Internship Assignment C

My work environment is laid-back  In all four of the shops I work at, there is a consistent structure, but this structure has plenty of room for fun and joking around. I have noticed that even in the busy times everyone remains in a casual state, and yet, completes all of their work in a timely fashion. I found this interesting; in my experience in the food and drink business back in the States, people tend to get flustered and frantic when it becomes too busy. I have also observed that the environment is personal. The workers are always trying to get to know people, whether that be customers or other staff members. Going back to the structure, the way things are done in each shop is very precise. This has to do with health and safety as well as Coffeesmiths goal of making quality coffee every time. For example: when pouring shots, the amount of ground espresso beans has to be within .1 grams of 20.4, and is poured for 30 seconds. Another example is the various towels that are used for drying. In each shop, there are at least three different color towels, and each has a specific purpose.

The preciseness and the personable atmosphere are two key parts of the work environment that I would not get rid of. The preciseness allows the shops to run efficiently and safely, and the personable atmosphere is crucial to a successful coffee shop (it also keeps the staff happy). Two things I would change about the work environment is the allowed use of phones and eating behind the counter. This is a part of the laid-back feel of working in the shops, but I tend to think that it does not look good to the customers to have staff using their phones or eating behind the counter. It looks unprofessional. I have multiple supervisors, and their techniques are all different so I am going to focus on just two of them.

My supervisor at Speakeasy tries to style work for me in a fair and fun way. Instead of having me do dishes all the whole day, he likes to give me a chance to work all the jobs in the shop. He is looking to keep my work entertaining, and always changing. I will do dishes for an hour, then pour shots for an hour, and then work the till for an hour. He understands that I am here to learn, and he caters my work to that. He also likes to keep my work fun by simply joking around with me when the job may be boring. The other supervisor way of styling work for me is trusting. He tends to give me work that forces me to make decisions. I will be given a task with a set of instructions; however, when I start the task, I soon learn there is much he left out. 

He is a busy man so it forces me to think on my feet and make decisions, sometimes big decisions. This work is to help me learn what a true job would require of me. If I were to become a supervisor, I would like to be fun and friendly, but still hold my authority. I would also like to give work to my employees that force them to make decisions and think on their own, similar to what my second supervisor does. Through the work at my internship, I have learned a little about myself.

I have noticed that I tend to lose my casual state when I become busy especially when making coffee. This might have to do with my lack of experience, but it still bothers me. I want to work on this mainly because it does not pay off to get flustered. If anything, it causes mistakes, and it worries customers. Hopefully, gaining more experience will help. I have also learned that I take things to heart at work. If a customer is unhappy with his or her experience, I find that it bothers me. I am a part of a company, and if customers look badly on me, it looks badly on the company and vice versa. On the upside, when a customer is extremely pleased, it gives me an energy boost for the rest of the day. I have learned about myself, but I have also learned some new skills.

 The main thing I have learned while working with Coffeesmiths is how to make quality espresso drinks. Before this internship, I had no idea how to make quality espresso, but now I am confident in my shot pouring and decent at steaming milk correctly. Unfortunately, I still need a bit of work on the latte art, but in my defense, it is really difficult. I have poured a couple nice hearts and one rosetta. The other thing I have learned was through my projects with the CEO. I have been helping recreate the online shop, and through this, I have learned how to use Wordpress to create a website. I really had no experience with website creation, but now at least I know where to start and how to create a backend. These new skill will come in handy because I would like to own a coffee shop one day.

Before that day comes, I will try to get some more experience in coffee shops to help me hone my skills. As I said though, my goal is to own a coffee shop. I love the feel and overall atmosphere of coffee houses. It draws me in, and has created this love for them. I tend to do most of my homework in coffee shops, and I do not see that changing. Since starting university, I have also developed a love for coffee and espresso. I do not get the caffeine buzz anymore, but coffee is still my drink of choice. Coffee is something I hope to continue to learn about and surround my life with.