It was supposed to be quality time spent with family when they decided to visit the amusement park. The mediocrity of how things were managed had begun to annoy Preeti right from the start. One of the restaurants inside the park had caught her attention.
An overflowing dustbin right next to the washbasin, a leaky tap, a cleaning lady who didn't care to do her job, the waitress who will keep taking orders from the visitors even if they don't have a seat, and the visitors who contribute in making the place filthy.
"Why can't people do their job??", she hissed to her sister.
She couldn't take it anymore. She decided to take matters in her hand. She gathered the people involved with that restaurant and told them how things are and how bad their reputation will get affected soon. She suggested a few changes to make things better.
- Move the dustbin to the other side so that is not at the entrance of the diner.
- Use the space outside the diner for some extra seats.
- Have more than one washbasin and have to towards the side of the diner. No one likes to see other people gargle when they are eating or entering a diner.
- The cleaner a place is, people get scared to make it dirty. Exceptions are there of course. But over a period, you can condition them if the cleaning lady doesn't deter from her job. And to those who won't accept it, you can always fine them.
They nodded their head. Preeti hoped for the best and went about with the rest of her day.
When she returned the next day, she was surprised to see that all her suggestions were implemented. The place looked so clean and beautiful. The cleaning lady also presented herself better and seemed happy. It was a great sight indeed. They had some more extra spaces under the large trees and asked Preeti's opinion. Preeti suggested they extend it as seats itself because people are almost always looking for a place to rest after walking up and down at the amusement park. They agreed.
"I've one more thing I would like to say...", started Preeti. At this point, the management lady walked in and said, "We'll take it from here. Thanks for your help so far."
Preeti felt a bit hurt. She wasn't doing this for anything other than making this place better for all. But she got the hint, thanked them and left. She turned around and started walking towards the exit.
She saw her sister talking to her cookery teacher in the building just off the road. She went towards it, and while waiting for her sister by the window, heard their conversation. The cookery teacher was talking about her dream to open a place that served exotic food from all over the globe. But just sourcing the exotic fruits and vegetables would cost her and she was not in a position to afford it.
Preeti knocked at the window. Her sister opened it and asked Preeti to wait a bit longer. Preeti in turn looked at them and told them to wait right there and left. She returned soon enough with a large crate, kept it on the window sill, opened it and asked them to take a peek. The cookery teacher was surprised! The crate was full of some of the most fresh and exotic fruits and vegetables from all over the globe. She asked Preeti about the source. Preeti had planted these years ago in her back garden. She had a fascination with them, but never really used all of them. Since she saw the diner had accepted her other suggestions, she was going to offer it to them, but they didn't want her anymore.
She looked at the cookery teacher and said, "It's all yours. And there is more where that came from and will continue to come. All I want in return is a happy crowd at your restaurant and some happy time I can have here with my family." The cookery teacher couldn't thank her enough. Preeti nodded, smiled and along with her sister, left for their home.
As they walked, she told her sister about the events that transpired. Her sister casually said, "Maybe it is a good thing! Maybe you are supposed to help different people and not just one."
"Maybe...", said Preeti as they entered their home.
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You can find the whole series here: Dreaming it up
Disclaimer: I do take some creative liberty to formulate it into a readable post.
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