A Missed Opportunity

It's not uncommon for me to work out of coffee shops.?I have my usual haunts.?So, it was a surprise when my favorite barista at one of my go-to shops was gone and replaced with someone who was not so knowledgeable - and she was working alone.? Ours was an awkward conversation...

"Sorry, I can't make a latte.?Nope, not sure about an Americano," she said.

"Can you make me a cup of hot coffee," I asked.

"Absolutely," she said somewhat uncertainly.?

After 20 minutes of waiting, it became clear that she did not know how to make coffee. The barista in question was clearly new to the job and certainly hadn't been trained how to brew a proper cup of joe. She panicked. Instead of talking to me, she decided to take the dregs of the previous day's coffee pot, pour it into a to-go cup, microwave to lukewarm, and top it off with water.? It was undrinkable. More than that, I felt bad for her.

I wasn't happy, but I didn't say anything about it. ?As I think about it now, I wonder why? At first, I thought anything I could have said would have made her feel worse and I didn't want to contribute to that. Now I think I missed an opportunity.

Reimagining my response to getting that terrible cup of coffee of simply walking away confused and disappointed, I should have just told her. I mean, we could have seriously laughed at how bad it was. Maybe it would have been a way to alleviate her stress and worry that maybe I'd go to a manager and complain. As it was, it was not a good exchange and we left it like that. I wish I hadn't.

It was obvious she didn't have the training to give her the confidence to know how to do her job properly.?She didn't have the mindset to be able to accept the responsibility to tell me she didn't know what she was doing.?That's a terrible place to be in a career.

On the other hand, I should have read the situation better. I could have diffused the awkwardness with some humor or simply told her I'd wait until she had some back-up. I might have acknowledged it was her first day opening or simply ordered a tea which is literally hot water and a tea bag. Easy and within pretty much anyone's skillset.

It cost me $3.86 for a cup of bad coffee.?It cost her embarrassment and frustration which I could clearly see in her face. Knowledge is empowerment and empowerment is enabling. I wondered, how good could she be if someone believed in her enough to train her properly and trust her to do a good job? She would be a different person, a confident and quite possibly happy, more fulfilled person.

The owners of the coffee shop, however, I wonder if they even know.?Maybe someone was running late? Maybe it was her first day. Perhaps she was covering for someone. Who knows, but if you're wearing the barista title behind the counter in a coffee shop, you should be able to brew a cup of coffee.

Alternatively, if she had felt confident or empowered, she could have explained what happened and we could probably have laughed about it. It's kind of a funny situation.

You see the parallel I'm trying to make is that honesty is the best policy. Make a mistake, acknowledge it. Don't know how to do something, just ask for help and a little grace. Communication is key to all of our relationships. We don't have to be so serious all the time. We're human after all.