March 2, 2009

• I know we all read these a little too often, but…

  Yes, I am about to complain about something. But listen, it’s for your own benefit, and, it goes without saying (although I will anyway), mine.

  When I’m at work, I’m constantly frustrated by the amount of people that forget I’m a human being. So many people walk up to me and without so much as blinking at me start to say, “I need a …” That’s all well and good, but as I’m selling coffee, you don’t need any of it. You could say that I need these people to buy it, so I can come to work and get paid, you know, perpetuate the cycle and so forth, but no, you do not need that triple venti vanilla nonfat latte.

  When I see someone approaching, I smile and say, “hello, how are you?” or perhaps, “hi, what can I get started for you?” And there are always the people who can’t spare the extra 30 seconds to say, “I’m doing well, and you?” I love when I actually have customers that are easygoing and that will talk with you about their day or the weather or whatever else pops into our heads.

  I actually like what I do, and you may wonder why, because as far as you’re concerned, there is no real motivation for me to get up at 3:45 in the morning and be verbally bitch slapped by a bunch of strangers. I don’t have any benefits, I don’t get paid especially well, and the only time someone actually notices my work is when it’s not good enough. But I like coffee, so I do what I do. But I would really like it if our customers could remember just a few things when they come it to get their caffeine fix, and those would be the following:

  I am a person, not a mindless drone that needs to be told what to do.
  I am not dumb, when I ask you to repeat yourself, it’s because I didn’t hear you, not because I don’t understand what a soy cappuccino is.
  I am specially trained and certified to make the beverage you request, so please don’t tell me how to do it.
  I do make mistakes, I apologize for and fix them, and it just goes to show I’m human, not that I’m lazy, dumb, ignorant, or just trying to spite you.
  If you are late, it’s not my fault. We always want to get your drink to you as quickly as possible, but if there is a line, and there are 4, 5 people ahead, they will get their drinks first. Please don’t tell me to hurry up.
  Please don’t just take the first drink that pops up on the counter, it may not be yours. We call out the drink and the name, so pay attention to that. And you can always ask us.
  I love interacting with you, but I do have other customers that need my attention.
  One last thing, I work in a coffee kiosk. I don’t just do it to pass the time, so please, try not to complain to me about how high your tax bracket is and that $250,000 is not a lot of money. It’s just a little tacky.

  And still, I get up and smile while the coffee brews because that’s what it’s about. Ultimately, that’s why we do it, because coffee is most of what is good in this world.

  • 1:19 pm
  • 5 Comments