After a long day at work, 2 Amigos and 3 Senoritas decided to enjoy a cup of hot coffee and donuts. It was a perfect wet afternoon for something hot and sweet.

We decided on a mall and we spotted a cafe on the far corner that will satisfy our cravings.

The cafe was small, empty, and with 3 employees standing behind the counter.

We got our orders and sat down to sip our first coffee, a family of 5 walked in.

The small cafe instantly came alive with people talking, placing orders, and the music as well.

Before even we took our first bite of the donut, the staff from behind the counter reprimanded us, “You people are noisy, please be quiet”.

We were shocked  …. one of our Senorita quickly apologized.

The first question that popped into my head was, Were We Loud?

OR is it because suddenly there are many people in the cafe, and the noise just got magnified?

Instantly we left the café and continued our coffee and donut under a tree, outside the mall.

We were not sure if we behaved poorly, but we surely felt unwelcome.

My takeaways:

 Whatever the situation, value your customers. It would have been appropriate to walk closer to tell the customer to express the concern than saying it across the counter.

 Treat customers better, as they will speak about the brand, the employees, and how they were treated by others. Customers are our brand ambassadors.

Be sensitive to the surroundings, there could be others watching and listening to the conversation. It may create an opinion!

We walked away feeling a little puzzled, until one of our Amigo’s said, “I am not coming back here again or supporting any of their branches around Malaysia anymore. They are known to have a poor quality of employees”.

In total silence once again, the hot coffee became cold and the donuts were not sweet anymore.

NOW, what do you think that was lacking from the employee, or would you blame the company for the poor behavior of the employee?

I would say it’s the #culture!