Attitudes, Seafood and the Cupid Shuffle

I had an experience a couple of weekend ago I wanted to share.  My husband saw a commercial for a steampot of seafood.  As soon as our daughter woke up from her nap, we were off to Joe's Crab Shack.  We hadn't eaten there before but obviously the commercial had done its job and we arrived hungry for a big bucket of seafood.  We made our order, put our bibs on and were eagerly awaiting our meal when a couple arrived.  They were seated in the adjacent booth much to the interest of our two year old; she used her booster seat to stand up and peer over at them.  The friendly server stopped by but before she could greaat them, the customer loudly announced, "I do not like seafood!"  My husband and I locked eyes and stifled our laughs.  I am sure the server was thinking, "Lady, you walked into the wrong place," but instead she politely pointed out the Out of Water and Shore to Please sections of the menu.  Ok, crisis adverted... or so we thought.  When her ribeye was delivered, she promptly complained and the server had to call in the manager for reinforcements. 

As this scenario played out, I realized how expectations and attitudes affect our experiences. This place is fairly transaparent by using the words Crab and Shack in the name.  If you desire a bucket of seafood like we did, you have found the place.  Fitting for a place touting itself as a shack, they use a roll of brown paper towels as napkins; this is not a fine dining experience but they do offer live dancing by the servers for your entertainment. 

This customer walked in hating seafood and nothing the server could do would make this lady's experience enjoyable.  There is an Olive Garden across the parking lot and many other restaurants within the immediate area.  She not only made the choice to walk in the crab shack but she actively made her next hour miserable and ruined the time for her dinner guest, the server and anyone within ear shot.

I hope more people choose to accept each situation for what it is and approach experiences with a good attitude.  Its amazing how much fun you can have with melted butter dripping off your chin watching your daughter clap along to the waitresses doing the Cupid Shuffle.  Even if you aren't willing to have a good time, remember everything you do affects other people and at any time some little eyes may be peering over at you.   This is a good lesson for me to keep in mind- maybe a good attitude can make my spring cleaning fun!