http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/sources_barista_not
Certain people make me extremely thankful for the counter that divides us.
I can't speak about being a barista without mentioning the fact that there are certain people who misinterpret our friendliness. I smile, I joke, I laugh, I converse... I also survive off of tips.
Now, I'm not saying that I fake my demeanor just to make some extra cash. I am a talkative and energetic person by nature. It's just that when I'm working behind the counter I step up my game a little. Being behind the counter can feel a bit like being on stage. There are always eyes on you, waiting, watching to see what you'll do next. The customers can hear you conversing with your fellow baristas, and if you perfect your inflection and timing, you become a regular comedy routine.
Let's face it, work would be really boring if I didn't joke with my customers. It would also make things a little awkward. It's like, "Umm, hi. I 've been making you a latte everyday for the last several months, but I'm just going to act like I've never seen you before." Great customer service focuses on making your patrons feel invited and welcome when they come to your establishment. Recognizing your customers makes them want to come back again and again. Also it might make them feel inclined to throw a buck in the tip jar.
Sometimes working behind the counter can feel more like being on display...
My store is dominated by female baristas and we have to deal with unwanted advances. It takes skill to balance being friendly with being flirtatious. Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, somebody is going to misinterpret your actions. Baristas have to be good at drawing boundaries.
We have a few cabbies that come in every night. One cabbie likes to flirt with the girls and ask them out. One night he told a fellow barista that he loved her. The following night she overheard him whispering to a friend in his language and saw them point to me. She called him out on it and he turned bright red and told her that he loved me. On one unusually slow night he came in and I was balancing a broom for fun. I asked him what he would give me if I could walk across the store while balancing a broom on one finger. He responded, "something that you've never had before." (AWKWARD!) Another night he came in and started asking me what I did in my free time. He started hinting at what a hard worker he was and how he would be a good provider. He started to tell me how beautiful I looked with my glasses on. Then he asked what I knew he was hinting at, "So do you have a boyfriend?"
Enter the pseudo boyfriend. Any single girl should always have a made up boyfriend so that you can get out of awkward situations like the one mentioned above. I always use my best guy friend because it is easier to talk about a person that exists. That way when you get advances at work you can politely decline by telling them you have a boyfriend. Some may call me a liar and scoff at the way I handle these situations, but it is the best solution I have come up with. I only use it to decline men who constantly come in and hit on me at work. It gets them off my case and makes them realize that I am not interested.
The pseudo boyfriend came in really handy when I had to deal with Dean, the 70 year old mentally challenged man who came in to our store everyday and wrote me letters. He wrote letters to all of the girls at one point or another. The letters were fine. They merely asked me how I was doing and told me what a beautiful person I was. He would write about his family and then tell me to say hi to my mom and dad, whom he had never met. Sometimes Dean would ask if it would be ok to take me out sometime. Once I told him that I had a boyfriend, he told me to tell him that he was really lucky to have such a beautiful girlfriend. The letters continued, but he never asked me out again. He did buy me a glow in the dark keychain with my name on it.
So, time for the moral of the story. Your barista may remember your drink every day. He/She may remember that you like extra caramel sauce, or an extra shot of vanilla in your coffee. We might even remember your difficult drink to a tee. Heck, we might even remember some obscure random fact that you told us a month ago. That doesn't mean that we want to go out with you. It means that we are good at our job.
I would like to thank The Onion for shedding some absurd light onto this matter.
Certain people make me extremely thankful for the counter that divides us.
I can't speak about being a barista without mentioning the fact that there are certain people who misinterpret our friendliness. I smile, I joke, I laugh, I converse... I also survive off of tips.
Now, I'm not saying that I fake my demeanor just to make some extra cash. I am a talkative and energetic person by nature. It's just that when I'm working behind the counter I step up my game a little. Being behind the counter can feel a bit like being on stage. There are always eyes on you, waiting, watching to see what you'll do next. The customers can hear you conversing with your fellow baristas, and if you perfect your inflection and timing, you become a regular comedy routine.
Let's face it, work would be really boring if I didn't joke with my customers. It would also make things a little awkward. It's like, "Umm, hi. I 've been making you a latte everyday for the last several months, but I'm just going to act like I've never seen you before." Great customer service focuses on making your patrons feel invited and welcome when they come to your establishment. Recognizing your customers makes them want to come back again and again. Also it might make them feel inclined to throw a buck in the tip jar.
Sometimes working behind the counter can feel more like being on display...
My store is dominated by female baristas and we have to deal with unwanted advances. It takes skill to balance being friendly with being flirtatious. Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, somebody is going to misinterpret your actions. Baristas have to be good at drawing boundaries.
We have a few cabbies that come in every night. One cabbie likes to flirt with the girls and ask them out. One night he told a fellow barista that he loved her. The following night she overheard him whispering to a friend in his language and saw them point to me. She called him out on it and he turned bright red and told her that he loved me. On one unusually slow night he came in and I was balancing a broom for fun. I asked him what he would give me if I could walk across the store while balancing a broom on one finger. He responded, "something that you've never had before." (AWKWARD!) Another night he came in and started asking me what I did in my free time. He started hinting at what a hard worker he was and how he would be a good provider. He started to tell me how beautiful I looked with my glasses on. Then he asked what I knew he was hinting at, "So do you have a boyfriend?"
Enter the pseudo boyfriend. Any single girl should always have a made up boyfriend so that you can get out of awkward situations like the one mentioned above. I always use my best guy friend because it is easier to talk about a person that exists. That way when you get advances at work you can politely decline by telling them you have a boyfriend. Some may call me a liar and scoff at the way I handle these situations, but it is the best solution I have come up with. I only use it to decline men who constantly come in and hit on me at work. It gets them off my case and makes them realize that I am not interested.
The pseudo boyfriend came in really handy when I had to deal with Dean, the 70 year old mentally challenged man who came in to our store everyday and wrote me letters. He wrote letters to all of the girls at one point or another. The letters were fine. They merely asked me how I was doing and told me what a beautiful person I was. He would write about his family and then tell me to say hi to my mom and dad, whom he had never met. Sometimes Dean would ask if it would be ok to take me out sometime. Once I told him that I had a boyfriend, he told me to tell him that he was really lucky to have such a beautiful girlfriend. The letters continued, but he never asked me out again. He did buy me a glow in the dark keychain with my name on it.
So, time for the moral of the story. Your barista may remember your drink every day. He/She may remember that you like extra caramel sauce, or an extra shot of vanilla in your coffee. We might even remember your difficult drink to a tee. Heck, we might even remember some obscure random fact that you told us a month ago. That doesn't mean that we want to go out with you. It means that we are good at our job.
I would like to thank The Onion for shedding some absurd light onto this matter.
1 comment:
Atta girl!
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