Owning The Mistake
When you make a mistake, and it’s only you who will be affected, do you roll with the consequences or do you try to rectify the situation?
Work doesn’t begin until the evening, meaning the entire morning and afternoon are at my disposal. Without any pressing matter to take care of, I can easily spend the summer day playing video games. As I am in my busy time with work, and since the heat has been dangerous, relaxing in our air-conditioned living room would be a sensible choice.
No. Today’s a writing day.
I pack my vintage iPad/keyboard combo, my Pentax Auto 110, a ‘handy’ fan*, and headed towards Umeda. “Oh, it’s not so hot today. I didn’t even need that fan.” It was lunchtime, so I figured I’d stop at Saizeriya, where a satisfying lunch can be had for the change in your pocket. Upon approaching the entrance, I notice the line of people stretching outside. “Is it a holiday?” Oh well, I’ll grab a bite at the cafe I go to to write and study. “Oh boy, it is actually pretty stuffy,” I think as I reach for my handy fan. “Let’s try to keep the sweating to a minimum.”
I enjoy the 11-floor escalator ride; it gives me a chance to cool down. “Ah, I better recharge my cafe charge card!” In Japan, you better be stackin’ them points. “I’m logged out? I have to enter my credit card info again?” Frustration begins to set in. But no problem; I get it all sorted in time for me to order. “Oh, the hot dog is sold out.” Time for quick thinking… “Pizza, please.” I spy a comfortable seat away from the loud cackle of ladies. I set my bag down and begin the cool-down process. “…Why is the barista packing my order…?”
Crap. In my haste, I said “お持ち帰りで“ instead of “手内で”! I have never accidentally said “to go” instead of “for here” before. The problem being, In Japan, the tax on food is different if you eat-in or take out. In other words, once it’s all totaled and paid for, you’re committed.
So, how would you handle this mistake? Would you try to explain yourself to the staff? Perhaps they have a magic ‘2% tax adjustment’ button? Would you play the dumb foreigner card and try to eat your meal indoors until one of the staff muster up the courage to come and tell you otherwise? What I like to do in these situations is roll with the mistake as if this is exactly how I intended things to go.
Luckily, the cafe is adjacent to a rooftop garden with picnic tables. Unluckily, it’s windy as shit. The pizza and drink were fine, but I savored neither as I inhaled my meal before it was swept away. Somehow I did manage to write this post—
Hold on… I have to move again; the sun has shifted…
*At some point in history, the Japanese seemed to have conflated the concept of ‘handheld’ and ‘handy’. Therefore, they call every handheld item ‘handy’. While the portable fan is awfully convenient, that is not why it has earned that label.