I’ve recently gone back to my parents for Christmas, and noticing a difference in the attitudes, atmospheres and people in each place I’ve been so far…and considering I’ve only been back for one day, and visited three different places already – excluding the Airport.
The first was a small chain store (BB Coffee and Muffin), inside a shopping centre. As you’d expect with Christmas shoppers, it was quite busy, and people were in quite a bit of a rush. Considering I’d ordered the same size Latte here as I’d done for the rest of the day, I’d drunk this cup in a very short period of time – didn’t enjoy it very much for this reason, but felt warm inside (if you’ve been watching the weather in the UK recently, it’s a bit cold!), which is a bonus!
The second was a small restaurant my family are regulars at. Had a Latte again, and enjoyed this much more. It might have been the roaring fire in the building, it may have been the superb dinner I’d just eaten, but it might have been the fact that I was just much more relaxed. And, being more relaxed, I enjoyed the Latte more.
Where I am writing this at the moment is a Starbucks. It’s quite different to each Starbucks I’ve been in before, it feels more like your old local pub – the barista’s are very relaxed, chatty, and recognise people quite easily – considering it’s very near two of the busiest Motorways in the UK, that’s quite impressive. I did push the boat out here – I got a lovely big Frappe, with lots of whipped cream, so it’s not going to give me the same warming feeling that the Lattes would have, but it does feel quite nice inside here.
What do you think makes a great atmosphere? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Photo Courtesy of: ASurroca
Originally posted on December 16, 2010 @ 5:30 pm