The charity that is kindness
You walk into a restaurant after an entire day at work, famished and tired, craving something, anything, to fill your stomach; someone comes to attend to you with a jovial smile and an excellent menu in hand. This is none other than a restaurant server, or more commonly known as a waiter.
Naturally, the little time that you spend from your busy life at a restaurant or a café is meant to be enjoyed. The ambience, the decor, and the food, along with the hospitality of the servers, contribute to ensure that our dining experiences are pleasing, if not memorable.
Yet why is it that minutes after stepping out of the restaurant, we become completely oblivious to the efforts they put up during our entire meal to ensure that we leave happy?
Undoubtedly, almost all professions comprise of difficulties. Whether the hurdles are big or small, they are daunting nevertheless, and have to be tackled with wits and expertise. And, this applies to workers in every sector including restaurant servers.
The experience is not any different, even in Ramadan.
From early afternoon, waiters start taking orders from customers. They try keeping the customers as comfortable as possible since the last hours before sundown always make them restless and agitated. With delectable food and hospitable attitude, they try to win the hearts of all their customers.
At the time of iftar, waiters only get to break their fast with a glass of water. They remain on the move, serving each customer with freshly cooked meals fresh out of the kitchen while skipping the opportunity to sit and have their own meals. It is only after each customer has left satisfied when they can sit down to their own iftars.
In Ramadan, waiters also have to work at odd hours past midnight in order to serve the customers arriving for sehri. While the rest of us are enjoying a few hours of sleep, waiters spend their time clad in uniform serving every customer without complains.
Nowadays, most restaurant servers are university students pursuing this profession as a part time job along with their education. Nonetheless, often this profession is looked down upon or even ridiculed by people. Instead, should we not appreciate the herculean effort behind their work?
So next time when you are enjoying a meal at a restaurant with your friend or family, would you remember to smile back and be kind? Would you remember to tip generously before you leave? Would you treat them with the respect they deserve? In a world where we can be anything, let’s be kind first.
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