Anyone who works or has worked in the hospitality industry is well aware of the variety of ‘types’ of customers out there. Some might say that waitresses in particular have seen it all.
Nicole Marie, a waitress of 10 years, was so stunned by a recent visit to her restaurant that she took to social media to share her story. And we’re sure glad she did!
Nicole was in the middle of a long shift at her workplace, The Red Dog Saloon in Milford, Michigan, when she noticed a group of middle school aged boys enter the restaurant.
She was admittedly not very excited, making the assumption so many of us would have equally made: the teens would be loud, rude, and rowdy. She braced herself for a difficult next hour or two.
But what unfolded instead left her speechless.
Right from the start, the boys appeared unlike any of the stereotypes we might imagine. They began by sitting down at their table in a surprisingly orderly manner, and spoke no louder than any other guests in the restaurant.
The group then waited patiently for Nicole to approach them and take their order. At first, Nicole was confused and thought that their parents must be around or would be showing up sooner or later, supervising to ensure their good behavior.
But no parents walked in. Nicole inquired and the boys confirmed that they were on their own, adding that they’d been looking forward to their visit for weeks and were quite excited.
Nicole proceeded to take the boys’ order, becoming increasingly impressed with their good behavior. Not a single one missed a ‘thank you’ or a ‘please.’ When one of the boys picked up his phone during the order, another asked him to hang up as it was ‘rude.’
She soon served them their order, which they sat and ate politely and quietly, no different than any of the other patrons.
“It was so heartwarming to see how much they were trying, especially when there were no parents around to scold them if they weren’t on their best behavior,” Nicole wrote.
Nicole was not the only person at the restaurant that day that was impressed.
Another guest had seemingly also noticed the boys’ exemplary behavior, and was so impressed that at the end of their meal, they approached their table and announced that they would be covering their bill.
The very grateful boys thanked the guest and ultimately left Nicole an extra big tip.
But perhaps above all, the boys outdid themselves the most in terms of how they left their table.
When Nicole returned to clear the table, she found that they had assembled their empty plates and cups in an incredibly orderly way, making her work all the much easier.
Nicole could no longer contain her amazement at the whole experience and snapped a photo of the table, later sharing it to Facebook.
“Even grown adults (myself included) rarely leave the table this clean!,” she captioned.
Nicole’s post began to spread like wildfire online, so far gaining over 28,000 likes, 10,000 shares and 1,600 comments.
“I just wanted to give a big props to the parents of these boys- keep doing what you’re doing!!” Nicole added.
Needless to say, the entire experience from start to finish gave Nicole back her faith in future generations.
“Today my faith in future generations was restored!!” she wrote.
Stereotypes can be dangerous and this story reminds us that it’s important not to judge a book by its cover!
I was utterly impressed with these young men’s behavior and firmly believe that there are many, many other similarly well behaved teens out there – despite the common stereotypes that abound.
Share this story to celebrate these wonderful young men!
