My colleagues were all around the same age as me and we were all doing the job until we either went to uni, found a post grad job or a permanent job in the city. Many of us used the cafe as a small stop in our life and to get relatively easy money in our bank accounts at the end of the month. Yet what people didn't tell me about working a midi job on your gap year was that it was hard, many days my alarm was set till 6am to work at the cafe until 4 and then go to the pub from 6-11 and then the day would be repeated the next day. I was exhausted, I had no time to do anything else then work. The money was relatively little but because I worked well over 40 hours full time and then up to 15 hours part time a week the money tickled over and was my only motivation to set my alarm to 6am for the next morning.
Many gap year students don't talk about the work side of it only the travel side. So when I decided to take a gap year I was pulled into it by the travel aspects. By the fact that soon I will be waking up in Asia or Australia but they didn't mention the 12 hour shifts or the moody customers. But nobody mentioned to me what I would do when I watched all my friends go off to university and I was at home. I watched countless snapchat stories of my friends enjoying their freshers week when I was on break after having cleaned up a child's pee which is what I definitely didn't think was a barista's job but there i was. I saw my friends move hours away from me and suddenly everyone was away starting a new life when I was waiting for mine to begin. Waiting to be able to take off on that plane and be able to say that this was worth it, these shifts were worth it.
Saturday nights were no longer filled with sleepovers with my friends nor going out clubbing they were simply filled with shifts. In the last 5 months I have only had one Sunday off and no saturday off, and I never thought I would miss schools regular "Monday - Friday" routine as I always said I would way rather be spontaneous and be able to have random weeks then work Monday - Friday but now that I have done that I have come to establish that stability is rather nice. Saving means you sacrifice a lot and that means that just this week I haven't had one day off and I agreed to work overtime and work 9 long days in a row. Right now after I have completed that I am aching, I am so tired to the point that I am tearful about the fact that I don't have to get up in the morning at 6am.
But there is nothing more satisfying then pay day, pay day is something I count down the days too. Nothing will beat the feeling when I paid 800 pounds to go to Maldives and I finally said the words I am going travelling. Today I started packing my suitcase with my ski clothes that I was able to buy because of those Saturdays that I worked tirelessly. It was an amazing feeling knowing that the shifts weren't for nothing, they were to be able to achieve my dream of travelling the world. The most satisfying feeling I have ever had was handing in my notice and saying the reason why was to go travelling. That day whilst serving customers I was glowing, I was so happy. On my last pay day I got so happy whilst out with my co worker that we went and had second dinner in wagamamas and then had many many vodka cokes. Things like that make me realise that it was completely worth it.
Nobody speaks about the part where you are working instead of travelling on a gap year. But I think having this experience has taught me a lot, it has taught me that there are people in the world who's only care in the world is that their croissant gets cooked to the highest degree of excellency and if standard drops it is like a bomb has gone off. It has taught me that kids make so much mess when eating but nonetheless when the mums come in with the "smilers" you cannot be angry whilst tidying up after them. It has taught me just how many people like coming in to a coffee shop 5 minutes before you close when you are ready to go home. It has taught me how to deal with complaints and criticism. I am a solid believer that everyone has to work in customer service at least once. Customer service is so hard to work in and I promise to myself I will never order a coffee when I am on the phone and I will wait an extra minute if I am being served by a trainee and to always say "have a nice day" after I am being served.
I wont forget the old man who orders a regular cappuccino five times a day every day of the year, I will remember the guy who orders a large latte with cream. I will forever wish I had a "turbo chef" in my kitchen which cooks my hash brown from frozen in one minute 45 seconds! I will never forget the time when my drunk colleagues and I signed up as a comedy act who required a coffee machine for Britains Got Talent and we actually got contacted by the show with a time and place for our audition. I will always see people around sevenoaks and know that that man orders a large americano with cold skinny milk, or the lady who orders the darjeeling and earl grey tea mixed together. And one thing I will always cherish with me is the smile people have when they give me a full loyalty card as they say it is time for my free drink.
Working in customer service has been so mixed for me, so many ups and so many downs. But it has got me to where I want to be and that is travelling and I leave in 9 days. We are in single digits now! There were days I starting regretting taking a gap year for the mere reason of working. But today when I only have 6 shifts left I really don't, it was worth it. As many people say, you are so young you should do it now or never! And I guess that is exactly what I did.
PS one thing that frustrates me is that there is no such thing as a black flat white and also skinny milk and whole milk only have 2% difference of fat content but if you are really worried about it go for oat milk and please just ask if you don't know what a cappuccino and a latte is rather then send your cappuccino back because it is too frothy. - the reality of what a barista faces in a day
Photo taken at the Aros museum in Arhus Denmark whilst interailing
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