SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

THE AFTER DINNER MINT STORY by (me!) sandra, tvgp

i think i've tried to write this a couple times now, -thing is, i get to laughing so hard i can't finish it..

it is one of my all time favorite moments of 2012.

 it involves one of my favorite co-workers too, who has given me permission to write it.. and i would never write it without permission first.. that's how i roll, as they say these days

 anyway..

her name is priscilla, my beautiful co-worker friend.. and if i had to describe her in only three words, they would be:  above. and. beyond.,   if you gave me five:   the. very. light. of. God.

she is somewhere in her early 20's,  -an exotic beauty on the outside, a pure beauty on the in.   and in all my working history, i have never met anyone with a more impressive work ethic.  by that, i mean, that  -well, she just so consistently blows my mind..  going the extra mile for the customers, for her co-workers, for her supervisors..  and not just if she's in a good mood, or has extra energy, or is up for an annual review.. not just because someone might be watching; she goes the extra mile on every assignment, for every customer,  because -that is who she is.  -in her d.n.a., as they say..

and -she is a jahovah's witness.  this gorgeous young woman knows her bible!  and with great delight we exchange thoughts on different passages during slow times.  well, she provides insight and knowledge and i contribute by asking a lot of questions..  that kind of exchange.   anyway

especially in today's culture, she is a rare, pure bird.  no one at work cusses around her  -and if there's a dirty joke to be told, we take it in another room, or provide an edited G rated version if she's within earshot.  this is not out of shame or guilt on our part, but rather, out of respect, and love and admiration for her

but that is exactly what makes what happened so funny..

priscilla..   with her go-the-extra-mile nature of being..   she is never going to give a one word, yes or no, answer, but rather, she is going to provide extra-mile details

an example might be, if you were to ask her about a local restaurant, "is it good?" say..

priscilla will not only tell you whether it's good or bad, with respectful honesty, but she'll provide the who, what, where, when & why, and show you their menu, and give you driving directions, and she'll remember you by name; where you went, and follow-up by genuinely requesting your testimony when you return.

for priscilla, leaving out any of this information would be the equivalent of cheating you, or shorting you, or lacking in her own job and responsibilities.  she's never gonna brush you off because she's too busy, or doesn't care, or considers it a bother

and! she still uses, Mr. and Mrs. when she addresses people,  no -casual, first name basis stuff; respect, respect; respect.

they really don't make 'em like this anymore..

and as you can imagine, she's developed quite a following over the years, she is 'the favorite' of many, countless customers

which at last brings me to the funny part..  because it was one such customer, a loyal fan of priscilla's,  who came to the front desk after his restaurant visit, one evening and

well, you have to know a little bit about him first..

he is the type of person with what is described as a -dry- sense of humor.  maybe he's joking, maybe he's not..

that's all you need to know actually,

so he belly's up to the front desk, and gives his testimony about the restaurant to priscilla and i, and he was somewhat animated, and conversational, while we politely listened...

then he says, "and i brought you something back to say thank you!"   -the way he said this, and the smile he wore

made it seem like it was ...well, i don't know, but something really special

some of our customers have brought us whole pies!  bottles of expensive wine!   fresh flowers! and chocolates!

but this customer, he really surprised us, because, -he reached in his pocket and had, whatever it was, clutched in his closed hand

then he asked us to open our hands, so he could give us our very special thank you gift

when we opened our hands, he opened his, and handed us each one tiny individually wrapped, red n' white stripped after dinner mint;  you know, the kind you get for free from the candy dish the restaurant keeps next to the cash register

well..   was he being thoughtful? or playful?

i couldn't tell either.

if you respond like he's being playful, when in fact, he's being thoughtful   -this could be a disaster!

so, i just smiled with what i hoped was an equally confusing smile..  could be thoughtful/could be playful

and said, "thank you"

priscilla, however, if you recall from my descriptions above, is not going to respond with just a thank you because that would be like...  well, like brushing you off; a felony in priscillas super customer service world

but what does one say exactly?

i watched her look at him, then look at the mint..  and struggle
..   something, anything..  be gracious..  

and so she looked at him again, looked at the mint, looked at me..   and then back at him as he was walking away 

in the most innocent, sweet voice, in the most genuine manner your corrupt heart can imagine, she goes

"well,

um,

we'll think of you when we suck on these."

and that was all she wrote for me      - i doubled over immediately and went into a shoulder-spasm, tear wipping, belly aching laugh that i couldn't get myself out of; had to leave the room

but not before i watched it dawn on priscilla, what she said.  a facial expression for the ages

then, she got to laughing too

and when we finally could compose ourselves, we talked about how tainted the most innocent words have become

then relived the conversation twelve times and laughed and laughed some more.

talk about people to thank God for!  top of the list!   greatest work ethic of all time; greatest laugh of 2012.

posted by SHE @ 7:20 AM