The Waiter Rule (Kindness Matters)

In 30 years of business travel, this has never happened. I’ve eaten countless meals alone on the road, usually with a glass of wine and my Kindle. This dinner in Houston was no different. What was different was that my WAITER bought MY meal. I didn't go above and beyond. I don’t think I did anything special. I was just … kind?

Still, I was floored. Here was Brandon. This amazing server, who likely lives on tips, decides to comp the meal of an exec traveling on expense account. But I’m happy to pay, I argued. Brandon would have none of it. I called his manager over to sing his praises and then promised to return the next week (yes, LOTS of travel to Houston lately for Artemis I) with my full team if they would seat us in Brandon’s section.

In between those two meals, as I shared this story, I learned about a series called The Bear and “the waiter rule”– neither of which I’d ever heard of! Dr. Travis Bradberry says how we treat the people who serve us reveals a lot about our character. In fact, some companies use it to determine who will be the right fit for their organization.

How you treat support staff gives a sense of how you treat people in general.

Kindness goes a long way. Especially in a world where consumer rage seems to be at an all-time high.

The “Brandon encounter” as I’ve come to think of it has stuck with me – and it still makes me smile. Working from home, we get fewer opportunities for those small interactions that can change a day: a word of encouragement after a rough meeting, a joke in line waiting for lunch, a compliment in the elevator.

The next week, we did go back for dinner at Tookie’s Seafood and sat with Brandon. I got to spend time with Tim Fitch and some of the engineers who’ve been working for years to put Alexa onboard the Orion spacecraft. And I got another chance to say thank you to Brandon for his kindness.

A few of Amazon's Artemis team after work while at NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration 's Johnson Space Center

What will your act of #kindness be? Buy coffee for the person behind you. Write a hand-written thank you note. Or, be extra nice to your server. The positive effects will linger long after the meal is done.?