Happy Easter & Please Be Kind

Happy Easter WA Friends & Please Be Kind To All

Happy Easter Sunday, everyone! I hope you all get the chance to spend time with your friends and family today because that is what holidays are really about. I just wanted to take a quick moment to write a blog about my experience yesterday. It was a hard day for me but I am trying to stay positive today and turn it all around. Reaching out to all the positive, friendly faces here always makes me feel better.

So here's what happened. Let me start with showing you this funny picture to illustrate how my day went:

So the orange egg was my initial reaction. On the inside, I felt like the yellow egg lol.

Here's what happened in a nutshell...If you know me then you know that I am a full-time café manager. That is my primary job. I am doing extra online endeavors here to create a second stream of income, mostly to pay down student debt but also to build up a savings again.

So I was working a mid shift from 12pm to 8:30pm yesterday and it was slammed. I mean it was crazy busy but I've got a great team and I was confident that we'd be alright. I was ready for the long line that lasted for hours. I'd prepped extra food the night before in anticipation of the craziness. I was prepared. At least I thought I was.

It was almost 5pm and I'd pushed back my lunch break until an extra café server came in. I just wanted to make sure I had enough coverage. Maybe if I hadn't been so hungry, I wouldn't have felt so sensitive lol. I was hangry, as they say.

So anyway, a lady came in with two other gentlemen and she was the meanest person that I've ever met in my entire life. I'm not sure if she was initially angry because she had to wait a few minutes to be helped as I prepped some food for the previous customer or what. When I got to her, she just stared at me like I was an idiot. That was the first clue that it would be a bad interaction. Then I told her I was ready to take her order as I scanned her items. I kindly let here know that I could multitask if she was ready to tell me her drink order. She continued to stare then rolled her eyes. Okay. Not sure why I annoyed her so much but alright..

After that it was just how she said everything to me. I honestly believe the woman had more respect for dog s***. That is how awful it made me feel. I guess I forgot that I'd already asked her if she had a membership to our store and when I mistakenly asked a second time she felt the need to make a scene and shout, "I already told you once that NO, I do NOT have a membership." Yeah. That's how it went. When I set down her coffee (two different size cups), I said, "Here is your coffee, Ma'am." She shouted at me and asked me if I was going to tell her what both drinks were or just throw them down on the counter. I didn't throw anything. Actually, I gently set it down in front of her to calm her down and still got shouted out. I also did tell her what the items were but okay. I just couldn't win. She angrily asked for bags for her scanned items (as I was putting them in bags already.) She accused me of not giving her the third drink that she had ordered. It was a hot chocolate. The milk has to be steamed to 160 degrees, mixed with mocha and vanilla, and then topped with whipped cream. It takes a moment. I kindly explained that my co-worker was making her hot chocolate and that it would be ready in a few moments, thank you.

My point is that the entire 6 minute interaction that I had with this woman was the worst I've ever had. I've never been shouted at or embarrassed like that for no reason. It made me feel pretty awful inside. Here I am, exhausted, running a very busy café (#1 in my district) and being treated like I am some kind of worthless slave. She made me feel stupid and sad. Maybe she had a bad day or maybe she was just an awful human being in general and gets her kicks out of mistreating others. I don't know and I don't care anymore but I still remember. I ran it over in my mind for hours trying to figure what I could have done differently but I just couldn't get an answer. A bubble bath and some red wine was my cure when I got home last night so don't worry, I'm not balled up crying or anything lol.

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My point in sharing this story with you all is just to say, please be kind to others. I don't care what their job is or where you go, be kind. I've got a lot of experience in retail and food service and a lot of it is negative. The sad thing is that it is all avoidable and due to other people treating myself and my employees poorly. I'm just as upset when I see people talk to my staff that way but at least then I am able to step in and fix the situation by diverting that anger towards me and not them. I love my job for the most part but it's the customers that really blow my mind. I've been shouted at for not taking expired coupons, had a giftcard thrown at me because we couldn't take it (it was for a different store), and much more.

I don't mean to be so negative on Easter. I just wanted to share this story for two reasons:

1. To feel better. This community always helps me feel more positive and that's why I love being here so much.
2. To say, please be kind to everyone you meet.

If your biggest concern is that your nearest coffee shop ran out of your favorite cookie, act like a decent human being and don't scream and shout at the food workers. Maybe their warehouse ran out of them or maybe they just sold out until they can make more. It's just food. Get over it. If the worst part of your day is something this minuscule, then you're pretty blessed because there are starving, abandoned children all over the world just trying to survive.

So please be kind and treat others the way you'd like to be treated. Every day. All day. Everywhere you go. Always. Thank you.

Thanks for reading. I'd love some positivity so comment away!