CAN I BRING YOU ANYTHING ELSE?

I've made it a policy lately to always try to compliment young people who are working summer jobs, especially those in the service industries.

A few days ago, Terry and I dropped by our local McDonald's to take advantage of their $1 drinks after our five kilometre hike through the Don Valley.

We were greeted at the door by a very young lad wearing a crisp white shirt and an even whiter smile.

"Would you like to order using our new kiosk system?" he asked in a friendly voice.

 Before we knew it, we had selected our drinks and he was escorting us to our table.

"A server will bring your drinks momentarily," he explained as he straightened his pink bow tie. "And here's a tracking device for your order," he added as he placed a circular hockey puck-like device on our table.

"Thanks for your help. You're doing a great job here," I said.

As he walked away, Terry whispered, "Is this really McDonald's?"

"Kinda weird,isn't it," I replied. "A maitre d', white uniforms, table service. I sure hope they don't expect me to leave a tip for this root beer."

Moments later our drinks arrived and we were engaged in a deep discussion on the merits of buying a new electric stapler versus trying to fix our old one when a middle aged man in a natty summer suit approached our table.

"I hope you enjoyed your visit with us today," he said.

I had to speak up.

"Of course, everything was wonderful." I didn't have the heart to tell him we were only in for a large root beer and an ice tea.

"But can I ask what's with all the service here today?"

"We're trying to give you the old fashioned restaurant experience," he explained. "And, we're trying to do a smooth launch of our new kiosk ordering system."

"Your servers are amazing," Terry complimented. "I suppose when it comes to hiring young people, you only consider the most competent applicants."

"Not at all," he replied. "Do you have time for a story?"

We were all ears.

"About fifteen years ago now, HR hired a summer student who worked in the store I was managing at the time. The young man (I think his name was Trevor) struggled with our training program. In fact, he couldn't even make change for a $5 bill."

"As I was showing Trevor how to mop a floor one day, I asked him what he wanted to be."

"Oh, I want to be an accountant someday," I recall him saying.

The manager continued. "Years later, when I was working in a downtown location, I recognized a more mature Trevor walking into our restaurant. It turns out that he was working as a supervisor in a TD bank."

"You see," he continued. "We don't always hire the brightest or the most talented students. We try to find those students who have a spark, those students who have a desire to learn and be better today than they were yesterday.. That's who we like to hire."

Great story and a great reason to appreciate a community building business like McDonald's.

Now if they only had $1 drinks year round.