My morning work routine involves a 10am walk to Robins Donuts for an Extra Large Double Double. That is my routine. Robins in the morning. Lately, though, my routine has been tempted to change due to the opening of a new coffee shop on the first floor of the building in which I work (the ATC).
It’s not the coffee they serve that’s tempting the change. It’s the friendliness of the people who work there.
The first day The HardDrive Cafe opened, I bought a coffee and the owner (Kevin?) introduced himself to me. He said he knew of me from Sketch22 etc. A friendly, outgoing sort of guy. When he see me walking by, he makes the effort to wave at me.
I still kept getting my morning coffee at Robins (where the staff is also friendly to me), but in the afternoons, if I feel I need another coffee, I’ll frequent either Robins, Timothys (now that they’re once again open, now in their new location),and The HardDrive.
A couple days ago, I was walking back from Timothys with a coffee, and he waved as I walked past. I didn’t try to hide my coffee but felt a bit of guilt when I waved back. This morning, I was on my way to Robins. I walked past and he waved and say “Hi Rob!”. I waved and said “Hi” back. I left the building and got half-way to Robins when I stopped and changed my routine. Because he was friendly to me, I stopped and walked back and got my morning coffee at the HardDrive.
I don’t know if that will be my new routine, but it might be. Why it might not be: HardDrive’s largest coffee isn’t big enough for me in the morning. Although it is less expensive.
Today, though, his friendly familiarity paid off.