Yenny at the Coffee Shop
The coffee shop I frequent is one of thousands just like it in a popular chain, yet this particular store feels different.
Whenever I’m there, I notice the woman behind the counter greeting people by name as they walk in. I hear customers share updates about their weekend and recent news. I see them laughing and happy to be there. It’s as if a stream of friends is constantly coming in to say hello.
Each time, I wonder: “What motivates the woman behind the counter to work this way?” After a dozen or so visits, I mustered the courage to ask:
“May I interview you?”
Who is Yenny Bonifacio?
When we started our interview, Yenny said she was uncomfortable talking about herself, so I asked her to share five facts to start off.
“I grew up in the Dominican Republic.”
“I came to the US at 13 years old.”
“Got married at 19 and have two children, ages 22 and 17.”
“I studied criminology at John Jay College.”
“I’ve worked in retail since she was 17.”
The conversation flowed after that. She told me she worked in the coffee shop for nine years and is the store manager, responsible for 18 employees and several million dollars in revenue. She chose the coffee chain because the company offers greater flexibility and balance, allowing her to take care of her children. At the time of her transition she viewed the new company’s culture as “a breath of fresh air.”
The rest of our discussion was about her approach to her job. Why does she do what she do?
Intrinsic motivation
We talked first about the way she interacts with customers. How can she be so friendly to so many people, remembering names and what they’ve been up to?
“Making the connection is important to me. It’s the best part of my day.”
I asked if the company trained her to interact with customers this way. “No,” she said.
“I do it for them and I do it for me as well.”
Pride of workmanship
If you sit in a coffee shop long enough, you’ll notice when the bins are overflowing or when the staff drags the chairs across the floor, making an awful screeching noise. But Yenny does things differently. Whenever I see her move the chairs, she picks up each one and quietly places it in position. She mops the floor even when it looks clean.
I asked her why and she told me about when she first started and was being trained to use the coffee machine. Her colleague told her the key wasn’t speed, but attention to detail.
“If you’re making a latte, you make that one the best latte you can.”
Yenny said she never forgot that, even nine years later, and she still pays attention to the details.
Community
When I asked her what was the best part of her job, she replied immediately, “My customers.”
Really? After all, the store can be extremely busy, and dealing with demanding, caffeine-needy New Yorkers can be stressful to say the least.
But Yenny used the words “community” and “caring” multiple times throughout our conversation. She said some customers come in every day, and she’s seen them get married, get pregnant, and go through other major life changes. Some bring in their husband or wife or new baby to meet her. And when she doesn’t see a regular customer for a while she starts to worry and asks them if everything is okay the next time they come in. (She did this to me before I asked for the interview.)
Ripple effects
The themes in our conversation—intrinsic motivation, pride of workmanship, community—are found in the research on self-determination theory and job crafting. Yenny and I talked about this—how if individuals can tap into feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, then they can thrive in almost any job.
But the effects go well beyond the individual. Towards the end of our interview, Yenny told me about a young girl who came to the store regularly for three years. Then one day she approached Yenny to tell her she had taken a new job in a new location. She wanted to tell her how much Yenny’s friendly greetings meant to her each day.
“You made my mornings,” the girl said, “and I bet you didn’t even know that. So I wanted to tell you before I left. Thank you.”
Yenny’s positive approach to work makes a difference to her and to the thousands of people who come into her store. She’s proof that ripples of kindness can start from anywhere. Even a New York coffee shop.
Yenny Bonifacio, initiating ripples of kindness that touch thousands of New Yorkers.