At the bakery in the morning
On the way to the office I pass a bakery and want to buy something there. The bakery strikes me positively in our area because it also accepts card payments for any amount. But I like them mainly because of the products.
In front of me, a woman orders a coffee, a pastry, and a juice and pulls out her phone. The display lights up briefly and then goes out. She presses the button again, but nothing happens. The woman panics a little: “Why is this going out now? There’s my wallet on it! That’s what I wanted to pay for! How am I supposed to pay now?” I think about it for a moment: It’s minus degrees outside, and anyone like me who uses an ancient phone (i.e. a model that is more than two years old) knows about the battery problems when the ambient temperature fluctuates.
The saleswoman appears stoically disinterested while standing at the coffee machine. The customer has overcome her initial panic and thinks solution-oriented: “Do you happen to have an iPhone cable? Then I can charge the phone for a moment.” The saleswoman calmly: “I’ll take a look.”
When the coffee is ready, the saleswoman without a word pulls out a cable somewhere on the back wall between the sink and the baskets, takes the phone and connects it. I’m confused because the customer isn’t nearly as grateful as she was panicking three minutes ago. After all, just got her Technical problem solved by a bakery saleswoman without further comment (Berlin, what’s the matter with you?) almost in passing.
I pay for my almond croissant in cash. Not to feel superior. But because the saleswoman obviously only had one cable. 😛
(André Wendt)