The "No Problem" Problem?

By Julie Silfverberg

Frothy Cappuccino

Last Sunday I went out to meet a friend for a nice relaxing cappuccino in a cafe, where - due to past experience - my expectation was of lovely strong coffee, you know a bit of a kick due to the 'oomph' of the espresso with that soft yet firm froth almost like a marshmallow. In fact my friends sometimes laugh at my gauging of the quality of a cappuccino through the height and firmness of the foam. But I think, after all, I can make an excellent coffee at home, so when I go out I am looking for something a little different, even special.

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We ordered our cappuccinos, we were going to share a couple of biscuits, (looking after our figures you know)  and there we were ready to chat. After placing our order the person waiting on us said "No problem" it seems to be the standard response. So far so good. Eventually the coffees and biscuits arrived. I looked expectantly at the "cappuccino" but it was a froth free zone. I looked at my friend, she looked at me we both sort of shrugged, the waitress was new, and we thought to ourselves well at least the coffee will be okay - wrong! But as I said we were out for a relaxing chat. 

Unfortunately we couldn't bring ourselves to finish the coffee. We struggled and struggled sipping and distracting ourselves with chat, there was no 'oomph' it was like a milky coffee you might have expected in the early 1980s, remember the sort that used to get a skin on the top of it, and even back then I didn't like it. She came to see how we were doing, we both had more than a half cup of beige liquid still sitting there, cold by now, and I decided to let her know, so at least then there is a chance I might go back. So I said we are very disappointed with the coffee that it really was not a cappuccino and that we couldn't drink it. What did she say? Yes, you've guessed it, she said "No problem"! 

Now I don't know about you, but I have this little voice in my head, although on this particular occasion it was more like a loud screeching voice and it was jumping up and down inside too and it was saying: 

• "No problem? 
• What do you mean no problem? 
• Did you not just hear me tell you that there was a problem? 
• It might not be a problem for you but it is a problem for me". 

Fortunately for my self-respect I kept that rant inside. I stopped and asked myself: Do I want to educate her on customer service or do I want to continue on my relaxing Sunday?" I chickened out and choose the latter. We went to pay, did she say sorry you didn't enjoy your coffee? No, she just told us how much it cost, we paid up, I guess she doesn't understand how much it could cost the cafe.

Isn't it funny though, I find sometimes when I repress my feelings like this they often find another outlet. I know it won't help the cafe deliver better coffee or service, but at least I feel better now.