A Case Of Mistaken Identity

So I was out with family the other night at a restaurant, and as soon as I walked in and sat down a waitress came up to me and said “Sorry to bother you, but Larry wanted me to come out and say hi to you”, and walked away.

I was like ok, and the rest of my family looked at me like “what was that all about?”. And I’m like, “I don’t know a Larry, but he said hello, and it’s nothing wrong with that”.

It’s not like she came out and said, “Larry said where’s his money?”, then I might have been worried.

So we’re going along and I’m figuring if Larry is looking at me from the kitchen or his office, he’ll figure out that I’m not his guy. Besides, I didn’t know anyone named Larry, and we we’re in town for a funeral to a city I had never been. Either this was about to be someone from waaaay back that I don’t remember who just happened to remember me, or a case of mistaken identity.

A waitress comes up to me again and says “Larry wants to talk to you”, and I follow her to the moment of truth. I meet Larry and the first thing he says is “aww, you’re not AJ” and I’m like “nope, but it’s nice to meet you anyway”.

We laugh and chat a bit and he tells me that he thought I was his friend AJ, and he was going to give me his discount card for the meal. But then he asked me if I wanted to use it anyway, and I told him sure. He handed me his card and said present it when we get the bill and I told him thanks and I’d be sure that he gets it back before we leave.

Now I didn’t know this guy and he didn’t know me. And he had no reason to give me the “manager’s special”. But as I walked back to my table I couldn’t help but think that maybe just because I was authentic in meeting him and going along with his story letting him figure out he had the wrong person, that he decided to share his card with me anyway even though I wasn’t his friend.

As we kept eating dinner I thought of how many times in business have I mistaken a potential client for something they weren’t, and how because of my assumption, I either proceeded to gain the business or lose it altogether. I remembered the thought of being authentic and just how much further that really gets you in life. I thought of times where I tried to make my business seem like something it wasn’t. Or times when I went along with the assumption of what someone else thought my business was. And then reflected on all of the business and repeat business I get just from being authentically who I am and not who someone else wants me to be.

I had a new client say to me the other day that before she decided to hire me, she had interviewed several other designers and that she had gotten a lower price from a few others, but didn’t get the “warm, fuzzy, authentic feeling” that she got when speaking to me, and that’s what helped her make her choice. It was one of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten in business. I didn’t get the business because of the best price, the best service, or the best product. I got the business from just being myself, authentically. You can’t put a price on that.

The family and I had a great meal and on the way out I thanked Larry for letting me and my family use his card and receive a discount on our meal. I’m forever sold on this restaurant. And will frequent the chain again and again. And although I may never see Larry again, I’ll remember his kind spirit every time I sit down to eat there. Thank you Larry for giving me an opportunity to be comfortably authentic with being myself.