Malaysians show small deeds go a long way
Image adapted from: @cloudyredsa
Restaurants are resuming business and accepting diners now that the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) has kicked in. This also means that many Malaysians are back to the grind and taking extra safety measures to keep themselves and everyone else safe at this time by practising good hygiene habits.
Not wanting the acts of kindness to stop at medical frontliners working to keep us safe from COVID-19, Malaysians have even been extending their appreciation to delivery drivers and more. Now, even restaurant servers are feeling the love, as a viral Twitter post showed a rare sight of customers stacking up their tableware neatly after their meal in Malaysia.
Restaurant servers touched by thoughtful customers
The incident was brought to light by Twitter user @cloudredsa on 12th May 2020. In the viral tweet – which has since racked up over 14,000 retweets and 20,000 likes at the time of writing – a photo showed that plates, bowls and cups, along with discarded limes and pieces of bones, were rounded up and stacked neatly after someone’s meal.
The utensils and food scraps had presumably been left behind by a restaurant customer, as the netizen captioned the photo: “Practice doing this whenever you eat outside and you will surely bring [a] smile [to] the crew’s face”.
Image adapted from: @cloudyredsa
Other workers in the restaurant sector also stepped in to echo @cloudredsa’s thoughts. Twitter user @Luqman_gg commented that he was happy to see his customers doing the same too, saying, “I swear I love it when customers do this. Sure makes my job easier”.
Image adapted from: @Luqman_gg
Another Twitter user @piqa_shariqah also commended those who noticed even the little things, such as tucking the chairs back before leaving the restaurant: “I crazy salute those customers who push and arrange their chairs back before leaving. Will be remembered”.
Image adapted from: @piqa_shafiqah
Netizens share that it is just common courtesy to do so
While many restaurant servers are applauding thoughtful customers in the Twitter thread, many more netizens are coming out to say that it should be common courtesy to do so and that we shouldn’t leave a mess behind just because it’s someone else’s job to clear the table.
Twitter user @sakataring shared, “I always do this but everyone at the table looks at me like I’m doing something abnormal”, and added that, “It’s just a little courtesy to the staff”.
Image adapted from: @sakataring
Others also chimed in and said that it brings a smile to the faces of those working at restaurants, which was rewarding in itself, with netizen @ayza_zz commenting: “My family always does this everytime we finish eating at restaurants. Seeing the waiters smiling makes us happy”.
Image adapted from: @ayza_zz
Some also shared how they are used to doing this to make the servers’ jobs easier, with Twitter user @tehadzha tweeting, “My mum said to me: ‘Make people’s jobs easier, so people will make our jobs easier’. Since my mum tells me to do this all the time, it has become a habit after finishing my meal”.
Image adapted from: @tehadzha
Restaurant servers show appreciation for kind customers
The CMCO is showing us all that we have to adapt to new ways of carrying out our usual activities, whether it means social distancing or wearing a mask, as little thoughtful gestures go a long way.
And by clearing up after ourselves, we are extending the good hygiene habits to safeguard our restaurant servers and showing them a little act of kindness while at it.
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