GOING THE EXTRA MILE

If you are like me, you have different perceptions of things when you are sick. You look at the same thing in a different way. You also get crankier than usual. You get less tolerant and more impatient. You tend to stay away from friends and loved ones in case you inadvertently bite their head off. Those who knows will stay away until you get better. A few that really knows you will take their chances and come close.

My good friend Razak is one of the few. I bought him lunch on Tuesday and yesterday he wanted to return the favour. Once again we found ourselves in Amcorp Mall. We decided to have lunch a few floors down this time. We have been to the place a few times, usually after Friday prayers and we didn't find anything to complain about. Yesterday I complained that the place was crowded. We couldn't find a vacant table. We had to squat at a table occupied by a couple. They didn't like their tete-a-tete eavesdropped and left after a while. Both of us didn't feel like curry so we asked for the menu. I asked for sup ekor and white rice. I also asked for kailan fried with salted fish. The waiter, Hassan from Madras, told us that kailan is not available and showed me the various nasi goreng on the menu instead. Poor Hassan got a taste of my bad temper. Razak shushed me and told Hassan to go check the availability of kailan fried with salted fish. It was available. Razak added an omellete to the order and we ordered our drinks. Both of us ordered lime juice.

Have you ever ordered air limau nipis where the lime juice is squeezed into your glass together with the seeds? Then when you suck the juice, one or more of the seeds will get lodged into the straw and your cheeks will go hollow. Have that ever happened to you? It is not very pleasant and it is avoidable. A strainer will solve the problem. How much does a strainer cost? I mean an ordinary garden variety strainer, not the classy one like in the picture above. I would say, very cheap. A mere pittance. But I guessed a strainer will strain the profit. After all, who ever complained? Will people go the extra mile?

Our meal came about an hour later and not after I went after Hassan, the waiter. We noticed that the soup was not made of oxtail but plain beef. It was Razak's turn to blow his top. The soup tasted nice though and we were too hungry to be aggrieved further. We decided to forgive that particular establishment. The manager admitted the shop's mistake and took a ringgit off the soup's price. Hassan brought the sambal belacan on the house. It went well with the omellete and two cranky old men had their lunch in relative peace.