Clear Communication... Always A Good Idea

Today I was reminded of one of my favorite stories from my days working at my father's service station.

Among the many duties I had was the making of work orders for the cars we were servicing. The computer was located in the same vicinity as the cash register/fuel pump control station. This was sort of the nerve center of the operation. As I was busily entering the data into the computer from a stack of work orders, fuel customers would come in and out paying the cashier for the fuel they had pumped into their vehicles or availing themselves of the cleanest public restrooms in the Tri-Cities (one of my other duties).

One of the main resources provided by a service station is handing out directions to lost travellers in search of various locales. Because of my familiarity with the area and the ability to speak in complete sentences, the direction-seeking customers would often be directed to me.

Now the scene is set- I am standing in the nerve center making work orders and cashier, Mike, is taking money, ringing up sales, etc. A man walks in and tells Mike that he needs directions. Out of habit I stop and listen to see if this is something that I will need to be in on. The man is looking for The Mountaineer. For those of you in Timbuktu or California, The Mountaineer is a long-time East Tennessee family restaurant featuring fantastic home style, country cooking.

At this point, I zoned out of the conversation and went back to focusing on my work orders. Why? Because the directions could not be easier. The Mountaineer is on the same road as the service station- 12 miles due west on the right. I knew that Mike would have no problem with those directions so I started clicking away on the computer once again. After what seemed like two minutes or so, I noticed that Mike was still talking to the gentleman. I love Mike, but he could easily talk a statue into submission. I could not figure out what in the world could be taking so long to tell a man to drive 12 miles and look for the restaurant on the right. At that point I reengaged into the direction-giving just in time to hear Mike say, "Go south on Hwy 36 about 10 miles and look for the sign on your right." With that the man was out the door.

I inquired, "Mike, where did you send that guy? He just wanted to go to The Mountaineer."

"The Mountaineer!" Mike exclaimed. "I thought he said The Mouse's Ear."

I bolted out the door just in time to see the gentleman pull out of the parking lot. You see, again for those of you who are not from around these parts, The Mouse's Ear is a strip joint (i.e. "nude bar") about 12 miles in the other direction. Suffice it to say I was embarrassed that someone was given those directions at my establishment, but I couldn't help but chuckle wondering what the driver must have thought when he roared into the parking lot expecting some tasty pork chops.

The moral of the story is: Paying attention and clearly communicating with one another is always a good idea.

Have a great day.

By the way, if you ever have a chance to go to The Mountaineer, order one of their giant banana splits. They are big enough for a family to share and really good.

Don't ask me what The Mouse's Ear has on special.