Back in December, I quit working the Loring Pasta Bar in Minneapolis so I could dedicate my time to travel. Ha! What a joke. After a 1600 mile road trip over Christmas and New Years, I started my job search the last week of January. Was it fear of change or simply the need to unwind after a break up followed by four months of soul-sucking customer service?
Getting back into the grind the day after MLK day rudely jolted me back into reality. All those tired, eager smiles, just waiting for me to finish the transaction so they could finally get their desperately needed stimulant fix. Ok, here's your bloody latte. Every time Starbucks makes the news-whether it be to introduce a one dollar coffee, announce the layoff of six hundred employees, or to swindle some free advertisement about a three hour closure for training- I get accosted five hundred times daily with the question of how it affects me.
Are people so individualistic that they completely ignore the person standing in line, one foot in front of them, and ask the same pointless question to the heel trapped behind the counter? I try not to bring my personal problems to the job, but my problem is my job. Simply explaining the difference between a corporation and a franchise never satisfies the average university student/employee. So I leave it there and let them have it, both barrels. No, I didn't have to stay late at the job I hate, because I am the model of legendary service. By the way, did you know you are only the 369th person to ask me that exact question today? Print the receipt, we're all set here. Thank you have a nice day. I end all my venomous comments with, thank you have a nice day.
WOW, your lunch looks delicious. I have been working since seven without so much as a restroom break. Where did you buy it? The Campus Club? I was so angry when they took a whole floor of the student union for a crummy two and a half star restaurant at which you have to be a member to eat. It's not for students. Not that expensive? What do you you call $10,000 of tuition? Sounds like a membership fee to me. Enjoy your lunch. Thank you have a nice day.
I see so many tired, nervous, sometimes way to amped up regulars. They all want the Starbucks Guy to memorize their exact twenty-word custom drink order. Well, I sell about seven hundred drinks a day, you can't even remember one guy's- who you see every day- name. So can you please tell me how you want your fix? Thank you have a nice day.
I landed a job in Seoul, South Korea. I cannot wait to go. Some of my Korean friends told me to expect delays in the visa process. So far, the only frustrating snag has been a delay in the reference process, however that has been resolved. I have been working on the language and sharpening my skills with a few exchange doctors. So close. Then the fun will begin. Peace and Love--I'm out.
