends and influence people. One of the top ways was to learn and say their names. People love the sound of their name being said. Made me feel good that I was already doing this.

Do you like your name being said?

Do you feel better?

I know I do.

I go to the farmer’s market and love getting these certain breakfast sandwiches. The young woman who takes the orders remembered my name from last year. And I asked what her name was. It is the same name as my niece, so I know I will not forget it.
I appreciated that!

We’d all get along better, if we stopped valuing each other based on things like job titles, salary and size of home.

None of it is relevant when you think about it.

Not to mention, if someone has a preferred job title and falls on hard times, then are they worth less if they lose that job title?

Perhaps, give it a try and see if you feel better. I know your waiter will.

Thanks!

G.