So last weekend I went out to dinner at a restaurant. I walked in and stood in line to be seated. The place was packed. I guess you could say it was a restaurant/pub atmosphere.
It was super loud. Even though they said they would seat us in a few minutes, I really didn’t want to wait, but I stood there. They must have sensed my grouchiness by the look on my face because they offered to seat us on the patio, which was awesome! So we go to the patio and sit down, just to realize it’s the only smoking area for the restaurant. I’m hungry, I’m grouchy, and I don’t want to eat in the smoking area. So we get up and leave. As we’re walking through the front door, the owner says “I can seat you in just a few minutes if you’re willing to wait. Can I get you a drink?” He was so nice, but it was just the wrong atmosphere. To loud and to many people. We politely said, no thanks, we’ll be back another time.
We walked down Main Street street. By the way I live in a small beach community, so Main Street is our restaurant row. We went to a new restaurant. The sign outside said “Steaks, Chops, and Seafood.” Tiny place, not very many people… We thought perfect.
The good news is the food was freakin out of this world good! The bad news is the service sucked.
So why do I tell you all of this, and how does it relate to me and the internet? Well, I’ll tell you. Sometimes I get emails, all in caps, different colors, and even if it’s from my best friend, I don’t want to read it. Sometimes I get emails from people I don’t know and they’re telling me about some event or product they’re selling, but the way they deliver the message, I can’t hear it.
I’ve learned, say what you mean, mean what you say, and when you have friends, family, or business colleagues that you correspond with via email, twitter, and facebook. It’s a good idea to be sure they like the tone you set with your message, or they won’t be able to hear it!
So when you go out this weekend, I hope you have a wonderful time in a great atmosphere, and just like you notice your surroundings, start to notice how you deliver your messages via the Internet.
