|
Funny videos!
I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I am part of the problem? I hate Starbucks coffee but love love love the spice cake. So mostly I go there while traveling to use the wifi, seeing as free hotel wifi is mostly a US thing. At 8euros per hour in foreign hotels, one seeks out free wifi wherever one can find it. Star bucks is always just around the corner from wherever you happen to be.
While there, I am intent on confirming reservations, checking email, etc. I can be sharing a tiny table with a total stranger who is also online. I could not care less what other people are doing there, because I am only there to do specific tasks as efficiently as possible in order to get out and get back to exploring. Do I come off as aloof?
Locally at home, my Starbucks in the lobby where I used to work was super friendly, because we all knew the baristas and each other. The one up the street from it isin the middle of the bar/restaurant/entertainment piazza directly off campus. It is always jam-packed with college kids. This particular location is small in footprint, but 3 levels high. The kids have NEVER failed to give up a table to us oldies so that we don't have to climb the narrow stairs while holding coffee and cake and computer. But, when I do go upstairs, it is such a fun place with kids on the sofas playing card games, computer games, etc.
Nope, it isn't me who is part of the problem. It is you. Take the initiative and say "Hello," have a seat, and make a new acquaintance. Don't be intimidated by the person in the business suit or Hawaiian shirt. Those are only on the outside. If you are met with coldness or aloofness, ask them why they acted that way. You might be surprised. A woman ignored my smile and greeting, so I asked her why she did it. Turned out that she was having to relocate to DC from Boston, and she was trying to figure out how to move some heavy fragile items. I suggested buying them a bus ticket and having someone waiting for them at the destination, having done this successfully with work things. She was grateful for the solution and seemed relieved, and we parted with hugs.
You have nothing to lose by putting yourself out there. It may be hard at first, but social skills and playing the piano both take practice.
|