Today I want to change thing’s up and write about a little boy that left me inspired. A thirteen year old boy, accompanied by his Mother came up to the register and ordered a hot chocolate. After he ordered he handed me a card with a twenty dollar bill attached. He simply said “I want you to give this to the first customer that buys something after I leave the store.” The boy drank his hot chocolate and then waved goodbye as he left the store. In the letter he gave me, it explained that today was his birthday and for his birthday he wanted to put a smile on people’s faces by doing small acts of kindness. He was asking if patrons would continue to pass along his letter, even if they couldn’t afford to pay for other’s order. All he wanted was for whoever received the letter to pass it along with words of encouragement to another member of the community stopping by for a cup of coffee.
I couldn’t wait for my next customer. Moments later a tall beautiful brunette walked into the store with a purse in one hand and her phone to her ear. The woman stood next to our retail section while she finished her conversation. I was giddy with anticipation. When she came to the counter I greeted her by saying “Hii, how are you!?” She was unimpressed by my enthusiastic greeting. However, I refused to let her rain on my parade.
When ever customers seem frustrated or annoyed with me I always put myself in their shoes. For example, if I walked into a store and someone with a high pitched voice blurted “Hii, how are you?!” depending on my mood, no matter what, I would definitely hate that person. So, I understood her instant dislike towards me.
The woman casually ordered a latte made with almond milk. Unfortunately, the cafe I work at does not have that type of milk. I was becoming increasingly disappointed in myself. First, I annoyed the bejeezus out of her with my obnoxious greeting and now I was letting her down by not having the specific product she craved! I was not only letting myself and the almond milk loving woman down, I was letting this poor boy down. I refused to give up hope.
After weighing her options, she settled for a latte made with soy. As she pulled out her wallet I handed her the letter and said “your drink is going to be free today.” I knew I had a stupid grin on my face but, I couldn’t help it, this was all so exciting. I quickly paid for her drink with the twenty dollar bill the boy had left and handed her the change. She skimmed the letter, smiled awkwardly, quietly thanked me and then walked away.
I was so befuddled! Why wasn’t she as excited as I was? I wasn’t even the one receiving the free drink/cash and I was ripping at the seams! I glared at her using my peripherals (yeah, I’m a creep) hoping she just misunderstood me and needed a moment to let the excitement sink in before she openly celebrated. Instead she sat down at a table and enjoyed her latte while talking on the phone. She was as cool as a cucumber. Not once did she mention the incredible situation that had just occurred!
I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions so, I patiently waited for her to pass along the freaking letter. Nope. She drank half of her latte, dropped the other half in the trash can and casually walked out of the building! She never gave anyone the letter!
At first I was outraged. I wanted to form a small committee to track this lady down and throw almond milk at her house! I wanted to describe her to a sketch artist so, I could post her face all over the local coffee shops of Las Vegas warning them of her awfulness. I wanted to.. Then I thought of the sweet little boy and how the purpose of his letter was to spread happiness.
Well, I am not sure what the moral of this story is. The only thing I am sure of is that the little boy who handed me that letter made my day a little brighter and that the lady who never passed it along is a selfish, stuck-up, joy sucking, almond milk drinker.
innercitybarista 