It was 8 a.m. and our shop smelled like just fresh inspiration and there was tense energy around. I had my co-worker who was always freaking out, cleaning the counter for the fifth time while I tried to fix the wobbly. So I heard the welcome sign by the door. My job is to greet Lila when she walked in and try to make her feel special with that sounding like that. Put her dog. I practiced my line in the mirror.
So the door opened at sharp nine and there she was putting on sunglasses with sharp laser looking like she could smell the bad coffee from our shop miles away. At first my mouth went dry. I stepped up, had to come up and I blotted.
“We are so excited that you are here.”
That’s it. My hair came out quicker and more shaky than I planned, but she smiled. The real one. I’m not, never a scary critic. So I led her to, to one of the best tables that we have, the VIP one. The one by the window with good view, light and nice chair. And we started chatting. Not about the coffee, but about the shops and its vibes. Those local art on our wall and even that goofy apron.
So by the time I bought her the things she needed, she felt at home and it felt less like greeting a VIP and more like just welcoming a friend. So she sipped, nodded and jotted something in her notebook. I didn’t dare to mind what she jotted. But as she left, she winked and said, please kill this place, it’s real, you guys are doing.
And just like that, I realized that that thought of greeting a VIP isn’t just about being perfect. It’s about more of the art. And then our little shops got plenty of that.
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