Social Interaction

After our games on Sunday two of my room mates and I went to Friendly's. In previous trips to this restaurant the service has been extremely poor. When we were seated I smiled at the waitress, and while using her name, said hello. Throughout the greeting I asked her how she was and she responded with the typical "im okay how are you?" I said that I was hungry and asked what entree was her personal preference. I took her advice and while waiting for a friend to make up her mind I asked "don't you hate it when people take forever to order?" She laughed and said it was no problem. This is slightly dissimilar from the secret of Socrates, but I think the humor eased the silence. Later in the meal she brought out the food and she served me the wrong entree. I asked her if this were the entree that she recommended and she said there must have been a mistake in the kitchen. Instead of taking the food and correcting the mistake she gave it to our table to eat. This was a nice gesture and unnecessary because I have been in similar situations where I had to wait another twenty minutes for food. The service that night was very good and I think it was partly due to Dale Carnegie and the book How To Win Friends and Influence People.