Just wanted to know your thoughts on this...
Prompt-Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.
It ended with Mickey Mouse ears and pancakes. IHOP came alive once again at one a.m. as a group of employees gathered to say a final goodbye to our manager, Tracey. She was being promoted to a higher position at another store. Our entire store respected and loved Tracey. Everything could be going completely wrong and yet there was like ray of light coming from Tracey that allowed everyone at work, including me, to get through the night. Every single person had one memory about Tracey that stuck out in front of the rest. Some memories included hanging out after closing. Others were about playing baseball in the back or ordering take out. While I do remember times similar to those, my most prominent memory of Tracey is not like any of those.
The place was flooded with people. Hearing a person within one foot of you was a challenge all on its own. A maze made of people made up the game room and party area. Every thirty seconds, a new parent started screaming at the employees for a broken game, their food was taking too long, or someone cut them in line. To add to this mayhem, children dart through the maze of people, knocking into whoever is in their way. Surrounded by the out of control children demanding immediate attention and parents vexed about the slightest slip-up because they forgot to bring ear plugs and that extra aspirin was a smile. Helping a child who fell down or a parent arguing over that insignificant thing, no task was done with a frown. First impression would deceive you into thinking this cheerfulness was an act, spend half an hour with Tracey and you discover you were seriously mistaken.
Guest after guest would walk away smiling following an encounter with Tracey. No matter how mad they would be they would fall victim to her contagious smile. Her compassion towards the guest problems and that happy-go-lucky attitude of hers combined to form a calming remedy for any angry guest. Halfway through their complaint they would start to recover their composure and explain the situation in a logical standpoint. Staying in the background, I heard and saw everything that went down when Tracey and a guest would exchange words. She never realized I was standing there in awe. I kept trying to figure out how she could affect some one that much to their mood go in a complete one eighty. How could someone be so angry and then be completely placid?
Then it clicked. Smile and the world smiles back at you. Although the guests were angry with what was going on, Tracey's attitude was able to differ their anger. If you give off pure positive vibes, people will generally send them back your way, no matter the circumstances. People act towards someone according to the atmosphere the latter creates. If someone was hostile towards you, the normal reaction would be to send that hostility back towards them or back off. This accomplishes nothing. For that moment in time, just forget about everything else that is happening and concentrate on how to make someone walk away happier than they were before. That's the major thing I learned while Tracey was a manager at my store.
To be influential, you don't always have to be a "person of influence". To be honest, the people who have influenced me the most are probably not even aware of the things they've taught me. While working with Tracey, I was able to observe how to make people in all types of moods walk away with a smile on their face. Changing someone's mood for the better will stay with them and they will remember who you are. I have never heard one person say they had a bad experience when they made a complaint or talked to Tracey. Those people always have something positive to say. Learning how to change someone's frame of mind is one thing that will never become useless. Wherever you are, someone trying to pick a fight with you or complaining to you is a most probable occurrence. Without even knowing it, Tracey taught me a lesson I will surely never forget and how can you forget a lesson where all you have to do is smile.
thanks!!
In the first paragraph, the name Stacey was used five times. I think you should change three of them to 'she' or 'her' to avoid repetitiveness.
I kept trying to figure out how she could affect someone in such a way as to cause their mood to do a complete one eighty.
Although the guests were angry with what was going on, Tracey's attitude was able to diffuse their anger.
Great ending paragraph!
:)
