I am a coffee person. I have my regular Starbucks order locked and loaded (venti skinny French vanilla latte), and sometimes when I’m traveling, getting my caffeine fix becomes a real priority in my day. It makes it easier when there is a Starbucks located conveniently in my hotel lobby, which was the case last week when I was in Phoenix.
As I waited in the long line of under-caffeinated patrons, I observed again the chaotic nature of working in the fast-food service industry. Wrong orders, impatient customers, spilled lattes, and a cash register that wasn’t taking gift cards were all contributing to the general feeling of overwhelm in the coffee joint this morning. None of this was particularly out of the ordinary for a Starbucks, but the thing that stood out to me was the great big smile on the face of the barista behind the bar.
Matt was young, maybe even still in high-school, and his job was to serve the customers by taking orders, and making and delivering their specialty-ordered beverages in a timely manner. If he wanted to remain employed, he had to do his job- that was a given. What wasn’t a given was how he chose to do his job, and Matt chose to do it with an attitude of positivity and graciousness, and smile. In fact, I watched as patrons who has been impatiently tapping their foot in line got to the front, and were disarmed by the smile and serving spirit of the young man. His positivity was contagious, and in addition to getting my venti latte, I left feeling uplifted and energized to go into my day.
Sometimes, when you find yourself struggling to get through a situation that is chaotic and overwhelming, our character is defined not by if we can get through it, but by how we choose to get through it.
Do we plod along, scowling, complaining and blaming, or do continue to move forward with grace, doing what needs to be done while serving those around us with a smile?
Thank you Matt, for choosing to smile through the chaos and making my morning and my coffee-stop a much more pleasant experience, and for reminding us that when we choose to work through the overwhelming situations of life with a smile, we will make a difference.
Larry
