I was reminded again this week of the power of the sincere compliment. The scene this time was a small country restaurant in Richfield Springs, New York. This is a lazy little upstate town situated on Route 20 between Syracuse and Albany. I call it a restaurant but the term coffee dive might do it more poetic justice. It is a small “joint” that serves breakfast. Got the picture?
There I was with my two guests from Massachusetts, along with my wife, ready to order a couple of eggs and an order of French Toast with a side of sausage. The waitress, who I did not recognize as a regular, approached the table (with a smile I might add) and asked if four cups of coffee were on our minds? We promptly nodded our heads in unison and my guest (Jim) immediately complimented our server on her festive sweater. It was decorated with a Halloween motif and was quite noticeable.
That is the moment four strangers and a waitress became more comfortable with each other, as it was obvious that this sweater meant something more than warmth to this young lady. We chatted, traded quick stories, and smiled at one another before she danced away to fetch four cups of Joe.
The rest of the story unfolds without a need for further explanation. A simple, yet sincere observation and unsolicited gesture brightened up a stranger’s day and made our breakfast more enjoyable from the git-go. (Git-go is a country phrase used by us bumpkins. We are not sure exactly what it means, but it manages to get people’s attention and I believe it has a universal meaning.)
Later, between bites of sausage, Jim said to the table, “I try to give at least one sincere compliment a day.” I thought to myself that this was a pretty good habit to get into. I decided to adopt that practice as my own moving forward.
You might want to try it yourself. When you stop to think about it, there is no downside, and the worst thing that can happen is that you make somebody’s day. “Hey! That’s a good looking tie.”
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club, mike@mikemarchev.com.
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