You’ll never believe what happened at this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant I went to the other day.  We decided we wanted some breakfast tacos, so we walked into the place, and WOW did it smell good!  It was the kind of place where they take your order at the counter and then you go choose a seat.  I had my family and friends take the kids to the table to get everything ready while I placed the order:

Doyle: "Can you guys make the burritos any way we want them?"

Moe: "Sure we can!"

Doyle: "Great… I’d like 6 breakfast tacos… 3 with beans, cheese, sausage, and potato (no eggs)… on the other 3, we’d like to try your "house special" with the roast and green chilies.  Finally, we’d like to add some pancakes and eggs… a couple of waters and some juice."

As the order was put through, I was pretty hungry so I just stayed near the counter to wait for the food.  Let’s just say it’s a good thing I did!  There was a small window where I could see the food being prepared.  I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things right, but I began noticing one red flag after another.

Red Flag #1:  The same guy that took my order went straight from the cash register to the kitchen to help prepare the food.  He got there so fast… I knew he didn’t have time to wash his hands. 

    I’m Thinking:  That’s cool… I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Red Flag #2:  The guy drops a little food on the counter and applies the "3 second rule"… and puts it in his mouth.

    I’m Thinking:  OK… he probably didn’t realize what he just did.

Red Flag #3:  The guy licks his fingers to grab some of the "tissue paper" to wrap around the burrito… then he grabs the tortilla… adds the ingredients… and using the same finger licking hand, grabs a handful of cheese.  He rolls up the burrito and repeats the same finger licking routine over and over again!

I look over at my family and friends sitting at the table and can’t help but notice their sweet innocent little faces.  For a split second I pondered the question, "Do I say something???"  Wait a minute… of course I’m going to say something.  This guy is way over the top!

Doyle:  "Excuse me sir.  Come over here for a second.  I noticed you’ve been licking your fingers with each burrito you make.  That ain’t gonna work for us.  We’re gonna need for you to cancel the order and give us our money back."

Moe: "OK… no problem… let me come around."

At this point, I’m thinking "well that was easy…" but between the time he made his way from the kitchen to the register… his entire demeanor changed.  I’m telling you he was fired up… in fact, he was shaking his head in way that told me he was insulted and shocked that I was canceling my order.

Moe: "You are one of those cheerful people aren’t you?  You've obviously never worked in a restaurant environment."

Doyle: "Dude… you were licking your fingers… we just want our money back?"

Moe: "Shut your face!"

Doyle: "Excuse me?  You need to hold on there buddy."  In a moment of machismo I considered jumping over the counter and teaching him some manners, BUT then I remembered… I just wrote an article on the Five Tips for Developing an Unoffendable Attitude … this must be a test!  So I asked him… "Do you have a business card?"

Moe: "No, I don’t."

Doyle: "Well, I’ll just take a menu… that has your address on it.  I’ll be making a phone call to get this issue corrected."

Moe: "Oooh, I’m scared."

Doyle: "Don’t be scared… just be prepared."  The funny thing about this statement is that it just came out.  It was the perfect end to a story that my family and friends will be laughing about for years to come.  We are just grateful that we didn’t eat those burritos!

Sales Perspective: 
I guarantee you that I’m not the only customer that he has treated that way.  That one interaction with me is just a small piece of the big picture.  This guy’s current, and more importantly, his future business is directly tied to the way he thinks… the way he thinks affects the way he behaves… the way he behaves affects what he consistently chooses to do… and over time, it will make or break his business.

Now I know why my mother taught me not to lick my fingers... It’s bad business!