I came downstairs in the Holiday Inn this morning to have my complimentary breakfast and came during an obvious rush. Francisco was the server/host/I don’t really know all the jobs he was filling in the dining hall, but he was literally running around. There were several people that were just slowly strolling in and Francisco was trying everything he could to keep up with the hustle. He did a pretty good job, but I heard every conversation he had with every table because for most of them, he was on the opposite side of the room as the table he was talking to. I can’t fault him, he was trying to get things done.
Currently, I’m sitting in the lobby and I can still hear him calling out orders and asking for help from anyone else that is on duty. Unfortunately, no one seems to be answering his cry for assistance. Honestly though, I couldn’t really see why there was so much stress because everyone was getting fed in a timely fashion and none of the orders were ever wrong. He was getting the job done, but I’m pretty sure everyone in the room could feel the stress that was just pouring off of him.
Finally, he passed by my table in just under a full sprint and I had to stop him. I was sitting by myself and just trying to take a slow morning, but everytime he spoke, my heart rate increased a few beats. I just asked him to sit with me for a second. He told me how much he had to do and all the tables he was trying to take care of, and now just wasn’t a good time. While I had never talked to anyone else at any of the other tables, I saw they all had their food and asked the entire room if they were OK with Francisco taking a one minute break. A collective laugh (and sigh of relief) came from the other tables because I think they were all ready for a little more silence and a little bit slower pace.
Before I even got a word out, Francisco started telling me all the tables he had taken care of that morning and how he was the only one working and his first 30 second ramble was just one run on sentence (kid of like this one). I just asked him to take a breath, sit back in his seat and I passed him my orange juice that I hadn’t even taken a sip from yet. I could tell he wasn’t comfortable yet, but everyone else in the room was finally able to settle in, and I knew he just needed a break. He tried to ask me if I needed anything else, but I cut him off, told him to relax and drink the orange juice. While I was done with my meal, I wasn’t leaving until all the OJ was gone.
This is one of the first times I didn’t really feel the need or desire to talk to this man. It didn’t have to do with anything he had said or done, I just knew he needed to take a break. He finished the OJ with a smile and I just told him that every now and then we just need to sit down and take a breath and re-evaluate our current situation. He looked around the room and realized all the tables were comfortable, eating their meals and didn’t need him at that time. That was the entirety of our conversation, and then I got up to leave and he got back to work. I don’t know if anything will ever come from that conversation, but it was nice to just sit and take a breath with Francisco for a few minutes. Sometimes that’s all we need…
