It was an hour past midnight and my friends and I were desperately looking for a food joint open at this unearthly hour in Gurgaon. Fortunately, we spotted a famous restaurant that was about to shut down and on our persistent requests, they agreed to take our order.
Before I proceed ahead with this story, let me tell you, Gurgaon is called a millennial city. It is the hub of lavish apartments, high rise buildings, corporate offices and in turn, has mostly a crowd consisting of well-educated working professionals who frequently visited pubs and cafes.
Coming back to that night, there were merely four other customers and I was standing in the queue to place my order.
"Dude, how can you charge this much GST. Who's going to pay this extra 450 bucks? Oh, now you will charge service tax as well," sarcastically shouted a man. His every move brought whiff of alcohol and he was finding it difficult to maintain his balance while standing.
The man behind the cash counter looked tired. I could see his eyes were red and he was leaning on the wall for support. Since customers are regarded as 'gods' in the hospitality industry, he put up a faint but genuine smile and explained how CGST and SGST are charged by the government. "Sir, it's our restaurant's policy. We levy ten per cent service tax and rest is as per the law. We have mentioned it on our menu card and put up a board on our entrance as well."
"Look, I don't give a damn. You are shamelessly looting us. Please bill my dinner without the service tax," shouted the guy while satisfying his ego and proving he has an upper hand.
This argument continued for the next five minutes and for his every illogical, rude comment, the waiter reasoned with him with a polite smile and courteous tone. Ultimately, this so-called-educated customer had to accept that what all he had been arguing about was frivolous. The restaurant’s staff had no authority over the billing amount and he furiously marched out of the place with his food.
This drunk man was clearly tired after partying for hours and the cashier was tired slogging in his twelve-hour shift and maybe, dealing with customers like him. What an irony!
Now, it was my turn to place the order and I was taken aback witnessing how someone could have the guts to fight, despite knowing his demands are unreasonable. Moreover, how can someone enjoy overpowering the person who is just doing his job?
"Hey! How do you deal with such jerks? He literally ruined my mood. You should have given him a fitting reply," I opined while rolling my eyes. "It's my job, ma'am. Can't help it" the guy at the cash counter replied. His smile was a sad one and conversing a bit more on this topic would have brought him to tears.
I placed my order and felt sorry for this guy who became a victim of someone’s tantrum.
"If I would have been at your place, I could have never been able to deal with him this patiently. Hats off to you, man! You are doing a great job," these were my last words before collecting my pizza.
Even before I could realise, my statement had brightened up someone's day. It took a little empathy and five seconds to make someone feel better. This boy, who was in his early 20s and still exploring the world around him, did not make a perception that all strangers are inconsiderate (and idiots).

And when my gang and I were leaving the restaurant, this cashier came with the chef at the gate to specially wish us a good night. They were smiling, and wrapping up their day that could have ended on a bad note but those five seconds turned everything around.

What I did was not godly but it was humanly. It was not a philanthropic or benevolent act; it was how every customer is supposed to behave.

No one expected that drunk customer to be kind. But being a little empathetic and considering everyone an equal wasn't rocket science for him, or was it?

Source: indiatimes.com