How one awful dining experience transformed into a tradition of giving.
Around the end of our college experience, my teammates and I would consistently get late-night food.
The nightlife scene became less fun, but spending time with close friends became more enjoyable.
We frequented a widely-known 24 hour diner franchise. (I’ll protect the brand by not mentioning it.)
The group usually consisted of a diverse crowd that contained folks from different ethnicities and backgrounds.
One evening, the server and cook identified our orders by our skin color. The group was outraged.
Other dining patrons witnessed it as well, and they seemed more outraged than us.
To be level-headed, we were actually more disappointed than upset, but decided to be emotional amongst ourselves and not the staff.
We knew that emotion towards the staff would not end up well.
We could’ve complained to the manager, we could’ve broadcast it on social media, we could’ve even went straight to the news with it, but we decided otherwise.
We decided to communicate, educate, discuss, and express our disappointment.
We decided to lead with love.
Most folks would’ve thought we were crazy to just let these people off the hook and to give them a pass. They might’ve even thought we were soft.
The staff appeared to have felt remorse and shame. We thoroughly communicated the wrong-doing.
Our most level-headed in the group did something unexpected, he tipped well over 150% on the bill.
(I don’t share this to brag, but to demonstrate an example of loving individuals who have wronged you.)
The server’s face was befuddled as we left the restaurant. However, our reactions were quiet. We weren’t proud for the massive tip, we didn’t brag to each other, we weren’t excited at the server’s puzzlement; in fact, this story was never shared until now.
This was over 5 years ago.
As of today, we still go to locations of this franchise every now-and-then, but our message is still consistent. ‘Love everyone.’
We’ve had great experiences since the disappointing one.
There is no particular rhyme or reason why we consistently tip largely.
Maybe because we presume the staff doesn’t paid much, or that we eat in a lower-income neighborhood, or even our meal isn’t that expensive.
Whatever the reason, we know that we can change someone’s day with a simple gesture.
Postface.
The purpose of sharing this story is to inspire others, as we inspired ourselves by our own actions.
I believe our message is important in the world. Regardless of the time period, society, cultural norms, perspectives, and opinions.
You can ‘Love Everyone’ with a small sacrifice of time, money, or energy, and it can bring an everlasting positive impact to their life.
