Cafe Vibes
My friend and I were meeting for a coffee in a large café in the city. It was crazy busy but we managed to find somewhere to sit to begin our catch up. The café got busier and busier. The staff were stuck at the till trying to process the orders. A long queue formed out of the door. The poor staff couldn't leave the till to clear up but were running out of cups. The new girl looked terrified and on the brink of tears trying to cope, clearing the tables and washing up by herself. Whilst a couple of tables were unoccupied, they were full of used cups, leftover food, and napkins. A single mother of two approached, with her two youngsters in a double pram. She was trying to balance her drinks and their lunches but couldn't find space on the overloaded "dirty" table. I looked at the mother and then at my friend who was also wearing a pained expression. She asked, "Shall we?" Having spent many years waitressing, we quickly found where the trays were stored, cleared and cleaned the table for the mother, and returned the full trays to the kitchen. But we just couldn't stop there. As two elderly ladies came in, we identified an unoccupied table for them by the window and cleared that too. Before long we had cleared all of the unoccupied tables and the queue started to die down. Any customers who were leaving started to offer their tables and tidy some of their mess too. It just goes to show, the smallest ripples can begin to make some waves. Never underestimate the difference a small gesture can make.
