A person buying a bottle of wine brings it to the grocery store clerk. The clerk rings it up and sees that it’s a $70 bottle of wine. The clerk is flabbergasted at the price someone would pay for a bottle of wine. The clerk cringes and nervously says the total out loud, nervous of the reaction the customer will have. “Maybe she grabbed the wrong bottle,” the clerk thinks.
There’s tension there. There’s storytelling in that moment (every word of which is from the clerk’s side so far). But none of that narrative is the guest’s.
“Here you are,” she says while handing over her credit card. And without prompt, “My friend is flying in from Italy this weekend. I haven’t seen her in years and this is the wine she has talked about missing most. I can’t wait to see the look in her eyes when I bring it out to her and the guy she is visiting with. I’m so glad you had it!”
The clerk exhales, realizing how this wine is suddenly worth much more than $70.
—
We can’t impose our stories unto others when we’re there to serve them.
Just as we need to leave egos at the door, so to we need to leave our perceptions of how we would act as the recipient of what we’re serving.
Stay Positive & It’s All About Empathy
Photo credit
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