Just Cured - Experience Fine Foods

Over the course of the last week or so, I have been privy to many conversations on the subject of respect. Invariably, it has been the speaker who deserves more or has been shown too little. I was not a part of any of these conversations; I was simply an observer. As a consequence, I was not in a position to give advice or render an opinion. This is my forum for doing so.

I wish I could have told each of the complainants this simple truth — the shortest path to receiving respect is by showing respect.

To the guy shouting his carryout order over the heads of the half-dozen guests in front of him: Please recognize the principle of “first come, first served.” The people in front of you in line are deserving of your respect, as is the woman taking your order and to whom you exhibit this behavior several times each month. Her demand that you abide by the rules is not disrespectful to you; it is a sign of respect to those you are mistreating.

To the woman talking on her cell phone while the store clerk attempted to wait on her: Just because the saleslady is not trained in mind- or mime-reading does not mean that she is both stupid and deaf. We all understood, however, the rolling of your eyes and your loud sighs. We also heard you tell your friend what an idiot the saleslady was. Funny, she got really smart and efficient when the man behind you made eye contact with her, smiled and (imagine this) spoke his requests clearly and concisely to her.

To the gentleman who upon arriving at the business lunch placed his BlackBerry on the table right in front of his potential client: No, I am not shocked that you didn’t get the contract. Do you have a clue what you told your client with that one gesture? You told him that the person calling or emailing was more important to you than he was, regardless who happened to call. Without a word you told him he was the least important person in the world to you. You could have made a show of turning it off. Better yet, you could have left it in your pocket or your briefcase.

To the person who hung up on the restaurant reservationist: Do you really think her job is to keep you from dining in that restaurant? Or that your bullying will magically make the dining room a hundred square feet larger just for Saturday night? In fact her job is to fill that restaurant to capacity as many nights as possible. And when you threaten to call your “good friend” the owner, you are more credible if you can correctly pronounce your good friend’s name.