a little get to know you

so i manage a coffee shop, right. and there are all these people that wander in and out. some of them are great and others, not so great. some provide intrigue, but others fatigue.

last week i was walking to the bank and was stopped by a gentleman on the sidewalk. he asked me if i knew where to find free wireless internet. i looked at myself, wondering if i, indeed, look like someone who knows where to find such things (i was reassured later that i certainly do), before telling him, "yes. go to the corner and take a left. you'll see murky coffee. they have wireless." he expressed his gratitude and walked off and i continued to the bank with a smile on my face, thinking how serendipitous it was (the word he used later) that, of all the people he was to ask, he asked the guy who runs a shop providing what he searches for. what a great city. what a great neighborhood. what a great human race. how lovely. how divine.

as i walked into the bank to do the daily deposit for the shop, something horrible occurred to me. "what if he's one of those guys?" the next day, my question was answered. although i was happy to see him return after he sat for an hour the day before, working on his computer and spending five bucks or so, he pulled out the headset for his phone and proceeded to make a half hour long phone call to the customer service department for some major electronics retailer, trying to sort out some problem he was having. he was loud. he had one of those kind of whiny annoying voices. he was sitting at the bar about four feet from me the whole time.

fine. come in. do your work. talk on your phone. whatever. but don't be loud. don't fill the whole shop with your complaining about how the digital video camera you bought doesn't have the promised capabilities, etc. grrrrr. why does this bother me so????

part of me wishes i had never run into this gentleman. i could've sent him to another coffee shop a few blocks down the road. i could've denied him service for annoying me. the other part of me...well, honestly, i don't think i'm going to give in and just say that it's all about serving people and loving them and making him a great latte whether he is owed it for being such a fine customer or not. all i will say is that some days i get it better than others. i'll leave it at that.