Extra pickles please
I finally broke down and took my youngest to “The McDonald’s of the Future.” We had a mission. See, Daniel loves pickles. He will eat them straight out of the jar, on the sandwich or on the side. It really doesn’t matter. The boy likes his pickles.
This new-age fast food was boasting how customers go to a kiosk and order their own food exactly they way they want it. Now, as a parent, this makes eating out retro-productive. I want to go out, sit down and be waited on. That’s my idea of a good dining experience.
The mere genius of the marketing team who is trying to sell this idea of self-service at a fast food restaurant does deserve props, but it really is just another example of how, at times, consumers are so gullible.
But back to Daniel and our mission.
Daniel had this dream of being able to order his own cheeseburger and add his toppings. The question remained, how many extra pickles could he request?
For the record, there are typically two pickles on a burger. For those of you with high hopes of fulfilling your pickle craze, “extra pickles” at this kiosk, meant one.
The look on Daniel’s face when he opened up his bun to see the big reveal was both sad and humorous. The boy lost a little innocence right then and there.
But what did I learn?
I looked at this young teen who sat across from me and smiled. What lesson did I have the opportunity to share with this kid?
And then it hit me. Technology cannot replace eye-to-eye human contact.
I told him that as well. A young man of his good looks and winning smile — the one where his eyes smile too — could get more pickles out of an employee than an electronic kiosk.
And with that thought, Daniel hopped off his stool and headed to the counter.
Just as I suspected, this Love boy put on the charm and walked back to our table with not just a few pickles but a whole bowl full.
Point made.
Now, maybe I could have taken the lesson of you don’t always get what you want and let the boy eat his three-pickle-topped burger. It is a worthy lesson that all too often this youngest sibling hasn’t had to process. (Just ask his older brother and sister!)
But I wanted instead to teach him something that his hand-held technology doesn’t. Human contact is essential for learning not only etiquette but also compassion, empathy and just being plain ol’ nice.
He had to muster up some manners to approach that fast-food worker, clearly articulate his desire and then graciously receive his request.
He didn’t punch an arrow at a kiosk to the desire number of pickles as he had hoped, but instead he learned in that moment the importance and value in talking to a person.
Maybe advancements in technology are helping this next generation in developing new innovations or life-saving materials, but for this mama, nothing will ever replace a please and thank you.
As I told each one of my kids, I might not be able to buy you everything you want, but I can teach you manners and that will get you anything you need.
