I went to my local grocery store for my weekly shopping today and decided to stop by the deli to get a sub. There were three people working the counter: two women and one man. I waited for my turn and got one of the women. Now, I’ve worked in the restaurant industry when I was younger so when I was asked what I wanted to order I efficiently and concisely told her what I wanted: turkey, bacon, Swiss, on white, toasted, with mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onion, please.

She proceeded to make my sandwich. When she wasn’t talking to the other woman, in Jamaican I think, she would ask me at each step what I wanted: what kind of bread? What type of cheese? Did you want that toasted? What veggies? Mayo or mustard?

In the time it took the woman that was serving me to finish making my sandwich, the one guy that was working served three customers. He was friendly, he smiled, he asked the customer when he put on a topping “How’s that, boss? Is that enough?” When he handed over the finished sandwich to the customer he smiled and wished them a great day. When the woman pushed my sandwich to me across the counter she looked up and asked “who’s next?”

After I went through checkout, I walked over to customer service and asked to talk to a manager. When The manager asked me if there was a problem, I told him I wanted to compliment the man at the deli counter and told himj how friendly and helpful he was. He didn’t even assist me, but I was so impressed by his behavior compared to the women that were working there that I wanted to say something. I was told by the manager that employees receive a free lunch when they get customer compliments.

So gents, I just want to suggest that when avail yourself of a shop or service, be sure to take the time to compliment a man that works there to management. It might mean a bigger raise, a promotion, or maybe even just a free lunch.