I was thinking the other day about times gone by……and I immediately flashed to my long time friend and now Business Owner, Helena. Helena owns a “Jets Pizza” store in St Joeseph, MI. and is doing quite well with it! But it was not her current enterprise that put her in mind, it was a former position she had.
Helena used to be a Barmaid and served everyone’s favorite libation at a local upscale restaurant….that’s not anything that should send up flares, but it’s the conversation that she she served them that was unique. Helena had a chameleon like quality that allowed her to talk to just about anybody and everybody.
Several examples come to mind…..I remember a fellow came in one early evening and Helena went through the usual greeting and order taking. After a few minutes she went back over to the man and started a conversation, it was rather a unique ice breaker that she used to do it. She asked the man if he knew his IQ and he replied that it was 154. The man then asked why she inquired about it and she told him that she liked to know the level of conversation she should engage in for her customers. He seemed happy with the explanation. She then proceeded to talk about the latest iterations of “Global Warming Theory” and other topics of conversation she felt he’d feel comfortable with as the evening passed.
Another time there was a young fellow that came in and she used the same tactic with him and she gleaned he had an IQ of 102. Immediately she started talking about football and Nascar and other such points of conversation that appeared to put the lad at ease with the flow of things.
The most recent observation I made with Helena’s methods of hospitality was with a young lady that came into the bar. She seemed a little nervous and once again Helena worked her magic. Helena asked her what her IQ was, the young lady conveyed she though her IQ was in the 80-90 range if she recalled correctly. So Helena asked her how she felt her vote for President Obama was working out for the American people……………