Butler to the President - Server at a Banquet

His name was Eduardo.  He told me to call him "Eddie".  He was from the Philippines and he left after Ferdinand Marcos was deposed in February of 1986. 

Eddie was in the personal service of Marcos.  He was what would most likely be considered a butler.  He served Marcos proudly and he served him well.  Eddie was fortunate to get out before the downfall of Marcos.  And Eddie left and found himself in the service of King Khalid of Saudi Arabia.  He served the King until his death.  Eddie has served other persons of great political prominence and wealth, but we did not discuss them much. 

At some point on a visit to family here in the U.S., he found his way to Las Vegas, Nevada.  And then, as Eddie said, "the planes hit the twin towers and all that."  And he found himself stuck in Vegas with no real plan to get back to where he had come.  Quickly running out of money he turned to what he knew.  He could serve.  But, there are not many kings or presidents in Vegas.  There are "whales".  But they come and go and he needed something steady.  So he got a job serving food to business folks like me who come to Vegas for conventions.  And that is how we met.  We met at the final dinner of a convention that I attended this week.

And here is what impressed me.  He served us like I was a president or a king.  I don't really know that for absolute surety.  but I know he served me well and with great care.  But I am nobody really.  I am just a guy in a suit who works for some big corporation.  But he treated me with great dignity and respect.

One of the speakers at one of the luncheon was the CEO of Zappos.com, Tony Hsieh.  Hsieh talked about the culture of Zappos.com.  And he talked about the interview process for those who want to come to work for Zappos.com.  He said that unbeknown to the person interviewing for a job, the driver of the van that transported the prospective employee to the office was a part of the interview process.  And after the formal interview was over, the driver was asked about the prospective employee and how he treated the driver during the ride.  So, no matter if the person was an outstanding applicant, if he had no ability to relate to the "cab driver", then he was not really Zappos.com material. 

So, I am just sorta talking out loud here.  But I wonder.  How do I treat people?  Do I treat them royally?  Do I treat them with dignity and respect even when they are just some tired and worn out conventioner?  Would Zappos.com hire me based upon how I treated the cab driver to and from the airport?

I hope so.  I think so.  I pray so.