Today around noon, I went to a coffee shop and was the only person in line. The cashier was talking to a coworker, then came over after a few seconds to take my order. She was nice, and I had no complaints about how she treated me.
I ordered two drinks. Behind the counter, I could see four workers. Three were talking, and one was preparing coffee beans. After a couple of minutes, I still didn’t see anyone making my drinks. Another worker eventually came over and slowly started preparing them while talking to a coworker.
It looked like there might have been a shift change. Some employees might have been on break. I don’t know, and I understand that workers need their breaks.
But it made me think about what the customer sees. When several employees are behind the counter chatting while an order waits, it can look like nobody is paying attention—even if there’s a reasonable explanation.
For me, a coffee shop is about the whole experience. The coffee matters, but so does feeling welcome and knowing someone is taking care of your order. I would return to a place with average coffee and good service.
If someone is on break, having a separate space away from the service counter would help. And during a shift change, making sure someone is clearly responsible for waiting orders would make a difference. That takes awareness from both employees and management.
My thought today is that doing our job also means noticing how our actions affect the people we serve. We know what’s happening behind the counter. The customer only knows what they can see.