Down the road for Italian

Roger and I try to get down to Toronto (called T.O. by the locals) as often as we can.  We have a number of customers in the western suburbs so we want to touch base with as many of them as we can.  But I hate driving the “401” into Toronto as that trip can take 45 minutes with no traffic or 45 days if it snows – and it always seems to snow.

We usually leave Waterloo around 9:00 AM so the traffic has had a chance to thin out a bit.  When we arrive at a call, Roger goes into the customer by himself and I stay in the car – where I use my ability to fall asleep anywhere at any time.  

It takes Roger about a half hour with the Customer and he almost always comes back with an order.  It’s not that Roger is particularly smooth or efficient; I think it’s just that he has been doing it for so long he sells instinctively.  It’s a beautiful thing to watch.

If I am a good boy, Roger takes me to lunch at the little Italian restaurant that is but a “hole in the wall”.  The food is always very good but it is the woman behind the counter that is the real draw for me.  

She would probably be middle aged and wouldn't be considered particularly pretty, but her smile and positive personality make her beautiful.  She makes every customer feel that they are special.  She greets everyone by initiating some sort of conversation with them.  She is happy and outgoing and she makes almost everyone feel the same.

It’s fascinating to watch.  She proves it's so much easier to deal with people/Customers when the interaction is positive and easy rather than the negative.  Everyone leaves feeling good – and wanting to come back the next time they have to go to T.O.

So easy to do; so why don’t we all do it.