As sad and tragic as this might sound, I have three Heroes at a place called Redfellas in Malmö, taking good care of me. I mean… It’s sad, because I’m just a coffee loving person who wants people around me from time to time, and therefore visit their café/franchise. Often, yes. And I pay when I’m there, yes. But why not be there, when they are as nice as they are.
It’s not that I’m seeking their attention when I say I need people around me, but there is life around the café itself, and I like that. To sit in my own world, but at the same time I’m not on my own. If that makes sense…
So what happened with my “I normally don’t go to big café chains…”? There was this one day where I was just going for a quick take away at Sweden’s Starbucks, Espresso House, but the queue was too long. This Redfellas place is just next door, so I popped my head in and found out there was no queue. I went in and ordered my coffee, and do you know what? It tasted (almost) the same as next door.
From time to time I need people around me… Yes, but mostly just the movement of people, not to sit in a crowded place. So I started going more frequently to this Redfellas place. And not only for take away coffees. It started to become my relax-after-gym-coffee-place, as my gym is just around the corner. And it has got some Eye Candy in there as well. But I thought I would never go back after one really clumsy incident not long ago, which you can read all about in my post “Hugging Trees”.
But I did go back. Again and again and again…
About two weeks ago, when I was about to pay for my “latte with an extra shot” I heard the guy mumbling what I thought was “20 kronor” (about 1,7 pounds). I looked up on the board and it said 39 kronor (3,6 pounds), which is a quite normal price. Then I looked down to put my pin in and saw the price: 20 kronor!? I thanked the guy, of course, and he replied “You’re here all the time, of course you get the regulars price. Make sure the other guys know I’ve told you so”. I nervously laughed a bit, said thanks again and moved on.
Perfect! As a student, and a coffee/café lover, I need this. So I went back not long after, and thinking I would never tell the other two guys what he had said anyway. I’m too shy to ask for discounts. Luckily, and as an icebreaker, this guy was there. This happened: I walked in to an empty café and all three of them are standing behind the counter. Even better, I thought. I pointed at the guy, who’s name turns out to be Jocke, and said “good you are here, I would never have said anything otherwise”. Jocke then tell the other guys about the discount and one of them replies “I gave you a discount already when you bought your first salad…”. Whoops! “Sorry, I never register how much I pay…” And that was a long time ago. I laughed my way out of there…
Next time I came: I was on the phone, so decided to stay outside before going in to order. Two minutes later Jocke comes out “latte with an extra shot”, put my take away cup on the table (always in a take away because I’m such a slow drinker) and goes back in. When I went in and said, as a joke, that I thought I sat hidden in a corner, “my guy” just went “we always see you, what ever you do, passing by on your bike, in the shops…” That might sound a bit stalker like, but hey, they work in the service industry and probably just say things like that to anyone. At least the regulars. Which is fine by me. I know the drill!
Wow, this story about my three new heroes turned out to be longer than I thought it would… But I’ll try to finish it and tell you why I see them as my heroes.
I often forget to eat. I don’t know why, considering how much I love food. I guess I just don’t have enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. Or, the coffee simply keeps me full. The other day one of the guys, my eye candy guy, came to my table with lemon water and freshly cut fruits “it looks like you need it”. I just thought that was really nice of him, not yet thinking of the guys as my every day heroes. But yesterday it dropped. Sounds stupid, because I am paying for their services, but not the extra that comes with it. When “my guy” finished his shift yesterday, he passed by and left a salad on my table, all wrapped up and ready to go, and said “for now, or later”.
That’s it! They deserve the praise. If you own a café (franchise in this case) and you do that little extra for people, making them feel special, you deserve your regulars and you deserve to do well. You give a little, and you get a whole lot more back. That’s how it should work, I might add! Yes, sometimes I feel stupid walking in there, because I’m there so often. But I rather walk into their place and give them my money, than to go to the café chain next door where they don’t give that little extra.
It’s not about “see me, hear me”, but have been working in the service industry (the old school) since forever, I appreciate them who still have an eye for good service. Sell sell sell, but be humble!
So it’s not just about them feeding me, which I obviously need to be, but also about their way of looking at their business. How they have chosen to make their business look, and feel, for their costumers. Keep it up guys!
