A Format for the Future
Meditation today brought the following to mind. If you do not like this word, please substitute prayer, as they are of the same spirit.
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A cafe needs too be a place of community, of socialization, of connection. Too often, the cafes of today are only good for the social group you bring with you. This is not correct. A cafe nees to foster social connection, not merely be a node for it. The cafe serves a drug (if you will allow the loose terminology) to loosen the inhibitions of its patrons. If offers comfortable seating and warmth to foster a relaxed state of being. There is music, noise, chatter to ease the bonds of social propriety. It offers food so its community may stay, connect, circulate throughout the day.
It should never be a drive-through, float past experience. It should not focus on speed of delivery. It should not be mass-manufactured.
The cafe staff should always want to, not only serve, but engage each and every patron. Seating ought to encourage patrons to break social space restrictions, ought to require communication between patrons (and perhaps cafe staff). Cafe staff should express and foster real interest in the patrons. This can be shown through smiling, getting a name, a compliment, or basic question (How is your day? Have a good weekend? etc). Contact should be genuine and honest. Being present in the moment with each patron is essential. Cafe staff should never appear "too busy" to be spoken to. It is more important to be available than preoccupied.
Too often, I see rubber-stamp cafes that are mass-produced and fractured. Cafe Staff is meant to get customers in and out, as fast as possible. "To go", drive-throughs, the faster you can hand it to them and get them out of the line, the better.
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A cafe needs too be a place of community, of socialization, of connection. Too often, the cafes of today are only good for the social group you bring with you. This is not correct. A cafe nees to foster social connection, not merely be a node for it. The cafe serves a drug (if you will allow the loose terminology) to loosen the inhibitions of its patrons. If offers comfortable seating and warmth to foster a relaxed state of being. There is music, noise, chatter to ease the bonds of social propriety. It offers food so its community may stay, connect, circulate throughout the day.
It should never be a drive-through, float past experience. It should not focus on speed of delivery. It should not be mass-manufactured.
The cafe staff should always want to, not only serve, but engage each and every patron. Seating ought to encourage patrons to break social space restrictions, ought to require communication between patrons (and perhaps cafe staff). Cafe staff should express and foster real interest in the patrons. This can be shown through smiling, getting a name, a compliment, or basic question (How is your day? Have a good weekend? etc). Contact should be genuine and honest. Being present in the moment with each patron is essential. Cafe staff should never appear "too busy" to be spoken to. It is more important to be available than preoccupied.
Too often, I see rubber-stamp cafes that are mass-produced and fractured. Cafe Staff is meant to get customers in and out, as fast as possible. "To go", drive-throughs, the faster you can hand it to them and get them out of the line, the better.
1 Thought(s):
You needn't ask for allowance in calling coffee a drug; that is just what it is and we should be okay with that.
Also, this seems like something we can copy and print for a mission statement or something like that.
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