Rethinking the Use of 'Perfect' When Ordering Food
Lately, I’ve noticed how often people, especially waitstaff, answer ‘perfect’ when I order something.
And it drives me nuts.
The conversation is the same...no matter where I go.
"I would like some soda water."
Perfect!
"I'd like the gluten-free pizza with non-dairy cheese and chicken."
Perrrrfect.
I've always had a problem with this word, perfect, and the way it is loosely used, but when I'm ordering food?
Are they saying my choice is perfect? or are they happy they don't have to explain something or make an adjustment in some way?
That’s just one way I hear ‘perfect’ used, and it always makes me pause.
Perfect is a word used in many ways, but mostly it's describing something that is free from fault or defects. Or it's fully realized and whole.
But it is usually fleeting. It's a word that captures an alignment that happens rarely, just to fall apart minutes later.
Ask a musician about how often an instrument needs tuning or how for a photographer, the light is always changing.
Perfect is a word that many people use as if it is final.
It's not final, unless the thing that is perfect is dead.
For all the waitstaff out there, here are some phrases to consider when someone orders and you feel the need to respond to what they ordered.
Got it.
Great choice!
Sounds good.
I'm on it!
I just had this last week and it's really good.
Or, if perfect is your favorite word and you just have to use it, how about this:
"I'll make sure it's perfect for you when I bring it out."
I'm cool with that...because, hopefully, it will be all the way dead before it enters my mouth, and this tells me that you are actually looking at what I ordered and making sure it's without flaws and defects.
And by the way, we had a PERFECT meal of smoked meat and French fries...all the way dead and completely smoked and delicious in Almont, Colorado this week.
If you're in the area, eat at Three Rivers Resort. My waitress never said perfect and the smoked meat is mouthwatering.
Random fact about me: My favorite 70's song is Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It's what I heard in my head when my father passed.