Great Service -Some Whining

He Said She Said August 2012 Showcase Magazine –
Great Service-Same Whining

He Said

Last month we had the pleasure of attending a friend's
wedding in Atlanta. I really enjoyed the time
off because it gave me time to shop and be with my
best friend in the whole world ...you. Everything
was beautiful, the wedding was exquisite, being with
all our friends and sharing good times is what life
is all about. You of course know all of this so I
don't have to explain it to you. There is one little
thing that happened that you have not commented about.
Did you notice that Friday night when we went out for
dinner, I did not register one single complaint in
the restaurant? Most of the time after we leave a
restaurant I hear for the next hour everything that
I said or did wrong. But Friday night was an exception.
Not one complaint from me. You are dying to know why,
aren't you? I thought so. The reason you did not hear
any complaints was these people know how to treat
their customers. Since I traveled many years on a
company expense account I had grown accustom to
receiving good customer service while enjoying great
meals. When we go to a regular priced restaurant or
even a higher priced restaurant in some cities, they
just don't seem to know customer service that I have
grown to enjoy.
Have you ever had someone wipe up the crumbs from the
table after the main course so that you will have a
clean table to eat dessert? Have you ever eaten at a
restaurant where you don't have to call someone for
more water or tea, they just keep your glass full the
whole meal? I know it was pricey, but it was a fabulous
tasting meal with great customer service and that
is just what I have missed.

She Said

You have become so foreign to your own way of seeing
things that it has almost become somewhat annoying. We
ate at the same restaurant, you remember a perfect meal.
I remember and heard every little thing that went wrong
that night, and you have put it completely out of your
head. First of all just let me say it was one of the
best tasting meals that we have had in a long time.
I will give you that. I know it was expensive and the
waiter (Frank) did give us great service including
coming to the table and calling you Mr. Oldham. I guess
the main guy had told him. That was indeed thoughtful.
Keeping the glasses filled also was very nice. Offering
to explain the meals was typical of most restaurants so
that was ok. But as soon as he left the table and other
people around us starting getting their food, you started
in. You do it at every restaurant. “We were here way
before them, how do they get their food before us”.
“What is taking so long with our food, I could have gone
out in the woods, killed it myself, skinned it and cooked
it sooner that this”, is another one I hear all the time.
Then as you start to get bored, I start hearing your take
on everyone in the restaurant.”I bet that couple beside
us is having an affair”. Right after you said that Friday
night I heard our waiter congratulate them on their 20th
year anniversary. I started to say something to you about
it, but I figured it would break up your fantasy so why
bother. I will say that being with you and going out to eat,
most always presents a challenge, but I can also say you
are never without a word, be it right or wrong. It just
sometimes gives me indigestion, which up until now I have
hesitated to tell you. But I thought it best to get it
off my chest while you are thinking everything was A-Ok in
Atlanta. To me, it was better food, but the same old whining
I get in every restaurant.

Independence Day

He Said She Said July 2012 Independence Day

He Said

While having a conversation with a group of people
last month, one of the gentleman in the group
was scheduled to be in an upcoming wedding....his own.
One of the guys in our mixed crowd of men and women
went on to describe how much your life changes after
you get married. Now I know that marriage means different
things to different people. Men see life and marriage
one way and women see life and marriage another way.
We could debate this till the world ends. But I don't
have time allocated in this space to do that, so I will
just share with you how your life ends the way it has
been on the day you get married. This will not be
directed at everyone, because everyone is not the
same. But generally this is how it goes. One day you
are a free spirit. You get up , you do your thing,
you eat when you want, you change clothes , you don't
change clothes, you go to bed whatever time you wish,
you sit on the porch , you lay on the couch, you eat
what you want and so on and so on. The day you get
married you lose all of your freedom of choice. You
now have a partner in your decision making and you
have two choices. One is you continue to do what you
want as you always have and just suffer the consequences
or you open your life to someone else who now makes
all your decisions for you. What you wear, what you eat,
where you go, when you go, how long you stay and the
list goes on. Now let me just say this about my wife,
none of this happens in our marriage. This is just what
I hear happens in other marriages, not ours. Our
marriage is totally independent, always even keeled
and always in agreement with one another as long as
the moon and the stars are in alignment. So far they
have been in alignment for two years. For other people
though who are not as gentle, loving and caring as my
bride, I just wanted to let them know what to expect
when they get married. I need to go now,since I know
she wants me to drive her to the mall, Lowe's and
Wal-Mart today.

She Said

You are so full of yourself today. Reading what you
have written reminds me that marriage is a two way
street and what I, your wife, has had to give up. No,
wait a minute. Let me describe for you as you like
to say, what SOME women lose or gain when they get
married. Not me of course. What was a carefree life
of shopping, wearing what looked good, not what someone
else thought looked too provocative, watching what
TV shows you want to watch, going to see the kind of
movie that you wanted to see, buying the right type
of food that you want to eat is just some of the things
that women give up when they marry. Women do gain
things in a marriage though. They get to iron more
clothes, wash more dishes, cook more often, share
their paychecks, listen to boring stories, over and
over again, and hear complaints about everyone they
know from their husband. They get to listen about how
bad everyone drives, how the country is being run so
poorly, how life has treated them compared to their
friends, and the list just goes on and on. Women are
expected to clean the house, take out the garbage ,
mow the grass, wash both cars, and look pretty as a
picture when their husband arrives home from work.
They are expected to want to sit on the porch and
drink tea even though three bathrooms need cleaning
and the laundry needs to be done. This is just what
I have heard of course, I would never suggest that
this is the way our marriage is or has been. No, I
think in your mind all of the stars and moon are aligned
in order and our life is going pretty much like you
expected it to go. More that likely if you took a
survey 90% of the men would say life is good with
their wives. Why do they think that? Because we
let you drive us to the mall, Lowe's and Wal-Mart
and to you that is your good deed for the month and
you feel you have satisfied us completely. What
else could a woman want out of life? Right?