A few years back my wife, children and I were in Kenya. We walked into a prestigious five star hotel in Nairobi for a snack. Yes! A snack in an international hotel becomes real only when one is in a foreign country.
An elderly Kenyan lady walked in. Umbrella in one hand and a large shopping bag in the other. The waiter spoke to her with a smile in Swahili. She ordered a cup of tea. We were watching. She was feeling uneasy, she had gone to the wrong ‘Kiosk’.
The waiter was back with a typical ‘cup of tea’ of a 5 star hotel. Pot of tea, sugar, milk and some tea biscuits. The good waiter prepared the tea. The lady was feeling very upset. She called for the bill. A very empathetic waiter prepared another cup of tea, requested her to nibble a biscuit and walked away.
He was with the foyer manager and another responsible officer. A number of waiters too were with them. Those in the lobby saw a lot of activity among the hotel personnel.
The banquet manager and lobby manager, along with a number of waiters walked up to the lady. One of the managers spoke to her, and everyone clapped. The lady was in tears.
Next they presented her with a neatly wrapped cardboard box containing a gift and an envelope. She was then escorted to the gate by a smiling group of hotel employees. I spoke to one of the managers. A few others in the foyer joined me. “Sirs” he said our very empathetic waiter told us about the good lady’s predicament. We did not want to embarrass her. We told her that she was our fiftieth guest of the day. A gift from the hotel. “We gifted her a few snacks and ten thousand shillings. Three thousand from our staff and seven thousand from the management”. Then with his arms round his staff he said “Sirs, the lady is very much more valuable to us, than all the dollar laced foreign tourists. She is a Kenyan mother. What more can we give her? Our Mother”. There was a standing ovation by all those who were there.
Many were in tears.
(This incident is a true story)