#Waitress September 12
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On Monday my wife and I traveled from Knoxville TN to Asheville NC. After we checked into our hotel we caught up with our long time friends Tony and Tina Jenkins.
Tony and Tina had been in Asheville since Friday and like us were headed home on Tuesday. We decided to do a walking tour of a few of Asheville Breweries. I said we were going to a few because Asheville has 30 plus breweries and when you count the Greater Asheville area it gets closer to 50.
We started out our late Monday afternoon at Burial Beer Company.
We also visited Twin Leaf Brewing, HiWire South Slope, and DSSOLVR. At each spot we just had a taster (a small pour) before we decided it was time for dinner. We opted for Tupelo Honey right across from Pritchard Park.
The entire day in Asheville I had observed that 75% of the people we had encountered were much younger than us. If I was guessing the overwhelming majority of people were 35 and under. Not everyone believes that this younger generation possesses enough leadership qualities.
The four of us had a perfect day engaging with all of these young people and it got better when we met our WAITRESS Kristen Toler. Kristen galvanized my faith that our country still has young leaders. The next generation is filled with dynamic individuals destined to do great things with their lives.
If you are like me you have encountered all types of WAITRESSES and WAITERS. That occupation has much in common with other careers in that many people choose to just do the minimum until something better comes along. That was not the case with Kristen she was out to exceed expectations.
The first thing that Kristen did was realize that the tasters we had at various breweries had put our group in a good mood. She instinctively tried to build on that. She was looking to enhance our evening.
What she did as a WAITRESS was leadership gold. When she greeted us she made a pleasant request that we talk to her this evening. This was a first for me. Kristen understood if she could engage us beyond just taking our order she was would add value to the meal. She wasn’t looking to just do the minimum and take our order.
What Kristen did not know was our group had a preponderance to chit chat. In fact Tina is one of the best you will ever meet when it comes to chit-chatting. Kristen request that we talk to her was honored and then some.
We found out all kinds of wonderful things about our WAITRESS Kristen. She was from Asheboro NC, attends Western Carolina University, and is engaged to Jonathan a University of Nebraska Grad. She is toying with pursuing a number of professional careers after college. I am betting on her success. I am hedging that wager on the extraordinary people skills she possesses.
One example, Tina had a momentary twist of the tongue while ordering. She intended to ask Kristen if the fried chicken was bone in. What came out of Tina’s mouth was “Did Tupelo Honey’s Fried Chicken have chicken in it?”
The laughs from our table could be heard all across the restaurant. Kristen rolled with it and weaved that in to the rest of our dining experience. The key word is experience.
A WAITRESS has a job to do.
Kristen viewed her role to deliver a dining experience, not just to take our order. That is a leadership lesson from someone under 30 that we all need to remember.
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