Repatriation culture quirk #245: too-cool baristas
Addis Ababa has a thriving restaurant and cafe society. It employs lots and lots of wait staff. All of the waiters and waitresses I met seemed very attentive and helpful. They actually wanted to have the job and were trying to be good at it.
Contrast this with what I (re)discovered about Americans in the service-sector: none of them are really in the service sector. They're really in college (University) and trying to make spending money, or they're aspiring actors, writers, painters, blah blah blah and only in the service sector until they make it big. This results in Attitude. Lots of Attitude. This is nowhere more evident than the local coffee shop, CD being the best example in Chapel Hill. (The national chains seems to have somehow trained this out of their servers.) The coffee-makers, aka baristas, at all local coffee shops are too cool to wait on you. Really. Because they are really artistic geniuses who are going to break out into the fame they truly deserve at any minute, actually waiting on you is beneath them, and they suffer it only because life has so far been unfair and has put them in this lowly position. So they imagine it isn't a lowly position, and suffer ungladly your sniveling requests for service. While merely rolling their eyes at a normal request, at any additional request for, you know, service, the sighing and head-shaking start. I always want to grab them by one of their multiple piercings and yell "dude! you work in a coffee shop for minimum wage! You are not too cool to put soy milk in my latte!"
I long for Addis where people take service jobs they actually want and care about being good at.
(And don't even get me started about independent music stores.)
Next time you're in the great white north, you'll have to try a Beaner's. In training, they stress customer service and it shows.
Posted by: Mike | February 06, 2008 at 07:02 PM
Heh, I know just the place you mean. Sorry to hear they are snooty. The only time I've been there in the last few years was for a wedding, one that I actually officiated (after being ordained online--it was my second of three!).
You should spend some more time in Carrboro. :)
Posted by: Ms. Four | February 06, 2008 at 07:05 PM
Yeah, Open Eye Cafe is nice and not too-cool. Three-Cups would be good except they take themselves a little to seriously and (get this) don't have an espresso machine? So pure that you only serve coffee and not espresso? Weird.
Posted by: Marc Luoma | February 07, 2008 at 03:35 AM
Why is poor customer service quality acceptable in USA ? one answer I have is, customers do not have anywhere else that can better serve them. majority of customer services in America, universally provide poor service.
Can you imagine if Khaldi coffee shop opening in USA with the motto of better customer service ? I think that could kick starbuck's behind.
Posted by: reader | February 07, 2008 at 04:22 AM
Marc,
Here's the untold truth. I'm not surprised at all to hear your appreciation for Addis customer service. Sadly, it's bad for me as a citizen and very good a visitor like you. The customer service in Ethiopia for the Ethiopian citzens are very poor and the word customer service is unheard of. They're absolutely horrible! I've seen enough Ethiopian owned business out in the west and in Addis run by zero customer service skills and bad attitude for Ethiopian citizens. For some unknown reasons, Ethiopians are treating fellow Ethipians badly and they're extremely nice to foreigners (i would say "Ferenje" like foreigners). Not all "foreigners" are equal, believe me.
Reader,
You must not be an Ethiopian then. If you're, you should know better.
Posted by: Alem | February 08, 2008 at 05:21 AM
Marc,
I agree with Alem 110%. Bad customer service by Ethiopians for Ethiopians is a very common and painful experience both in the west and in Ethiopia. We do have this twisted culture/mentality of " Engida Akbarie" meaning "respect for guests" which gives the wrong impression to outsiders.
Posted by: Addis | February 08, 2008 at 08:19 PM
I agree with Alem 110%. Bad customer service by Ethiopians for Ethiopians is a very common and painful experience both in the west and in Ethiopia. We do have this twisted culture/mentality of " Engida Akbarie" meaning "respect for guests" which gives the wrong impression to outsiders.
Posted by: Addis | February 08, 2008 at 08:21 PM