I said, "Thank you."

He responded, "My pleasure."

That was the same response

I got when I ordered my food. How about a third trip to the counter for

a dessert. Me: "Thank you." Her: "My pleasure, sir."

Since then I've been to the

drive-in window there and to several other folks at the counter. It's

always consistently, "My pleasure." The "sir" at the

end seems to be optional.

I'm not naive well, not about

this anyway. I know that you don't get that identical response consistently

without a manager mandate.

Oh! Did I fail to mention that

each response was accompanied by a smile and direct eye contact?

Knowing that repetition is

the key to learning, I can imagine how repetitive this manager must be

in reinforcing with his team to consistently say, "My pleasure."

Are they sincere when they

say it? Don't know, don't care; they say it and smile. Good enough for

me.

So, I started paying more attention

to what folks in other fast-food restaurants were saying as they served

me. Most frequently when I say, "Thank you," they say, "No

problem."

I know they mean well, but

think about the implications: I was really preoccupied reading my magazine,

and you've interrupted me, but "no problem." I was headed for

the soda fountain anyway, "no problem." I'm on the clock anyway,

"no problem."

Granted, "no problem"

isn't really offensive, but I've noticed that no one yet has replied,

"no problem" with a smile. I think it may be physically impossible

to say, "no problem" and smile at the same time. Just can't

be done.

Then there's the grunt. I get

that quite a lot too. I'm not sure what exactly the grunt means; it may

mean, "drop dead." I say: "Excuse me, may I have some more

tea?" Him: "Uhhh." Me: "Thank you!" Him: "Uhhh."

Try smiling while you're saying,

"Uhhh." Actually, I think it may be impossible to even look

up while you're saying, "Uhhh." I think the grunt means, "I

don't want to be here, but nobody will pay me to hang out at the mall."

You've probably been reflecting

on your own retail experiences as you've read this. There's one more response

that's common: the eye-drooping stare. There's no smile, and it's completely

non verbal; just a solemn stare which cries out, "What can I do to

get you off my back!?"

Oh, you get your food and probably

the correct change (another story entirely), but you sort of feel guilty

for bothering the poor soul serving your food. You resist going back for

a refill NO! Please! Not the stare again!

How that Chick-fil-A manager

gets them to say with a smile while looking me directly in the eye, "My

pleasure," I don't really care. Maybe he gives bonuses or maybe he

threatens to fire them if they don't. The fact that he gets that kind

of compliance is to be commended as far as I'm concerned. It seems sincere,

and it makes me think they really are just tickled to serve me.

your sentiments, it was my pleasure.

Wayne Turner

Fayetteville