The Incredible Shrinking Service

A bunch of us popped down to Timbre the other night, to chill, catch up and watch the house band. It was the group's second time there, on the same night of the week as previously.

The first time we were there, we were let down by the service. Orders were mixed up, the food and drinks were late, and service staff had to be ambushed just to be brought to our table.

It was no different this time - and it really got our goat. We endured three rounds of mixed-up orders (service staff brought us the wrong orders thrice, and even enquired if we wanted it anyway!?!), the food was late (one of our finger food dishes arrived one hour late), and the general service attitude was completely negative and unapologetic.
To add to our chagrin, the house band started tuning up on stage, creating a din that made it impossible to have a decent conversation.

When we decided to call it a night, the final bill was (...you guessed it) wrong, and they had to revise it twice before we were satisfied. That will be the last time we'd ever hang at Timbre.

The group has chosen another venue for its gathering.

Lessons from a child

My boy, who's six this year, and due to enrol in Primary One next year, taught me a lesson in acceptance. We decided, for the sake of convenience, to send him to a neighbourhood school that runs single morning sessions, instead of the one that most of his current kindergarten friends will enrol at, and which starts its Primary One classes in the afternoon.

Most kids his age would have protested and sulked for a long time, but my kid, after a long thoughtful period of silence (5 minutes), accepted our decision.
When our friends brought their kids over yesterday, I overheard my son telling them that he's enrolling in said school next year, and he even seemed quite happy about that.

What struck me about this is that he's made the most of our decision, accepted it, and he'll enjoy himself regardless. I'm humbled by this simple and charming attitude. Lesson learnt. Thanks, kiddo.