Just because they work in a coffee shop doesn’t mean you can be rude to them…

I hate rudeness. It annoys me. I get that sometimes we have bad moments, and we can be unintetnionally rude to people, or we don’t even realise we are being rude. 

But nothing annoys me more than deliberate rudeness and when someone treats someone rudely, and speaks to them as if they are below them, and less worthy of the basic politeness that all of humanity deserves. 

I am a bit of a coffee shop addict. I know all the local coffee shops near where I work and also where I live. I like escaping to grab coffee and use free WiFi, and I am also a people watcher. The husband says I am just pretty nosey, but I prefer people watching 😉

So, whilst I am ordering my coffee, or waiting for my pannini to be warmed up, I notice things. 

I see people going about their business. They say please and thank you and some make chat with the people serving them, some don’t.

Yesterday, I did a thing. 

I was in the queue, waiting to order. The chap in front of me was probably about fifteen years younger than me. Not quite young enough for me to have given birth to him, but almost. He ordered his coffee. Well, he didn’t order it. He barked rudely at the barista, who I happen to know is a student, working in the cafe to earn cash to manage whilst she studies. The way he looked at her, and the way he spoke to her, demanding his coffee, made all my “we don’t speak to people that way” vibes that I get when my own children step out of line and are rude. 

So I did a thing. I tapped him on the shoulder, and I gently said 

“you know what, this girl is NOT paid enough to be spoken to like that, and I am sure your mother taught you to say please and thank you, maybe you could use those when speaking to someone who is providing you a service?”

I can be quite scary when I want to be. I thought he might say something rude back, but actually, he looked a bit surprised. He looked me up and down. I knew he was thinking “who the hell is this knackered looking, probably old enough to be my mother, grumpy woman, and who does she think she is?”

But he didn’t say anything. He did however, turn around and say “sorry, and thank you” to the barista, and then he probably went onto social media and had a rant about mad, bossy, slightly ginger haired middle aged mum types who think they can tell him what to do. 

You see, just because someone is working in a cafe, or providing a service, and maybe isn’t being paid as much as you, or is doing what you think is a job that means you are better than them, or because you are paying them for your coffee and croissant, doesn’t mean that you can forget your manners. Don’t be rude. We are all humans, we are all doing jobs, earning our living, some of us serve the public, some of us sit behind screens, some of us clean up after other people. 

I know we all have bad days, and we forget sometimes, to think about other people. I get that. We all get submerged in our own lives, and it happens. But if you speak rudely, to someone, who is serving you, and is probably not paid enough but has to smile back at you, no matter how rude you are to them, then I will pick you up on it, and I don’t care how old you are. My “mum” voice works, not matter who you are! 

That’s my Friday Rant. You’re welcome! Oh, and don’t be rude to people. You might be standing next to me, and I may just say something!