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Hi Reader,

After having a great experience volunteering at a beer garden a month or so ago, I was recently invited to help out at a much larger event which was a music festival to sell drink tickets.

The volunteer process was well organized and everything was ready when we arrived, and our main job was simply to check IDs and sell drink tokens. Our tables were right next to the stages, so we enjoyed live music and danced while we worked.

It was easy work - once confirming someone is of legal age, we sell them a drink token. To get their drink poured at the bar, guests have to use the festival’s metal cup. Not only does this ensure bartenders serve the right amount, but the cup’s purchase also supports the non-profit festival. Most regulars know the routine and bring back their cup each year.

The problem of no pants

During my shift, a friendly gentleman came up asking for help with an unusual problem. His festival cup was on a blanket at another stage, and the drink tokens he’d purchased earlier that day were in his pants.

However, he didn’t have his pants.

I quickly looked to see if he was actually wearing pants, and yes he was. Plus, I usually don't attend the kind of music festivals where people don’t wear pants.

He clarified that his drink tokens were, indeed, in his pants, just not the ones he was now wearing. His other pants, along with the tokens, were in a completely different town.

(I couldn’t quite figure out how, on the very first afternoon of the festival, both his pants and drink tokens he had just purchased had ended up miles away. I decided not to ask for details.)

Now, as he was giving me all this information, a line was forming behind him. I could have easily asked him to either figure out what to buy or move aside, but I didn’t.

Instead, we started brainstorming together.

The brainstorm

Could he run to the other stage to get his cup? That wasn’t possible, as his favourite band was about to go on.

Could a friend bring the cup over for him? Unfortunately, his friend’s phone was dead.

Was he able to buy a new cup and token? His limited festival budget made that a hard no.

What about having someone bring him his pants with the drink tokens? That turned out to be complicated, as his pants were with his ex-girlfriend.

(Once again, I chose not to ask for details, although this probably explains why his pants were stranded in the next town.)

Distraction as a solution

As we kept brainstorming, I decided to distract him and asked what drink he might want once we worked out the cup and token situation.

That’s when he unexpectedly solved the problem himself! He said he wanted a non-alcoholic beer.

This was all we needed, because the festival didn’t require a special cup or a drink token for non-alcoholic options! We both had a good laugh as I sold him his non-alcoholic beer, happy to have found such a simple solution together.

I handed him his ice cold can, he gave me a big fist bump and smile, and off he happily danced away to listen to his favourite band.

Creative problem solving

To shift his focus, I had gently steered our conversation away from the missing cup and drink token, asking about his drink preferences instead. This little distraction worked wonders.

Once we stopped fixating on the immediate issue and explored other options, we uncovered important details together and realized there was actually no real problem at all. The solution had been right in front of us the whole time.

This experience reminded me that solutions often appear when we step back, keep an open mind, and truly communicate. Sometimes, the key to problem-solving is simply taking a moment to talk things through and look at the situation from a new angle.

It was a straightforward issue, easily solved because we stayed calm, enjoyed the great atmosphere, and kept the dialogue going.

But it did make me wonder - how can we bring this same spirit of curiosity and collaboration into our busy lives, where challenges are more complex and people aren’t always reaching out for help?

Maybe it starts with asking the right questions and being willing to see problems differently. Sometimes, even in the chaos, a simple solution is waiting for us, we just need to take a step back to see it.

All while keeping your pants on.

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