About communication

Value

At a hotel reception, the client explains to the receptionist that he took the booking without breakfast and asks for the price.

Receptionist: It would have been better, had you booked the reservation with breakfast included. It’s cheaper on their site.

Client: I understand. But if I should want to have the breakfast at the hotel tomorrow morning, how much would that cost?

Receptionist: Sir, it would have been better to have booked with breakfast included. Otherwise, it’s expensive.

Client: OK, but how much is it?

Receptionist: ... it’s expensive.

Client: Ah, OK, it’s expensive.

Receptionist: Yes, sir.

Fine dining

 

Options

In a Romanian grocery shop, an old couple enters. He is bored out of his wits and has had enough of stores. He just wants out. She is at her leisure, she takes her time and she analyzes very keenly every little jar, every little label. This is why she pulls up a jar of sourcherry jam and takes it right in the shopkeeper’s face.

‘This jam is grainy.’

The shopkeeper is not at all impressed; maybe she faces often enough such thorough analyses, and she tells her, ‘tilt it a little bit. You see, it’s not grainy at all!’. She (the client) smacks her lips, unfazed, and puts the jar back at its place (hopefully, for the sake of the shopkeeper) and continues her inspection. He sits now closer to the exit, like a desperate cry that he needs to leave. She cannot be bothered. And then yells at the top of her lungs, as if they were alone in this world.

‘What do you say? Shall we buy a jar of jam?’

‘No’, he answers really quickly.

‘You don’t want to?’

‘No’.

A small pause. ‘Why don’t you want to?’

‘Eh, why…?!’

Another small pause to give her enough time to inspect a couple of jars more.

‘Well, we’ll take one. It’s not that it’s up to you, is it?!’

In accordance with the weather

 

Call a spade a spade

This year, I am not going to make plans (well, only regarding the number of books I am going to read). This is how I am, even though I did not live many years under Ceausescu’s regime I have an issue with planning over the next five years. And I must admit I am one of those persons that like to set milestones whenever a personal or professional project must be delivered. Thus, I have no issue with strategy, but with the too-much-promoted question – where will you be in … years’ time?

Thus, this year I won’t let stupid remarks get by without telling things as they are. And here’s a clear example (I recently heard it and I really wanted to give that lady a piece of my mind (she was a psychologist), but I could not since she was on TV; yes, a small inconvenience for me, it’s true): nowadays, people are better. 

No, lady, people are exactly as they have always been and as they will be, even though now there are smartphones everywhere and we get the feeling that everyone is smart and cultivated. Some people are wonderful beings, always there to help, responsible, dignified, and reliable. Others, are ruthless, lazy and mere pests.

And I clearly saw the game you were playing, lady; it was to make me, the one watching you on TV, make me feel good about myself and remembering your name for you were the one that understood how great I am for living during these times. My father has a savory saying – shoo, smell the floor!

 

And you, what idiot remarks annoy you?

Bucharest, at sunset

I got mad today, even though I promised myself to remain calm as much as possible at the start of this year. Like always, I am a sizzling Pepsi (a nickname acquired from my friends a while back now) every time I am witnessing behaviors that lack humanity. I promise to tell you about it soon.

I took a couple of deep breaths, but only around sunset was I able to find that long-awaited tranquility. I looked at the sunset, took a couple of pictures and then watched some more until all became night. 

Here are some pictures in case you need it, too.