This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
I often find that you’ve either worked in coffee shops or you haven’t. And the difference between someone who has and hasn’t can sometimes be a little too obvious. But it’s an education that I believe everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime.
Here are a few reasons why.
1. Coffee shops are micro climates. With layers and revolving doors that see people from all warps of life come and go. Coffee shops — much like galleries, museums and restaurants — are a good reason to go somewhere. They resemble culture, craft and community.
2. When you’re in the midst of a busy shift — with the coming and going of customers and the relentless orders and tasks stacking up — there’s a flow. Things move faster. You’re in the zone and there’s a heightened sense of presence.
3. Which helps because, for better or worse, customers arrive with high expectations. And there’s already a lot of suffering going on before and after their interaction with you, so it’s your job, as a barista, to ease their suffering.
4. Dial into the process, pay attention, nail your coffee prep and you’ll always make someone’s day better. They’ll leave feeling elevated and dialled into the day. Do that enough times and you’ll really notice the difference you make.
5. Another valuable lesson is that the state of a toilet says a lot more about a place than the face of a shop floor. Because everything isn’t just a representation of the shop, it’s a representation of you.
6. If you don’t care about serving a great experience and making their lives better, whywill anyone ever care about making yours better?
7. If you can’t fulfil your most basic of duties in making a silky smooth brew, how can you expect anyone to take you seriously when you have something to say?
The good thing is that there are always people in coffee shops. So there’s always another task, another interaction, another chance to be better. Which is a damn fine position to be in.
Maybe that’s why I miss it so much. To the point where I’m here writing about it. Longing to be back behind a coffee bar during the busy lunchtime rush. In a flow state, next to my brothers and sisters, serving others. Just trying to ease some suffering.
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