A powerful lesson in humility that served as an inspiration for HOTEL MURDER CLUB
Many of my favorite memories take place before I amounted to anything, not to say I amount to something now. Some of those recollections are those while I worked for Media Play and McDonalds immediately following college. Granted, I was working for minimum wage with a couple of degrees under my belt, but apparently, that did not qualify me as being mature enough to handle greater responsibilities.
That was okay, I still reminisce the fun times at Media Play, hanging out with creative geniuses who also haven’t achieved anything of significance yet, but shared a love for movies, games, books and music. Humility was never a topic we pondered.
McDonalds: the setting of a demonstraton that taught me a powerful lesson
Media Play didn’t cover all the bills, so I also worked at McDonalds. I had the rare pleasure of affixing pins on my cap that recognized me for the most accurate drawer (the scores of pins may have fed into my ego a bit), thus I worked in the drive through, collecting cash and swiping credit cards.
Being an introverted personality, this afforded me some privacy, stuck alone in a cubby, often with a book by my side. My favorite authors at the time (and still are) were Terry Brooks and Michael Crichton (I only mention this bit in because I’m an author…I might even be a great author one day! Haha). I was happy being left alone taking orders, handling the cash, giving receipts, and instructing hungry patrons to the next window to collect their food.
The Horrible Customer: demonstrates a lack of humility
One evening, somebody had to rattle my nerves for no reason at all, and the best part was, every employee with a headset heard what happen.
Here’s what happened…actually, I can’t remember all the details…I just remember this lady in a fur coat chewed my bum with a self-assured, cocky attitude, full of pride and arrogance (I might be embellishing this a bit, but I remember feeling like this is an accurate description), demeaning me as a simple, minimum-waged fast-food employee. This stranger verbally attacked for no reason at all (I’m sure I was totally innocent, right?).
Once the lady took her change and left, I stormed out of the cubby, upset, spouting slurs (not cussing, but I was angry enough to throw out some choice words). My manager calmed me down, assured me that all was okay, and helped me return to work.
The Humblest Customer: demonstrates an act of humility
About ten minutes later (It could have been five minutes, or fifteen…who knows?), my manager called me to the front lobby, and there I found myself face to face with the horrible lady in the fur coat. Next to her stood a gray-haired man whom I assume was her husband, and with a kind, gentle tone, he spoke to her. “Tell him.”
The woman, probably in her fifties, straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin with dignity and did as she was told, but with a calm, kind tone. “I’m very sorry for what I said. I was completely in the wrong. Please forgive me.”
I, along with my fellow employees, stood there with dropped jaws. This woman demonstrated something I had never witnessed before…genuine humility. Whatever her motivations may have been, she came across as sincere, and her eyes stayed focused on mine the entire time, as if I was the most important person in the world to her, giving me the impression that her apology was genuine and heartfelt. In my eyes, she was the humblest person I had ever met. Those words removed all anger from me, leaving me with both peace, joy, and utmost admiration for her.
She taught me a lesson in humility, one that I struggle to emulate constantly.
An inspiration for HOTEL MURDER CLUB
Why do I tell this story?
In our book, Hotel Murder Club, the main character works at that front desk of a hotel, checking in guests and tending to their needs as appropriate. She runs into some guests who speak and treat her as though she is beneath them. They don’t know her past, who she is, and they certainly can’t grasp her potential, but when she gets fed up, they will find out.
But some guests are kind, patient, and humble, and that approach can diffuse a proverbial bomb.
Explore Samantha’s story in Hotel Murder Club, and find out what she’ll do if you wrong her and not apologize.
