Rest Up!

I've made it blatantly clear to those that I work with of my outlook: if you can't handle going out the night before, don't. Don't get me wrong, I have dabbled in my share of drinks and debauchery the eve of an early work morning a time or twenty. But if the cause of your punishment is self-inflicted I have absolutely no sympathy. Put on your pretty face, fake smile, and make it through your shift with only wanting to jump into oncoming traffic a handful of times. We've all been there, you're not the first and you sure won't be the last.

There is, however, something to be said for trying to work on a brutal nights' sleep. It is virtually impossible to work in an environment that requires you to smile, be coherent, and go above and beyond the expectation. It's impossible. I am fairly confident that I never actually woke up throughout the entire day today and luckily enough my job has become second nature that although running on E, I was also functioning on auto-pilot.

Going through the motions is relatively easy it's being personable, however, where the challenge arises. Not to mention the fact that things you would normally let slide any other day make you want to smack the lips right off more than a handful of people's faces. You be the judge.

This morning, a customer, a rude customer from the word "go" had the audacity to ROLL HER EYES AT ME when I informed her we only had one variety of muffin. Well ma'am, I do apologize. This is solely my fault that my company only chooses to carry one variety of muffin.

"Just an FYI, I'm fairly certain a muffin isn't as great for you as you think it is so you might as well eat any of the other 400 calorie options in my pastry case. Grow up and get a grip. Stop hating me because your life sucks." Is what I would have liked to say. But like any other day: we just smile, and nod.

The Kiosk Curse Pt. 2

There is something to be said for a customer base that has seen you every morning for the last three and a half years which have enough compassion or understanding of a person to not ask them "what happened??" when met with the face I greeted my customers with this morning. As the curse would have it, I have for the second time this year, gotten shingles on my eye. Quite the anomaly, as I have been told by the doctors. Trust me, there is something noticeably wrong with my eye and if you saw me every day you wouldn't miss this. As some of my co-workers had no trouble pointing out, "what is wrong with your eye?", "you look terrible", "your eye looks like it is going to explode."  - but we have a different relationship.

Not a single customer ventured to ask me what was wrong with my eye. Maybe because they were nervous of what my answer would be. As one friend described last time this happened, "if I didn't know you, I would think you are in an abusive relationship." However, I like to think I know my customers better than that and in turn they have come to know me and the reputation our kiosk holds for being a little bit of a medical struggle. Therefore, as long as someone is there to serve them coffee, we have an unspoken understanding: there will be no questions asked.

Back to the curse: April 2011-January 2012.

Our little family has gone through some changes in the last nine months. We had six of the original nine team members leave, mostly for new jobs or school, everyone was moving on in their lives. Leaving only three amigos behind. Since April, it seems for every person we hire there is at least one that leaves:

Kelsey: quit with short notice, left me hanging
Karen: resigned for another job
Danielle: still with us
Jasmine: quit short notice
Jeremy: still with us
Valerie: moved away
Trisha: no show for training, let her go
Gail: not able to work
Pamela: newest hire, doing great

There was a flittering moment somewhere between November and December when I think we had a full roster for all of one week. But the quest to rebuild our family continues. We currently sit at 7 team members but the lucky number is 8 and until the final spot can be filled we only have one rule: NO GINGERS ALLOWED. (Okay, we don't truly hold anything against gingers, just the people that have left us hanging in the past have all coincidentally been that of the red-haired variety).

Paired with the staffing issue we have also seen our share of medical ailments: shingles of the eye - twice (myself), sprained ankle (Danielle), getting hit by a truck - as a pedestrian (Janelle), and just the normal challenges that come with running a kiosk.

So as we will soon transition from January to February, we can only hope the each passing day brings us a little bit closer to the end of this curse.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved in the stories. I will never disclose personal information on any of my customers or employees*

We're Like A Fine Wine

Before I can paint an accurate picture of the present I think it only fair I give you some background on our little kiosk.  From the time I started in July 2008 until April 2011 we, essentially, had the exact same group of employees and it was awesome. We were a happy little coffee-serving family. Like most good things, it eventually had to come to an end and the last nine months have been quite the adventure.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

September 2009 - June 2010 is what I like to refer to as the year of the band aid. (Yes, I know this isn't a full year but it was an entire university school year so that's what I'm basing it off). In these months, I: got sick with the H1N1 virus , I lost a friend in a tragic accident, I got stranded in Pembina, North Dakota in one of the worst blizzards of the year, I had to have an emergency appendectomy while I was out of town (during my reading week - Canadian University Spring Break), and I third-degree sprained my ankle.

Stranded alone in Pembina, ND. Yes, I was nervous.

Sprained Left Ankle - That's Hot.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not throwing myself a pity party. But what all these freak-incidents have in common is that they resulted in me having to miss work. Whether it was a day or two or three months, work was missed but I was never made to feel like an inconvenience. Our awesome team rallied together and covered the necessary shifts to make sure I could focus on recovery or grieving or whatever each incident called for.

As I mentioned, I have witnessed some superior acts of kindness and compassion amongst people in working at our little coffee kiosk and throughout the year of the band aid, I was constantly in awe of the kindness and support of my co-workers. Although, it seems the "curse" had passed, it seems we have been stricken with it yet again.

Tune in tomorrow for part two of the curse: April 2011-January 2012

First Things First...

Welcome! Let me begin by saying thank you for stopping by. For the last three and a half years I have had the pleasure of working at a coffee kiosk that has allowed me to interact with the general public on a daily basis. I once had a customer suggest that I should write a book about my experiences and having that idea planted in my head I figured, why not start a blog.

As mentioned, I work full time while attending university full time. In my career as a Barista I have had the pleasure of being surprised by people's kindness as well as shocked by their stupidity. So, this is a place to celebrate and recognize both.

I've said before that, I may not be saving the world but I just may be serving coffee to someone that does.

That being said, I hope you enjoy the chronicles that follow in what is sure to, at the very least, inform.

Happy reading!