Get In Line, Please

I consider myself a regular at the coffeeshop by work.  They still give me the opportunity to order something new but, if I pause at all, they usually suggest my standard order.  Today I noticed that even though the barrista waited for me to tell her what I wanted, she had already rung it up on the register.

But, even if I wasn't a regular, I don't think I'd have much trouble with the logistics of waiting in line and ordering a cup of coffee.  With some shops this can be tricky - they have special places marked for ordering and others for picking up your drink.  If they need special signs for these things, it's usually an indication that their placement isn't as intuitive as it should be.  My shop has no such signs.  When you walk through the front door the rug on the floor will guide you along the way.  Before you know it, you'll be in line along a display case of cookies and such, working your way from right to left to the register on a counter at the far end.  There, you can place your order and, in my case, receive my drink.  If you order something that takes longer, simply step to the left and wait, there's a little open space there just to accomodate folks.  Utterly simple, impossible to screw up.  Or so I thought.

A couple of days ago, I entered the coffeeshop and made my way naturally into line.  There were a couple of guys standing slightly behind the person ordering.  I assumed they were waiting for their drinks.  As the person ordering finished paying and stepped aside, the boy ahead of me in line began to slide in front of the register.  At this point, one of these men from the back stepped forward, proclaiming that they were in line first.  The guy ahead of me stepped back and all of us in the true line shuffled to our previous locations.

I must admit, I didn't really care for these fellows even before this.  They were engaged in conversation, using their loud, important voices, no doubt discussing serious, important things.  I liked them even less as they stood at the register, still having their discussion while the barrista (and all of us in line) waited.  Finally, they ordered - a couple no-fat, extra-carmel something-or-other lattes.  I had the sense that even if the drinks were prepared perfectly, this pair would find fault with them.

After ordering, the natural, intuitive thing for them to do would have been to step to the left, away from the register and the rest of the folks in line.  The left, the same place the person before them had stepped while waiting for her order.  No, I think they were too focused on their conversation to notice such things.  They stepped to the right, squeezing between those of us in line and the display case.  It made the whole queueing process awkward.  Their drinks were placed on the counter near where they should have been standing.  The barrista called out the order a couple of times.  The conversationalists didn't notice, they were busy talking.

When they finally noticed their drinks, they made a point of commenting to the rest of us that this shop didn't seem to have its act together. After all, getting the drink to the customer should be one of their primary objectives.  If they were looking for a sympathetic ear, I doubt they found one.  As they left, I couldn't help thinking they were the reason places have "Order Here" and "Pickup Here" signs.