In this day and age, professionalism is a quality exemplified by men and women of all trades.  Being a professional is something that everybody should be, but proves to be difficult at times.

No matter where you work or what you do, you should conduct yourself as a professional. The dictionary definition of a professional is a “competent and skilled person engaged in a specified activity as a paid occupation rather than as a pastime”. You do not go to work to do things you enjoy, but to follow instruction and maintain a good flow of the workplace. That is why you are being paid. Feel free to enjoy the work, but do the job timely and well.

I will give you a personal example to exemplify this point. I was eating at a restaurant two days ago, and the table given to us was wet. This was not upsetting to me. It was just an oversight. I approached the busboy and told him “Excuse me, but my table needs wiped off.” and he responded, “That sounds like a ‘you’ problem.” Then he gave me a not-so-nice look and walked away.

I wondered for a moment if I was out of line but no, I wasn’t. I didn’t ask an accountant to wipe off my table, I asked the busboy.

I couldn’t bring myself to complain to the manager but it definitely put me off eating there in the near future.

Maybe the busboy was having a bad day, and we all have bad days, but that is no excuse to treat a customer poorly.  You should not bring your personal life into work life, no matter how bad the problem may be.  If the problem is that bad, it is probably better to not go to work at all that day.

The word “effort” is sometimes intimidating, but we all need to put in some to achieve good results.  Restaurant owners shouldn’t let the word “effort” scare them away. They can still get away with microwaving plastic food out of a plastic bag and serving meals the nutritional equivalent of a lunchable. They can hire idiot high schoolers who act like customers are jerks for ordering food. They can even keep me waiting for twenty-five minutes before taking my order. They can get away with all of these; most restaurants in any college-aged student’s price range do. However, employees and managers alike must be professional about it.