Don’t be ashamed

I believe that being embarrassed can be a good thing. Well O.K maybe to be more specific I believe in being humble. I know that as I get older and older I change and so does my personality. I know I can be cocky sometimes and the best remedy for that is a heaping helping of humble pie.

I feel that sometimes pride really gets in the way and the only way to crush that pride can be an embarrassing or humbling experience. Now I have had plenty of those where I work at the Regal Cinemas in the Mall of Georgia. One such instance always sticks out to me. As I was serving popcorn and drinks to some customers on one normal day I could see out of the corner of my eye a very disgruntled woman stomping up to concessions. I thought to myself, oh here we go again. Now the first thing that popped into my head was the number one rule at Regal, “The customer always comes first!” So as she approached the counter I went forward and asked “how can I help you?” She looked at me for a few unnerving seconds and then quickly said, “My popcorn is too buttery and too salty!” My first thought to this statement was “Are you serious?! You asked me to put all of that on!” However remembering that number one IMPORTANT rule I sucked in my pride and quickly apologized and refilled her back with fresh popcorn. I turned around, with my mouth shut, and handed her the bag. As I did something happened that I never thought would, she looked at the bag and then at me and a small apologetic smile struggled onto her face. She quietly said thank-you and took the bag and walked away. I stood there for a second, a little befuddled and just happened to glance down. She had left on the counter a few dollars for me.

Now it may not have seemed like much, but my small act of humbleness quickly paid off. I was doing my job, but it took everything I had not to just throw the popcorn down. It truly amazed me that looking towards others before myself would turn out like that. I think that not only myself but also many of those around me find it hard to get around our pride and our egos. We don’t want to admit that were wrong. We don’t want to have to act nice to others when it’s not necessary. I know that I didn’t want to give that lady new popcorn just because she said I made it to buttery and salty. But I knew it wasn’t about me it was about the customer and I was their to serve them. Just one act of humbleness can turn out great and who knows? You may end up with more than just a few dollars.