Fit for Life: Lessons Learned from a Dining Experience!

Fit for Life: Lessons Learned from a Dining Experience!

Wednesday night, we decided to go for a walk around Lincoln Woods and then go grab dinner somewhere casual.

My girlfriend has every food allergy under the sun, so our places to eat are limited.

We decided to go to a vegan restaurant in Providence.

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I have been logging my food in an app we use with our coaching program and had a lot of carbs left for the day, so eating at this restaurant would allow me to fulfill my daily quota.

I ordered their version of a burger, with homemade fries, and she ordered a salad. I ordered the meal then wanted a piece of homemade cornbread for an appetizer. It was a white board special that came with a bowl of chili.

So, when the waitress came back by, I asked if I could just get the cornbread without the chili and without hesitation, she said no, it comes with the chili, and we only have an equal amount, so we can’t just sell you the cornbread.

Well, that didn’t sound right to me. How can a kitchen be that accurate and make an equal amount of cornbread to complement the chili?? Who’s that perfect? I suddenly got quiet and went into deep thought.

My girlfriend was reading my mind and the look on her face knew what I wanted to say. She encouraged me not to, and said to let it go, and not be your usual pushy self (I call it being persuasive but….).

 

My first instinct was to ask the waitress to double check and ask the kitchen if they had any extra cornbread, however, we were relaxing and enjoying the evening sitting outdoors, so I didn’t push the issue.

Then our meals came out, and low and behold, the waitress brought a nice fresh piece of homemade cornbread to the table. Now my night was complete.

I enjoyed every bit and thanked the waitress several times for going above and beyond to make a customer happy. Her tip was 25% instead of 20% just because she did beyond her minimum job requirement.

So, what are the lessons learned here?

 

I have several lessons.

Some for me, some for the waitress, or anyone else in the customer service business.

First: There is strength in restraint.

Normally, I would have been a little more “persuasive” in getting what I wanted.

I wasn’t asking for a favor; I was willing to pay extra for the cornbread and didn’t see any legitimate reason why I couldn’t have it.

But she was incredibly nice (even while telling me no) and we were enjoying sitting outside in the nice weather, so I showed restraint and kept my mouth shut instead of coming off and sounding argumentative.

This is a good example of why emotional discipline is so important and knowing when to pick and choose your battles.

 

Never be satisfied. Complacency will kill momentum.

Like I said, “normally” I wouldn’t be as complacent as I was, and that’s because when we become complacent on a regular basis, life will pass us by and leave us empty-handed.

This goes with sales, nutrition, and exercise. When we feel we’ve done “enough” to get by, it kills our momentum to progress further.

This was a rare example of me being complacent. However, the environment called for it.

If the cornbread was that important to me, I would have tried harder to get my way, however, there are more important issues to expend energy on rather than the current situation.

 

Adversity reveals genius:

Not the end of the world, but it rubbed me the wrong way when I couldn’t get what I wanted. I always consider these things first-world problems however it was adversarial, and it gave me something to think about.

Maybe others asked the same question and the chef already said no; maybe she was just following previous orders. Maybe this was an unusual circumstance for them to have extra.

Either way, it made me stop, think, and not be reactive to a minor situation that could have escalated into controversy.  

 

Impulse control. Impulsive decisions create problems.

Just like I said above, acting impulsively could’ve created bad blood between myself and the waitress, so taking a second to digest the situation avoided any issues. This goes for everything we do, from eating, and spending money to road rage……. Think of the last time you acted impulsively, and I’ll bet it didn’t go well.

Besides the lessons I learned, some lessons for the waitress would be: (if she is interested)

She should NOT have said “no” right off the bat and said, I’ll go check with the cook and see if there is any extra.

In the customer service business, you want to create an outstanding experience and make the customer feel good.

It is also a good example of problem-solving. Never just say “no” without exploring all the options first.

When she said no, I wasn’t an extremely happy customer at that point, and that could’ve been avoided.

(Am I dramatizing this situation a bit? Absolutely, however, there were still lessons learned that can carry over into more meaningful situations)

Go above and beyond (which she totally ended up doing just for asking for me) from start to finish.

 

The moment a person walks into your establishment, they should feel welcome, and you should be excited they are there. The overall experience was excellent, and I will certainly go back due to the friendliness of the entire staff and the way they accommodated us.

I know this article doesn’t directly pertain to fitness. However, I try to share everyday lessons learned and relate them to everything we do in everyday life.

Mindset is everything and when we keep our minds open to change and improvement, we operate at a higher level in every aspect of our existence.

When you keep yourself focused on improving yourself and the people around you, everyone wins.

 

Committed to your success,

Coach Matt