The Dripple Effect

If you’re a customer, you have more power than you know. Your interaction sets the tone for every interaction for the rest of the day. If you’re in Times Square, you are in control of the daily trajectory of the possible 5,000 people your barista will serve in his/her shift, and every person each of those 5,000 people encounters in his/her day. Your energy is felt by the world, and amplified with caffeine. And these are not random numbers.

In three seconds, you decide if the world is going to have a better day than yesterday.

Your barista is human. If you prick her, she may bleed espresso, but it still hurts. Personally, I try start nearly every day with a sunny outlook. I try to leave my baggage at the door, because space is tight and I don’t mind if someone steals it. I will try my hardest to greet you with positivity and respect. If you block my sunshine, I will defensively halt my flow of goodness and reflect your negativity back at you. It’s only fair.

So please, do everything in your power to spread positivity. If you catch yourself hurling negativity at the person behind the bar, reverse it. You have no more right than we do to treat people with anything less than basic dignity.

Everyone is fighting to stay above water. It’s hard for everyone. If you’re ordering your own drink, chances are good you’re not someone who’s floating along in life, unaffected by the ever-growing challenges of surviving in this city/country/galaxy. Chances are even better, however, that you’re doing better than most of the global population. Count your blessings, and consider it a luxury that waiting in line at Starbucks is one of the worst parts of your day.