Column: You Deserve It

Column: You Deserve It

A rainy day in Heerenveen, visiting my in-laws. Grey, wet, and with that typical Frisian patience that says, “It is what it is.” So, I decide to treat myself — a Thai massage.

“Where does it hurt?” is the opening line. So typically Dutch. As if you’re only allowed on the table when something’s wrong. In the Algarve, I go every week — just for preventive maintenance, haha.

The curtains between the tables are paper-thin. The woman on the other side — around fifty, judging by her voice — complains it’s too cold. I join in and agree. Reluctantly, the hardworking masseuses turn on the heater. “We’re already so warm,” they mumble, half joking.

They keep chatting away, through all the curtains, as if we’re not even there.

It reminds me of the Lidl checkout — you think they’re talking to you, but they’re actually joking with a colleague through their headset…

Then that new Lidl slogan pops into my head: You deserve it.

I smile. Because yes, I do deserve it —

genuine attention as a customer, whether I’m at Lidl, at a restaurant or on a massage table….