Grumpy Customers

It had become her routine to deal with the cranky customers of the restaurants. But there was one particular old man who was a regular customer at Luby’s. Despite being so rude and mean to Melina, the waitress used to meet his torrent of complaints with a smile.

The Old Man

The old man used to complain about every insignificant thing and the whole staff was tired of him. None of the waitresses wanted to wait on him, except Melina Salazar. He even tried to test her patience but she never disappointed him and greeted him with a bright smile every time he used to come to the restaurant. Would the old man mend his ways?

 Demands

Walter “Buck” Swords, an 89-year-old World War II veteran, had really strange demands. Melina remembers, “He was mean to the girls. He wanted everything his way. He wanted the food very hot — he didn’t care, he burned himself!” She says, sometimes it used to become difficult for her to keep up with his demands still, she always tried to be calm in front of him.

Dominating

He was dominating and wanted things in his own ways. For seven years the man continued to act stubbornly whenever he used to visit the restaurant. He wanted his orders to be pipping hot. The waitress used to work hard to get his orders perfect and always served him with a smile. She never used to forget to ask him “how you doin’ today?”. Everyone used to be amazed by the level of patience that she used to show. 

Routine

Now it had become her routine to serve the old man while he complained about one or the other thing. She never used to mind his bad temper and started to take care of the old man like a member of her own family. He was very punctual about time and used to show up at a particular time every evening. But there was something she used to expect from him. What was she expecting from the veteran?

Expectations

The old man had become a little calmer over the years and now he used to occasionally complain about things. People at the restaurant used to think that this might have happened because Melina Salazar used to bring his order just the way he liked. Was it really like that? Did he use to notice the waitress’s dedication?