"We appreciate your patronage!" I called out, flashing my biggest, shiniest smile. "We hope to see you again soon."
The young couple by the entrance turned back briefly with beaming faces, waving their mittens to a hearty farewell.
Any other day, and that would have been the last of our interaction as per service procedure… but today… I felt a hard nudge from my behind.
My smile twitched.
"And be sure to have a Merry Christmas!"
Too late. Those customers had already long gone, doomed forever now to a despair-ridden fate without my best wishes to accompany them in their life.
Truly… what a tragedy.
How could I've ever let this happen? I'm a failure of a cafe barista! Oh, to all the valiant customer service workers of the world - I've let you down.
I could feel the piercing glare of disappointment behind me tingling through my spine, then an audible sigh, reminding me of my failure one last time… y'know, just adding that extra bit of salt there.
