Making Better Choices By Asking Better Questions .

It was a beautiful morning in Mississauga , when I stopped at near by Tim Hortons for a quick breakfast coz I had to reach my son's school for judging Science Fair .The place was jammed. Ididn't had much time , so I was happy to grab the one chair they had available .A few minutes after I sat down , a young man carrying a tray full of left-over n foam glasses hurried passed em on his way to the kitchen, but noticing me out of the corner of his eye , stopped , came back and said , "Madam , have you been helped ?"

               "No,I haven't," I said , "but all I really want is a toasted begel with cream cheese and a large double-double and its for here and will take one orange juice to go."

                "I can get get you that , madam .There is a line up there ,so u jus be seated and I shall serve you .But madam we a running out of orange juice , will apple juice be fine ?" To which I said ,"Ah!! No thanks , with a smile on my face ." "Great I'll be back ."

                 Moments later he came with my breakfast and I thanked him .Suddenly there was a blur of activity off to my left , the wind of enthusiasm stirred behind me coz those people were celebrating the victory of their team who jus won a match .And then , over my right shoulder stretched the long arm of service delivering a 20 ounce bottle , frosty on the side n cold on the inside ----- u guessed it ----Orange Juice !!!
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            "Wow! I said ."Thank you !"
            "You're welcome," he said with a smile and hurried off again .

 Then about minutes later , I asked him ,"Excuse me , I thought you didn't had orange juice."
               "That's right, mam , we don't."
               "Well, where did this come from?"                           
               "The grocery store around the corner,mam."
                "I was taken aback.
                "Who paid for it?"
                "I did , mam ; just a dollar.
                              "Come on , you've been awfully busy.How did you have time to go get it ?" He said , "I didn't , mam .I sent Manager!"

                                 I couldn't believe it .Was empowerment , attitude or what ? I'll bet we can think of thimes we would love to look at our boss and say , "Get me a orange juice!" What a great image. I could say wuld go great heights .But beyond that , his actions paint a marvelous picture.I had so many question behind the question. But as I was having my coffee , I was thinking , what was he thinking ? What was going in his mind ? What was the choice he made ?
                                  I was the breakfast rush .He was already busy, with plenty to do .But he noticed a customer who , though not in his section , looked as though I needed some attention , so he decided to do what he could to help.I don't know what was in his mind at that moment , of course , but faced with a similar situation , many people would have had thoughts like these :
    "Why do I have to everything around here ?"
    "Who's supposed to be covering this area , anyway?"
    "Why are we always short-staffed?"
    "When are the cutomers going to learn to read the menu?"

                                 It's understandable that someone would feel and think that way , especially when frustrated, but the truth is that these are lousy questions .They're negetive and they don't solve problems.Unfortunately , though they're often the first thoughts that come to mind.It's sad fact that when most of us re faced with a frustration or challenge of some kind , our first reaction tends to be negative and defensive .
                Instead , in the moment , he discliplined his houghts , made better choices and asked better questions.Whether he used the words or not, his actions clearly indicated accountable thinking such as "What can I do to help out?" nd "How can I provide value to you/" His choices made the difference.
               By now have judged it right that I was late to school 10 minutes , but never mind you always n eveywhere learn something .Good or bad , but its always good for you , for your decision making , for taking difficult steps in life , everywhere and anywhere .I don't say that whatever decisions we take HAVE to be right , there are some decisions you take , and you don't know whether they are right or wrong , you know it only after you get the results .

               So let's continue , As I left that day , I gave him a GOOD tip , as any one would have . And when I returned a couple of months later and asked for my favourite server, his name was Jacob Miller , the other server said , "I m sorry , madam , Jacob is no longer ...."

               My thoughts flew fast at time ."Oh no , you lost him?" to which she brightly responded , "Oh , no , mam , we didn't lose him , he was promoted to management ."

               My first thought was MANAGEMENT , what waste !" ( Go ahead n mile if you are a manager ...lol..!)

               But the truth is , I wasn't at all surprised that Jacob , with the way he thoughts , would be so quickly on his way towards his chosen goals.Everyone wins : customers, coworkers, the organizations, everyone.And for Jacob , beyond the tips and promotion , I can't help but think the greatest win of all is the way he must feel about himself at the end of a day of making better choices, asking better questions.
               I still go to Tim Hortons , meet him , He got introduced himself to my kids and I still ask him , "What did u tell or ask your manager on that day ?" He smiles .

                Its all about Making Right Choices and Asking Better Questions at the right time .