Have you ever noticed those black rubber mat thingies that are behind the counter in Starbucks, where the baristas work? They are about an inch thick and very spongy so I guess they both make standing on your feet for hours more bearable plus keep employees from slipping when the floor gets wet. Ever wonder where they clean them? Me neither, but I found out today. They wash them down and then pile them up on top of each other to dry, right in the path from the door to the order counter. You know, that path where every customer will trip over them. Like I did just now. I went sprawling ungracefully right in front of the counter. Ms. Manager was aghast at the legal implications of that fall but I was nice enough about it to get my drink comped. Nothing tastes better than a free cappuccino, well free beer would be right up there. This unexpected fall had me observing the goings on in the Starbucks and musing on different things. Read on if you care.
I visit Starbucks a lot and even though there is no written requirement anywhere I always buy a drink for my stay. I like the caffeine anyway. Today this guy walks in with his giant rolling laptop bag and moves right to the big laptop table. Pulls out a giant laptop from his giant laptop bag and begins to work away. He sets his gear up, visits the facilities, and then walks up to the counter. I figured he was going to purchase something but no, he just grabbed one of those little cups of free samples. So it’s bad enough he doesn’t buy anything, he gets free stuff and then does the unthinkable (to me). He asks them where the music is? See, this was one of those rare times when they weren’t playing any music at all. Sweet silence since no super loud music nobody wants to hear was playing. But that wasn’t good enough for this guy. If he’s going to use up their table space, buy nothing, and eat free food then he better have loud music playing.
To satisfy this non-customer they cranked up an entire CD of Shakira. Now, not to get Shakira fans all over me but Shakira without video is like Christmas without presents. Not a lot of substance there. She tries but her singing is fairly annoying. I don’t think anyone who attends her concerts are there for the music, the ones who say they are are lying. The guys, anyway. After 15 minutes of this I would have given the guy who requested the music a piece of my mind but he looked like an ex-Marine who could kick my butt in about 8 seconds. So I just worked in silence, trying to picture the Shakira videos in my mind. Sigh.
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