Meghan and Customer Service

Happier baristas, happier person to person exchanges. Because let’s be honest, when you can’t pay your rent, it’s hard to be happy at work.

My first job when I was 14 or 15 was working in a Caribou Coffee. Then life took me to many other places and I ended up back in coffee about 5 years ago. In a much different Portland “specialty coffee” scene. So now that I’m no longer in coffee, what can I say about my time? One major thing I learned is, customer service isn’t for everyone. I think we think it is, because they are mostly minimum wage jobs, which seems to signal that anyone should be able to do the work, but that’s simply not true. It’s hard thankless work for the most part. People love coffee, but they don’t always show love to their barista. On an extremely personal level though, it was very important to me to not take anything out on customers. Not to say I didn’t stand up for myself when necessary. But, if I brought negativity to the shop all day, I left and took even more negativity home with me. I genuinely enjoyed serving the customers and trying to give them a nice experience. I would look around and see dates, friend chit chats, interviews, and quiet solitude. I didn’t want to be the grumpy barista to ruin one of those moments. As a customer in Portland who tips well, busses my dishes, etc. I find myself regularly wondering, ‘geeze what did I do wrong?’ when all I got was rolling eyes and coldness. I’d love to see customer service provide more sustainable jobs, meaning higher wages, paid time off, access to health care and supportive company systems. Happier baristas, happier person to person exchanges. Because let’s be honest, when you can’t pay your rent, it’s hard to be happy at work.