As many of you already know, I work at Panera (yes, behind the counter with an apron, hat, et al!) every Friday and this section of my blog is dedicated to my observations of people as I work.Margin. That is the word for this week. I have observed that people have very little margin in their life.
For instance, a working mom wakes at the last possible minute, runs out of time and decides to put her lipstick on at the traffic lights while she rushes her kids to school/daycare. Since she didn't have time to fix coffee she decides to whip into Panera to grab a quick latte and cinnamon crunch bagel. This is where the fun begins.
She walks through the door and there is the line - about 7-10 minutes of waiting. It has just now dawned on her that she is going to be late and guess who she is going to blame for it?
Now she steps up to the register and orders her latte (skim, no whip, xtra shot, blah, blah, blah) and bagel and thrusts the money in my face as if to say "hurry up - I'm late!!!"
Now folks. Who's fault is that she is late? My inability to crank out her order in 30 seconds?
Margin. I've noticed that people don't have margin. They cram their day full of activities and leave little time for unexpected delays and when those delays occur it raises their blood pressure, they treat people like, well, less than people, and since their cholesterol is now skyrocketing they are probably going to have a heart attack and now our insurance goes up!
Margin. Saturday morning it was my turn to be the customer and I needed a bagel pack for our Small Group Leaders Training. I needed to be at the church at 8ish, so I left the house around 25 minutes early. As it turned out, it took me 15 minutes to wait in a very long line and get my bagels, and while other people in the line were all stressing and everything, I was calm, cool, and collected. I arrived at the church at 8:05 AM ready to go, stress-free.
Margin. Margin says if it takes you 15 minutes to get there (not likely in CR) then why not leave 25 or even 30 minutes ahead. When you get stuck in traffic you can relax and enjoy the time alone. Margin. Try it - it works. Tye out.
1 comment:
Tye,
I hear what you are saying, and can appreciate the frustration that comes from dealing with people who don't plan out there time very well. I am guilty of this more times than I would like to admit. I have worked in service all of my life, and have experienced this from both sides of the fence. I would challenge you to look at the situation closer. Please humor my creative writing below.
The Mom that is running late may be a a soldier's wife doing the "single parent thing" while her husband is in Iraq. She was up most of the night with a child who misses his/her Dad. She thinks the shot of caffeine will get her through the morning meeting with her boss.
The man whose day is packed with activity may be taking care of his wife and kids, and his Mom who is trying to take care of his father at home, even though the Alzheimer's is getting to be too much for her. There are three, younger, more educated people in his office that want his job, and he is so stressed that his health is at risk. He is starting to lose patience with everyone he comes in contact with. He doesn't speak up (he has to wear a strong face for his family). He over eats, smokes, and thinks he's "dealing" with the life he has been dealt. He knows that insurance rates are going up because he's checking into a private nurse for his Dad so they won't have to put him in a nursing home.
Some people are hurting on a daily basis and we just see the "mask" they put on that day. They make poor choices, they put their health at risk, and they may not get out of bed until the last minute because they can't bear another day.
I wore one of those masks the year my Dad was dying of cancer. At times I hid in humor, at other times I got impatient and I am sure I was very hard to be around. I know I left very little room for margin. I was blessed with loving people who saw me through it and loved me. Now I always wonder what kind of day someone is really having when they are rude, impatient or unpleasant. The margin may be on my part, and how I react to them.
I am not saying that everyone has a "story", some folks just manage their time poorly. I just wanted to suggest a different perspective. I appreciate your blog, keep sharing! Linda
(Sorry if this posts twice, I was having some technical difficulties!)
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