Not my cup of tea

Is flattering your cup of tea?

“Our waitresses operate on flattering,” declared a restaurant owner as he wrote this welcome note on the wall.

Just like other visitors, I was also surprised to read this during my visit recently. Even after coming back from the restaurant, I kept thinking about it.

I realised that it was yet another truth of life. Most of us can’t live without flattering, but very few would dare to acknowledge.

If we want something from someone, many of us start flattering. We notice this too often in our surroundings, but just let it fly away. Mothers flatter their babies while dressing or feeding them, children flatter their parents to get a hike in their pocket money.

Recently when I visited a friend, I found her cajoling her sister to gift her an iPad on her birthday. Soon she started flattering her. The very next day my friend was flashing her new iPad.

I realised that a few people can get anything with these skills, flattery is certainly not my cup of tea.

(Published in The Gulf Today on November 8, 2014)