Shameless people
Warmer weather means more foot traffic, which means more business. A good thing. It's also more comfortable outdoors, and generally more pleasant. One need not wear layers, or really much of anything. This is not so good. Loose clothing isn't so bad, and while most of what certain ladies tend to wear is generally tasteful, there are a few which cross the line. I swear, that one woman with what could only be a push-up was waving them around in front of me. Not sure what was going through her head, the brazen hussy. Some customers were equally troublesome in their attire, although less pro-active about it - which makes it even more tempting to gawk. I think I probably overcompensate in my endeavor not to stare, because a few customers seemed put out by my lack of interaction with them. Bah. It's possible to be comfortable, stylish, attractive, and tasteful at the same time.
After closing earlier tonight, a homeless-looking person was sitting outside the shop at one of our tables. She had been there for over six hours. She asked me, after I locked the door, if I had anything on me, and said she had a few dollars. From a past interaction with this person, I knew she wanted food, and I knew that she knew I had leftovers in my bag. I know that the owners of the shop are completely against giving things away for free. Attracting vultures and freeloaders is not what we're all about as a business. Much as I would personally like to give people food that we'd otherwise discard, it's generally disallowed. We the employees can pocket the food that we'd be throwing away at the end of the day, though. Well, this lady offered me two or three dollars for whatever I might have in my bag. It didn't strike me at the time how terribly shady and bad-employee it would be for me to sell her my goodies, but my gut said no, definite no. I told her, "Your best bet would have been to buy something while we were still open. The Wendy's up the street has some cheap burgers. For a dollar, I think, and they're still open." If I had run into her on the street, somewhere completely set apart from the coffee shop, I'd have given her some muffins for free. But I definitely am not allowed to encourage her to freeload on our premises - or sell her day-old food and have the money go straight to my pocket. She has money to spend on food, so I feel no remorse for not giving her any for free, and I especially feel no remorse for disappointing her prediction regarding my lack of integrity.
After closing earlier tonight, a homeless-looking person was sitting outside the shop at one of our tables. She had been there for over six hours. She asked me, after I locked the door, if I had anything on me, and said she had a few dollars. From a past interaction with this person, I knew she wanted food, and I knew that she knew I had leftovers in my bag. I know that the owners of the shop are completely against giving things away for free. Attracting vultures and freeloaders is not what we're all about as a business. Much as I would personally like to give people food that we'd otherwise discard, it's generally disallowed. We the employees can pocket the food that we'd be throwing away at the end of the day, though. Well, this lady offered me two or three dollars for whatever I might have in my bag. It didn't strike me at the time how terribly shady and bad-employee it would be for me to sell her my goodies, but my gut said no, definite no. I told her, "Your best bet would have been to buy something while we were still open. The Wendy's up the street has some cheap burgers. For a dollar, I think, and they're still open." If I had run into her on the street, somewhere completely set apart from the coffee shop, I'd have given her some muffins for free. But I definitely am not allowed to encourage her to freeload on our premises - or sell her day-old food and have the money go straight to my pocket. She has money to spend on food, so I feel no remorse for not giving her any for free, and I especially feel no remorse for disappointing her prediction regarding my lack of integrity.