Friday, January 25, 2008

Lots to Learn ...

Lately I've been helping out at my favourite coffee shoppe ... in addition to doing some of the foot work behind possibly expanding the Fair Trade items available at Chipperfields, I have also been doing some day to day work filling in where there have been gaps in the schedule with the regular full and part-timers ... the training has been INTENSE and more than a little intimidating!!

In the last couple of weeks I have, while standing BEHIND the counter LEARNED A LOT ... I've realized just how damned hard the job of "pouring coffee" can really be ... with the diversity of menu items, the speciality beverages, the loose teas, and EVERYTHING else customer related you keep BUSY ... and that's not too mention the many, many, many OTHER duties that happen behind the scenes ...

I am IMPRESSED with the ability of those who serve us in cafes, coffee shops, restaurants and other service venues - and the next time I think about whether or not to leave a tip, I'll think about my experiences at Chipperfields and ALL the work it involves and tip accordingly !!!

Makes me appreciate my morning coffee a little bit more !!


4 comments:

Candygirlflies said...

I worked in a coffee shop for a few years... And my only advice is, "When in doubt, run the damn dishwasher again".

xo CGF

Unknown said...

Shawn you are becoming even more the magnificent human we all knew you to be. From less than a year ago where you felt reviled in the coffee shop by silly sorts to now pouring the coffees and being the barrista.............way to go renaissance man.

Anonymous said...

As one who works behind the counter and shared in that intense training... thanks for the compliments bestowed on us... but you worked hard and did just fine; other than the little espresso explosion, but we won't share that with all your readers! :-)

Candygirlflies said...

ESPRESSO EXPLOSION???

Oh, I woulda bought me a ticket to see that...

xo CGF