One of my all-time favorite little stories.
Charles had just retired and taken up a job as a greeter at Wal-Mart. There was only one problem. He could never seem to get there on time. Every day it was the same thing, five minutes late, sometimes ten, sometimes fifteen.
The funny part was, once he arrived, he was everything you’d want in an employee. Clean cut, polite, sharp minded, and a real credit to the company. He showed exactly why they called it an “Older Person Friendly” workplace.
One day his manager finally called him into the office.
“Charles,” he said, “you’re a great worker and I love your attitude. But your habit of coming in late is becoming a problem.”
“Yes sir, I know,” Charles replied. “I’m working on it.”
“That’s good to hear. You’re a team player. But I have to ask, since you retired from the Armed Forces, what did they say to you back then if you showed up late like this?”
Charles looked down, paused for a moment, then lifted his head with a grin. He chuckled and said,
“Well sir, they usually saluted and said, ‘Good morning General, can I get your coffee?’”