A few weeks ago my wife and I went out to breakfast at Hardees. When got our food and sat down to eat, my wife opened up her pork chop biscuit she saw that the pork patty was all dried out and rubbery.
“Do you want to send it back?” I asked.
She shook her head. “It’s good enough I guess. I’ll just eat it anyway.”
She took a bite out of the biscuit and started chewing with a pained expression on her face. She swallowed and was getting ready to take another bite, when one of the employees came our table and said, “Hey, I was cleaning up a spill over there and I happened to see your wife’s patty was overdone. Sometimes it happens like that when they leave it in the oil for too long. I got you guys another one.”
He handed my wife the most beautiful pork chop biscuit I’ve ever seen, and went back to work.
I was blown away. This guy, this one amazing guy had seen from across the room that there was something wrong with our food, and without being asked took action to fix it. I was impressed. So impressed in fact that I filled out one of those customer service ratings cards specifically so that I could brag on the great service this guy had given us. And I’ve never filled out one of those cards before.
We finished our food and as we were leaving I thought about the impact that one guy had had on my day. I’ve probably seen thousands of Hardees advertisements in my life, all of them trying to make me think better of their restaurant and their food, and yet this one guy had single-handedly done more to improve my image of Hardees than any commercial ever could have.
How? He did something amazing. More importantly, he did something amazing that he didn’t have to do. He stepped outside of his comfort zone and took the initiative to make our fast food breakfast as good as it could be.
It made me realize that I want to make that kind of a difference in someone else’s life. I was initially going to apply this to social media as an example of the difference one person can make, but in truth this goes way beyond social media. This is something we can use in every corner of our lives.
The bottom line is this. We can make a difference. No matter where we are, we can change the world. But we can’t do it by sitting on our butts and doing only what is expected of us. We have to go beyond the expectations of others to make an impact. We have to choose to be extraordinary. And if we do that, it won’t matter if we’re working in a fast food joint or writing the great American novel, we will make a bigger difference than we could ever imagine.
The Unsanity Files 
Hi Albert. You know, I think you’re spot on. And I think we’ll never know exactly how our behavior affects those around us. I remember some of the pivotal moments in my life when total strangers said or did something that made my day, or even nudged me onto new paths. I realize they probably don’t even remember me or those encounters, and I wonder if I have ever done that for others. I hope so. Thanks for your post. All the best.
That would certainly make my day. 🙂 A little kindness goes a long way. 🙂
What a nice thing to read about at the start of my day! See, it’s things like this that prevent me from completely losing faith in the human race.
Even a smile from a stranger and a ‘thank you’ can go a long way.