Cafe culture

I was in an airport in a major capital city in Australia last week (I’ll not reveal the location to protect the innocent) and wanted to get a coffee before the next flight. The coffee shop I selected had a long counter but at one end was a sign stating that this counter was not open. So I worked my way along the counter and was a little confused by the barrier that was erected around the coffee shop, the sort that airports use to make sure the sheep, sorry, the passengers, line up in the correct way and the correct place.

After wandering around the barrier for a minute I noticed another sign which directed the prospective coffee shop clients to queue up at a certain location in order to receive service. I followed the rules and was served by an efficient lady wearing a badge that identified her as the supervisor. There were only three people working there, so it probably wasn’t necessary that I knew she was the supervisor, but her manner and the way she served me and spoke to the staff let me know in no uncertain terms that her supervisor status should not be doubted.

Eventually I got my coffee and it wasn’t too bad, but as I sat drinking it, I thought this would be another great illustration of culture, and the three messages that build and define culture that I have talked about in previous posts: systems, behaviours and symbols.

Clearly there were systems in place in that tiny workplace, that required someone to have the role of supervisor and to ensure that the customers were well behaved and only went to one location to make their order. These systems suggested there was a culture of control. This was further made evident by the symbols, which were two signs on the counter, directing customers away from one counter and showing how and where customers were to line up to receive their service, and the badge informing us that there was one person who was in charge. The other message that was sent about the culture of that workplace was the behaviours of the staff, in particular the supervisor who treated each customer with efficiency, but without a smile or a cheery word when they may well be feeling jet-lagged and tired after a long flight.

Take a look around you and see if you can spot other examples of how systems, symbols and behaviours send messages about the culture of a workplace.