salutations

are hard.

seriously...to NOT screw up a salutation is amazing for me. if i can go a whole day with a perfect track record, i'm pretty impressed.

there's just so many.  a simple "hello!" can be responded to in so many ways. such as: "hi!" "hey!" "good morning!" "good afternoon!" "beautiful day!" "how are you?" and to each they deserve a different response.
here's what i say to guests (especially at greeter):
"namaste!" (although not very often--this is what we're "supposed" to say as a greeting in asia)
"welcome!"
"enjoy!"
"have fun!"
"how are you doing today?"
"a little wet?" (just got off the river rapids)
"happy birthday _________!" (happy birthday pin)
"happy anniversary!" (happy anniversary pin)
"happy first visit!" (1st visit pin)
"congratulations!" (just married or just engaged pin)

now that parts the easy part. its what people say back that makes it hard & you have to think on your feet. ( i really don't know why this is so difficult for me.) i have to concentrate hard.

then guests say things like:
"you too!"
"thank you!"
"just fine, how about you!?"
"how are you doing?"
"is it open?"
"where is the line?"
"what is this?"
"do we get on a truck?"
"how long is it?"
"where is the mountain?"
"namaste?"
"just a little!"
"no english!"

and i gotta respond correctly to all of that while making sure no one is taking uncovered food into the trek, answering questions, letting fat strollers into the wheelchair access, adding guests with the button, and giving my opinion on the shows in the park.

but i always slip up on the little things. when a guest surprises me with a non-conventional comment like : you have a beautiful smile! --i tend to say things like: welcome! or enjoy! instead of thank you, like i really meant to say. or if i am caught off guard the first time, i just say "hmm?" and actually really focus the next time they say it so i can respond accordingly.  my absolute favorite though is when i tell kids happy birthday and say their name, then they look so shocked that i know their name and that it's their birthday, then they remember they're wearing the pin, reach up to touch it, and when they're parents nudge them to say "thank you" they instead return my happy birthday with yet another, "happy birthday". cutest thing in the world!

this post doesn't even begin to cover the complexity that is speaking to a multitude of people one right after another (and the difficulty i have had with it), but really i wanted to end with this. a SMILE means so much more than a salutation anyway. no matter what you say, if it's said with a smile you can't go wrong. and boy i love smiling. even if i don't mean it half the time. and the other half i'm trying not to yawn. just kidding, thats only 3/4 of the time--the other 1/4 i really am smiling for serious.