I was having lunch at my favorite Korean restaurant and business was bustling. Every seat was taken and folks were standing around both waiting to order and waiting for their orders. From my counter seat, I watched the cooks cranking it out, all 8 burners cooking up various dishes: Bibimbap, spicy pork, and Korean tacos. The owner was scrambling, putting piping hot dishes on the service trays, along with a side of Kimchee and either marinated beans or cold marinated cumber, then calling out order numbers so customers could claim their prize. It was a smooth operation.

After the owner called out number 74, a customer walked up, retrieved her food, and just before walking away, paused. She glanced down and back up and down again. The owner turned away to prepare another tray when the customer inquired, “Can I have the cucumbers instead?” Her tray had the beans, not the cucumbers. The owner turned back to her, and then looked down at the cucumber container that lay empty on the counter. He then started to say, “Sorry, we’re out of…” then stopped. He then momentarily ducked behind the counter, emerging with a small to-go container with cucumber in it. He took out a small dish, emptied the cucumbers onto it, and handed it to his customer. It all took less than 10 seconds. She was happy.

Less than 10 seconds. The owner could have easily completed his sentence, “Sorry, we’re out of cucumbers”, and moved on. It probably would have not been a big deal. It would certainly be understandable, given how busy it was, as items run out. I’m sure she would have understood and thought nothing of it. But that’s not what happened. He made a split second decision that then took less than 10 seconds to execute, and for that, she did think something of it. She said thank you, he smiled, and I think it’s safe to say the reason his restaurant is as busy is because of decisions like that…decisions that take less than 10 seconds to execute, but are certainly noticed.