Romeo Won’t Leave Barista Alone In SAS Lounge…
I’m live-blogging my SAS EuroBonus SkyTeam Milion Mile challenge this week. Click here for background and route information.
A young man took a strong fancy to the lovely barista in the SAS Gold Lounge in Copenhagen, but he really missed the signs that she just wasn’t interested…
As I walked up to the coffee bar to order a cappucinco, a young man in front of me was trying to make small talk with the barista.
“Another coffee? Already?” she asked.
At first, I was ready to give props to the man for trying. But it very quickly became clear 1.) she was grossed out by him and 2.) he did not get it as he droned on.
Does he think that by talking, talking, and talking some more she was going to give in?
The guy went back to his table for a moment so she turned to me and I smiled and said, “I’m only here to order coffee.”
She laughed. She got it.
He came back and asked her when she was on break and that he would like to get to know her better. Talk about putting someone on the spot…
How difficult, isn’t it? In that forward-facing customer position, you cannot just be rude. But it bothered me that this guy was so overbearing…I cannot stand these types of people.
I felt my paternal instinct kick in and considered asking if she wanted me to tell him to take a hike, but no, I did not want to become the creepy one or minimize her ability to take care of herself.
Indeed, I am already teaching my children to 1.) cultivate the skill of saying no and 2.) choose friends wisely (two mistakes that hurt me quite a bit in life) and that will come into play especially when my own daughter reaches dating age.
The barista handled it by calling her colleague over (a male…) and then disappearing. The guy came back and instead of finding her found a guy who hilariously looked just like him.
I’m so glad that I am so far removed from the dating scene…I cannot imagine dating these days. But while I encourage men to be bold…to talk to women and to get off the phone, men also need to be gentlemanly and recognize the signs: it’s such an important life skill.
May we all be more discerning…