I am a Starbucks fan. Wherever I go in the world, having that Americano and newspaper moment is a time to just chill. For me it really is a coffee break. I love local places like Jika Jika in Bath, UK, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in California, or The Coffee Store in Maui. Of course there are other chains like Cafe Nero in the UK and Second Cup in Canada. I’ve patronized them all.
One interesting thing is watching people and how they manage their messes in all these coffee shops. Some people make the effort. These folks see it as a normal consideration to throw away their trash and leave their space fit for the next customer. Others are oblivious or perhaps think they’ve paid for the right to leave a mess. This seems to be cross-cultural phenomena in North America and Europe.
However, based on my experiences in Japan and Korea, I guess everyone just knows how to clean up there… Of course in Japan, even the taxis have white doilies on the headrests and are immaculate in and out, so we might be a little too far gone to start competing with that…
However, you might want to try this – as you walk around the office today, observe the way people handle their trash and discarded belongings around their desk and in the lunch room. My observation is that people who embrace Respect do not need to be told to pick up their trash.
with Character,
Lorne