Humbled Helper
Not in the noble way. Like helping with humility. But humbled in an attempt to be helpful that turned into a calamity of stupidity.
I was writing thank you notes from the Connect desk when a loud “clink” followed by a gush of milk spilling out into the open space got me out of my seat and into service. A customer spilled a full 16oz beverage. In being hospitable, I told her not to touch a thing… this is what we do. We are here to serve. And to minimize any potential embarrassment, I casually let her know it happens all the time. It’s just what we do. And that’s true, but you wouldn’t know it by the one-woman chaos that then ensued.
Heading to the mop sink, I asked Faith to check on the customer and replace the spilled drink. Upon arriving at the sink, I found a priorly used mop head screwed on just a bit too tight for me to replace. With the clock ticking on my urgency, I reconsidered my next steps. Thankfully Faith popped in to let me know the customer was taken care of and she suggested the spot mop – a much quicker solution that had worked on a coffee spill for her once before. And although warry of its ability to sop up such a large spill, her confidence encouraged me. I didn’t want to waste any more time. I grabbed the spot mop and ran for the spill.
Well, we were wrong. I began a casual conversation to ease the customers’ embarrassment as I moved milk around the floor. I guess I was hoping that in some miracle of events the mop pad would become a super sponge to the resistant milk. But eventually, I had to face the music and recognize the thing I was portraying as if no big deal was becoming a bit of an ordeal. I left the customers with a puddle and an awkward spot mop perched on a neighboring customer’s empty chair at their permission. I raced back to the mop sink tagging our shop manager, Justin, to help me replace the old mop head as I filled the bucket. But Faith got to my side first and with her brute strength, or perhaps patience and clear head, I was now back at the spill with a clean mop, mop bucket, and the caution sign I had forgotten in my original hurry. Now everything would be fine… nope.
The soaked spot mop needed to be moved without dripping milk everywhere else, but I didn’t really have a plan. I made a move, nonetheless, juggling the spot mop, the mop, and the bucket. I’m actually not bad at juggling oranges, but things with long poles, not so much. I tipped the mop bucket over spilling water everywhere. Sigh. Still not a big deal, but kind of a big deal. The customer now had to help me put the bucket upright and save face when all I was trying to do was make this a nothing scenario for her. With milk now mixed with a bucket of water encroaching upon more customers, I squeezed the mop in the mop wringer a thousand times and mopped and mopped and mopped. I did my best, but it wasn’t great. Humbled, I returned the mop to the sink catching a few milk drips behind the coffee bar on the way. Might as well, right? Announcing the wet workspace to the team, one joked to another to not slip and get us a workers comp claim. We laughed. Then in one spectacular finish, I made it back to the mop sink only to knock the bucket over once again. This time my foot caught the fall and the heavy bucket hardware smashed and sliced my baby toe wide enough for a puddle of blood to quickly form.
This is when FTC 9-1-1 sprang into action. Always helpful, Jude grabbed a bandage and alcohol swab, but Brenda entered and saw the band-aid would be no match for this injury. She returned with a roll of paper towels, a rolling stool, and a soaked tea bag and went to work. Scalpel! You learn a thing or two working in a kitchen and as a former restaurant owner serving her retirement years with us, Brenda has had her fair share of time in a kitchen. While I sat on the stool with the tea bag doing its job to stop the bleeding, Brenda and Jude buzzed around cleaning me and the bloodied floor. They were the absolute best and they nursed me back to stability. In fact, everyone was doing great in this scenario but me.
What in the world went wrong? I think the classic case of reacting vs. responding and operating outside of my lane. Google tells us that reacting is an automatic, often impulsive, response while responding involves more deliberate and thoughtful action. In the customer service business, nearly every moment is an opportunity to react or respond as we serve our customers and team with a variety of needs changing from moment to moment.
Some describe their job as putting out fires all day. If this spilled milk was a literal fire, then I was in trouble. Because I was more impulsive than thoughtful and my thoughtless decisions only belabored the situation inconveniencing others and causing me pain in the end. If I had properly responded, I wouldn’t have even grabbed the mop because I wasn’t assigned to the floor that day. Those appropriately dressed and ready for food service would have done their job better than me and my misplaced authority.
At the leadership table, I am annoyingly detailed and inquisitive, requiring our team to fully think through the pros and cons before making final decisions. I even question the final decision a few more times, if I’m being honest. Because with a team of 40 people looking to our business for provision and a community hoping our business will serve them well for years to come, I want to be incredibly intentional and wise. I find safety and comfort in choosing steps to respond thoughtfully and yet in this very basic everyday thing like spilled milk, I reacted like a fool. I was out of my lane and lacking wisdom. In fact, my whole day felt clumsy and impulsive. And on this team, there’s grace for that.
We don’t seek a team of perfect people. We prefer honest and reflective people who seek to grow through their mistakes. Thank the Lord we also have a team that will lift you up or jump right in when you’re completely off your game. Today I have a wide gash, deep bruise, and maybe a slight fracture of my baby toe. But I also have fresh insight, regained wisdom, and gratitude for our sweet team.
This blog post pairs best with an Irish Coffee. It hits perfect with the right amount of caffeine for alert decision making, whiskey for relaxing and thoughtful reflection, Irish Cream, Brown Sugar and Whipped Cream for the sweetness of the people that surround you and a splash of milk because, well, you'll see.
Recipe: Build in Glass .5 oz Milk + 1 oz Irish Whiskey + .5 oz Bailey's Irish Cream + .5 oz Brown Sugar Syrup. Fill with coffee and top with whipped cream.