So. I've visited my fair share of local / independent coffee shops over the years. During that time, I've come to realize that "pretentious and/or condescending" energy is one of my biggest turn offs for coffee shops, and can break the experience for me immediately, regardless of whether or not the coffee is good and the decor is cute.
In the past, I would still give coffee shops with this kind of energy a chance. These days, with so many coffee shops to choose from, I no longer spent my time, energy, and money in these types of establishments. It doesn't happen often, but it did happen at Periwink when I tried to stop in for a coffee one weekday morning.
For context, I'm a former barista who used to work in a very high volume, tourist-heavy coffee shop. Like everyone who works in a customer-facing service position, baristas have a lot on their plates. I'm conscious of all of this every time I visit a coffee shop, so it actually takes a lot for me to criticize a barista. In the case of Periwink, it was actually a team of them.
I went in on a weekday morning. The place was empty except for three ladies working behind the bar and two women customers who had come in together. They two customers were talking to the three employees -- not about placing an order or anything in particular, but just having an in-depth conversation. It seemed like they might have known each other.
I got in line and patiently waited. I watched the two customers receive their espresso drinks. The conversation continued for close to a full five minutes with me waiting in line. Several times, the baristas looked up and met my eyes, but then quickly darted them away and went back to the conversation. No one working said anything to me at all during this time, which is really out of the ordinary, especially considering eye contact was made. Usually an employee will through a, "We'll be with you in just a moment!" or something in there. That didn't happen here. I was completely ignored, and it felt very intentional. Eventually I turned to walk out, and even when I did this, no one called out to me to try to serve me. They just continued with their conversation.
The whole thing was unnecessarily uncomfortable, and I truly felt as if I wasn't welcomed or wanted in this establishment. With all of the other wonderful independent coffee shops around Wilmington, I would highly recommend skipping this one and going somewhere else. read more