In my first semester at Motlow, I took honors psychology as one of my very first classes. This class taught me many things about the brain and our inherent nature as human beings. One thing that stuck out to me during those lessons is that negative experiences embed much more prominently than positive ones.

We don’t try to drift off to sleep only to recall all the moments we’ve been proud of ourselves in life. No, the thoughts haunting us before restfulness takes over are filled with all those memories of saying something dumb or embarrassing ourselves, or even bad memories from other peoples’ actions. Rarely do we lie awake, unable to sleep because we are just so pleased with all the great things we’ve accomplished or humbled by kind deeds from others.

This is a part of human psychology and it sometimes takes a lot of conscious effort not to allow ourselves to fall into this trap of negativity.

I’ve been following the McMinnville Chatter Facebook page for a while now because I like to see the odd moment where there is stimulating conversation. Lately, seeing anything worth reading has become less and less common. Most of the posts are people complaining about masks, the vaccine, or – oddly enough – restaurants and the staff.

I’m not sure if some people are aware, but fast food dining has been on the increase ever since the pandemic began. We are still suffering the aftershocks of the pandemic’s height – and we’re looking at some steadily creeping inclines even now. With each surge of new infections, staff are stretched to their limits as the workload increases without relief. Some staff are learning, sometimes they are out of stock on some of the items you wish to purchase – yes, including condiments, much to some peoples’ dismay. While the supply may sometimes decline, the demand doesn’t.

More often than not, I see posts on the Chatter page about people complaining that their dining experience was not up to par. Some of the posts truly embellish; they make swipes at a business without thinking about how it might affect them, nor do they consider what the crew might be dealing with that contributes to this brief disruption in service. It is one matter to bring things to the attention of the public, but I think it is equally important for the public to know that for every bad experience someone has, there are likely many more who have had great ones – you just don’t hear about them because the sting of a bad experience lingers far longer.

In this time of uncertainties, be sure to be a little more patient, kinder and thank the people you interact with for a job well done. There are real people preparing your food, providing you with a service. Treat them with the respect and dignity you’d like yourself to be treated with.

Standard reporter Nikki Childers can be reached at 473-2191.