YOU wanna be KIND? Be PATIENT

Are you a patient person? As you get older, are you becoming more or less patient? Does the following definition of patience fit you? Patience is the ability to stay calm and not get angry or upset when you have to wait a long time, deal with a hard problem, or face a slow task. 
Earlier this year, Chris and I were the first customers when the doors opened (surprise, surprise) at 7am at a Mt Eden (Auckland) cafe. Being twins, we mostly like the same food choices. Our order was toast with honey and a flat white. Our toast order must have been seldom asked for and caused some confusion. The wait staff came back to us three times for clarification. The price changed a few times too. You could feel the stress levels rising as the wait staff were doing their best to get the order right and on time. 
I can ‘hear’ a few cynical ‘voices’ saying, ‘the order wasn’t that difficult’. True, but they were inexperienced, still at high school and the last thing they needed were two curmudgeons harshly criticising them. 
We continued to be pleasant and patient and they did too. There was no point in making a hard job harder and really it’s no way to treat people. 
One day soon, we will return to the cafe with a ‘no worries’ attitude. Mistakes were made, but does it really matter?

Comments

  1. Chantal BehrAugust 20, 2026 at 7:51 AM

    Thank you for the reminder. We need little gems like that to keep being patient.

    ReplyDelete

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