Not Just Coffee

It was a morning shift like all the others, in a normal job for John. In fact it was a perfect job. Working at this coffee was super easy. it's a two step process ripped from Subway or a similar business. The first step, the client selects the order from the site menu and John places it in the balcony. The second step, the client confirms it and insert the money in the machine. Even being an almost robotic process with no human contact, for some reason the owner doesn't want to install cashless options here.

John never seen the owner. He got this job from a friend. He was doing the same job but got some model job and now is part of a movie series for cable. John never had curiosity to see the series ... yet. So his friend called him to offer what John thinks is the most easiest job ever. Even the preparations for the orders are easy. John just needs to open a box. All the food is super fresh and arrives in the morning. John just need to be there to open the door, carry the light boxes inside and put them in the warm or cold zone according to the label. Even a trained monkey could do this. And there is more. Free wi-fi is a way to call the clients .... and a great way to kill time. John routine is always the same. Open the door, carry the boxes and wait one hour. Serve some coffee, tea and smoothies from the boxes ... wait another hour. Serve some snacks and coffee to some incredibly wealthy financial firm suits ... Wait several hours ... serve lunches from the boxes. Go to bank ... wait several hours ... serve some snacks, and close before sunset.

Officially he's earning minimal wage, but after serving the last lunch he opens the machine and goes to the bank to deposit all the money. The first time he got surprised, when 25% of the profit was wired to this account. So he send an email to the boss. The only way to contact him or her... John had no idea. And the answer was a surprise.

Dear John, dealing with our clients it's not easy. So that's for your trouble. Thank you for your help.

The job was easy ... but the clients were ... peculiar. In the morning there was a line for a cup of coffee from obvious street workers. A few hours after the wealthy suits, and nothing more until lunch. At lunch was the rush hour ... all the boxes needed to be reserved previously, and John could only close the shop, and go to bank ... after serving the last box. It looked complicated, but his friend told him the trick. Eat before the lunch hour, during the infinite waiting watching the cleaning services. From wiping down the tables to cleaning the floor, this shop hired professional services from an agency that signed everyday a kind of poster at the door. With the date and time of the procedure, including cleaning the small toilet that no one used.

This shop make no business sense at all. Professional catering, professional cleaning ... and an amateur serving. John had no idea why it was like that, but he didn't care. He could't understand that all the services were hired by the boss with a specific goal. John just enjoyed his lunch, and got used to receiving some last minute messages on the shop site.

Hi, can I bring a friend ? Great, lunch for two.

Good morning, sorry my client is late, please wait one hour. Thank you.

Sometimes John arrived to the bank early ... and sometimes, almost one minute before it closed the doors. The first time it happened, he sent an email to the boss.

Dear John, I know the situation. Your friend might told you, but let me remember again. You can eat before the lunch hour. It's important to have schedules for people like us, but our clients not always can follow them. I understand your concern about the bank services. If by any reason the bank is closed, leave the envelop with our neighbour. And don't worry about the missing boxes, they are given to those who need. Nothing is wasted her. Thank you for your help.

The missing boxes was a small mystery for John. In order to take last minute requests, there were always a need to have more food boxes than orders. That's simple logistics in the food business, and normally what happens is that some food from the previous day is sold on the next day. It was normal with drinks for example. The famous juice of the day in a famous healthy shop, is the leftovers of all the fruit unsold on the previous day. But not here, every morning the shelfs behind the counter were empty, and ready to be filled First John was thinking that the shop was robbed, but later his boss explained all by email.

The trash disposal was also fantastic. Every client after finishing a meal just closed the box with all the things there. No forks, no spoons, no plates ... nothing. It was finger food wrapped in dough. Could be a pancake with all the dreamy fillings or a bread burger style, in all sizes, shapes and forms. But basically it was healthy normal food wrapped in dough. Fry dough, light dough, boiled dough ... It was a very interesting way to cook. They also have soup, served in a cup ... like tea. John loved this soups and every day he purchased one. This cup filled with soup was an easy and tasty way to get his daily dose of healthy veggies. And it was so cheap ... All the boxes and cups were made by some kind of kind of bio plastic made of a mixture of corn - bamboo - other plants. John wasn't an eco activist, but having this kind of meals were tasty ... and good for the planet.

_It was so different from his previous experience, struggling order after order until he was buried. Adding cream to a drink with one hand and putting a breakfast sandwich in the oven with the _other, while waiting the beep from the coffee machine. John didn't want to return to that stress.

His mind was still thinking about the neighbour ... the man in a dress that comes everyday for lunch. He is the make-up artist and cashier to the sex shop. What a strange request from the boss. But on a second tough John could see that from all the regulars ... that man in the dress might be the best bet. It wasn't much money but to give it to a heroine/crack whores or a shady financial shark ... The man in the dress might be the best bet.

John couldn't see it, but his judgemental mindset would change soon. And he would learn a basic truth. You can't judge a book by its cover.