I messed up …

I messed up. But then I didn’t. It happened during Easter weekend at work.

Shortly before lunchtime, a member called and asked to add a couple of Arnold Palmers to their To-Go order. 

Out loud I said: “Of course!” 😁

Silently I went: “To-Go order?!?” 😳 😨 😱

I yanked open the drawer and there it was: an order placed about a week ago. I had completely forgotten about it.

I grabbed it and ran into the kitchen.

Mind you, it was Easter. The kitchen was busy. Like suuuuuper busy. Which is why they needed all To-Go orders to be placed early in the morning. I, however, had completely spaced out about it.

“Chef, I have a To-Go order. Is there any way we can …”

“You have a what?” said our usually very mellow Chef. Yup, he definitely sounded a liiitle bit … irritated.

And then what happened?

Well, I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have this Gremlin inside of me. One that likes to explain and justify and deflect or – even better – lay the blame on someone or something else. But for whatever reason, my Gremlin was out of commission that day. And so, without missing a beat, I replied:

“I messed up, Chef. The order came in about a week ago. Tell me what I can do to help, and I will.”

Next thing I knew, Chef completely relaxed.

“That’s fine,” he said. “Give it to John. He can put it together.”

And that was that.

I didn’t even say “I’m sorry.” Frankly, I wasn’t sorry. That doesn’t mean I was indifferent about the fact that I had made a mistake. To the contrary, I was very much aware of that. And of course I had every intention to be more attentive in the future. But as to the current situation, what had happened had already happened. Now was the time to own it, accept the consequences, and help in whatever way I could.

And then, just like that, a totally different kind of what happened, happened: A potential disaster had become a rewarding experience – and not only that, it also gave me an idea for this article. 😉

Brigitte Schneider
aka Ms. Gremlina

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