Spilling a drink over ANYONE can be awkward. Spilling a drink on your boss is mortifying. Spilling a drink on the CEO of your company is a next level of embarrassment experienced by very few.
Unfortunately, Maddie Peters, a 28-year-old flight attendant for American Airlines, knows what it feels like.
The crew aboard Peters's flight had been told American Airlines CEO Doug Parker would be flying with them.
"We knew he was going to be on board and had to be on our best behavior."
During the flight, Peters was carrying drinks to first class when the man walking in front of her unexpectedly stopped. The tray flew from Peters's hands and, of course, spilled all over Parker's lap.
She described the spill in her own words on social media:
"Guess who they land on. Half of them went all over me, the other half in Doug's lap. I WAS MORTIFIED. I wanted to drop dead right there in the aisle. (Like am I still employed?!) I'm still slightly traumatized/embarrassed."
She posted about the entire incident on Instagram:
Fortunately, it seems Parker was a good sport about the unexpected shower:
"Luckily he was super cool, and a good sport about it. He later came back and we chatted for a little, and joked about it the rest of the flight. When he was getting off the plane he told me he'd never forget me.... guess that's a good thing right?"
Social media users could only imagine the Peters's embarrassment in that moment:
Peters claims she's never spilled a drink on a single person...until she met her CEO.
Thankfully, what could have been a mortifying incident turned into a great story that Peters will be able to tell for years to come! That's the power of kindness.