Are you honey?
Or are you vinegar?
Most people have heard the phrase;
“You get more bees with honey; than you do you do with vinegar”
If you haven’t heard it before, now you have.
Think about it this way…
Who do you think I’m going to call back and assist first, if it all?
The person that left me a expletive riddled message (vinegar) or the person who was respectful with their request (honey)?
Whose food do you think the server is possibly going to mess with?
The person who berated them for taking too long with their cocktail order? Or the person that was patient and thanked them when the drinks did arrive?
Who’s car in still in the shop “waiting for parts”?
The list is endless with scenarios like those above and the real events below.
Last week I witnessed an angry, middle-aged male customer verbally bash a young female retail worker in a department store as she tried address his concern. As I rounded the corner, the interaction was quickly escalating. Just then another male customer approached them and told the irate man to stop harassing the woman. He stepped in, stopping the verbal abuse that contained foul language and name calling. The angry man, obviously “vinegar” then began to verbally assault this gentlemen, who promptly said, “Let’s take this outside.” Of course, it ended there because the irate man was a coward.
It was awe inspiring to see a stranger step in and defend someone being bullied that way. Truly a hero.
To me, being polite/nice is just about being a decent person. But, for many people like myself who work in the public service industry receiving basic politeness is sadly becoming more uncommon.
Recently, I went to have a few thick glass shelves cut shorter to re-purpose them. While waiting l watched the master glass cutter cut other pieces of glass along with my pieces like they were butter. I sincerely complimented him on his work. He refused to let me pay and stated he appreciated my patience and that he didn’t feel like he had to rush his work.
When these types of events occur, they solidify polite “honey” behavior and create a pay it forward domino effect.
Keep “vinegar” in the bottle and share some “honey" today.
