Power & the gift of Smiles (part II)

Some of the people that come in the shop seem to have an instinct to spread pleasantness wherever they go. They have the energy to make the little joke or chuckle at mine. They notice things and comment on them or just say an encouraging word when it’s really busy. They don’t mind waiting a moment for a good drink and they smile. That’s the most important thing, the smile. Sure it feels good to hear the money drop into the tip box or even better to see someone stuff a bill in there. That’s a big compliment actually. But a smile is so important. If we all didn’t need the tips so much monetarily, I’d say the smile was even more important than the tip.

Other people that come in the store seem to have an instinct to be dissatisfied with everything around them. Our store had a car drive through it last week but we were back open within a few days. Some of the products had been run over, however. One lady has complained almost every day that we still don’t have her biscottis in. Other people just have looks on their faces that make it appear they recently smelled something awful. Their features are so scrunched up and ugly, no matter how beautiful they are physically.

I find the crabby people to be a challenge if they’re regulars. There’s a couple that I serve often. The man has one drink the woman another and they come in at different times because they have two cars and leave to work at different times. The woman is fairly friendly and nice, the man is a curmudgeon. He always orders the same coffee. When I first started to work at the shop, we kept being in the midst of brewing it fresh every time he came in. Boy, did he give us a hard time when it was ready right then. After that, I made it a point to have poured him a cup before I rebrewed, just in case he came in. The first time I poured him an extra large cup even though he always ordered small. I told him he could have it for the price of a small and he yelled at me saying that he didn’t want MORE than what he paid for.

I didn’t get mad… can you believe it… I got determined. Every single day I had just the right size and was friendly and smiley, etc. etc. Pretty soon he left a few tips and a few times he even smiled.

Months later waiting on his wife she mentioned that she always tells him she feels sorry for anyone that has to wait on him. I chuckled and told her that I found him to be a challenge but felt great when I finally got him to smile. She laughed about that and I felt like it might be a part of the dinner conversation that night.

Those are the moments that make it all worthwhile.

The rich ladies of leisure who come in during the day and act as if you are a part of the furniture there, those are the ones that make me want to quit. They stand there chatting in line and make you wait to hear their order (while the rest of the line stands behind them rolling their eyes and exchanging sympathetic glances with the cahier). They rarely leave a tip and a smile is too difficult to spare for anybody that doesn’t have an impact on their lives.

And there are those who are just neutral, there to get a cup of coffe and move on. They don’t make you feel bad or good, but they keep the business running.

So, just think of all this next time you’re out there getting coffee or being served at a restaraunt. We’re all humans. If I don’t feel well or have had a fight with someone before work I may not be in a good mood but I figure that’s not my customer’s fault so I force myself to act cheerful anyway. If we don’t have everything you want then it’s usually not my fault, so common courtesy would be nice.

That’s my lecture for today 😉 Enjoy your coffee.