There was a new starter in the cafe a few months ago.
I remember her first day vividly. Her head was down and she shuffled behind the counter. Her eyes darted from side to side, looking around for backup. Nerves were visibly coursing through her body.
Then the moment came.
“Double espresso please”
Panic, fear, terror shot across her face all at once. A colleague swooped in and prepared the coffee. The New Starter stabbed the till a few times.
“Err, 60p please”
I would love for a double espresso to be 60p.
Alas, I politely corrected her whilst making one of those generally tragic cafe jokes about the cost of living.
“I haven’t paid that for a coffee since 2003!” HAHAHA.
When I was 10. A lie.
How could she think a coffee would ever be 60p? If she’s crumbling at this, I can only imagine the scene when she’s actually trying to make coffee. This job isn’t for her.
I wrote her off and just hoped I’d have the usual people to serve me tomorrow.
🔸🔸🔸
The queue is eight people deep. A girl strides in.
“Did you miss me?” she jokes to her colleague.
She heads straight for the coffee machine, dual-wielding the handles.
“What can I get for you?”
This girl is confident. She’s owning the floor with a swagger and an air of calmness. There’s a familiarity about her.
Is that… New Starter?
🔸🔸🔸
Three months ago I wrote her off. Now she’s the heartbeat of the operation.
In the right environment, with the right level of guidance and patience, she has flourished.
When prematurely writing off people in your team, was it the environment, guidance or patience that was lacking?
Stoirm
