Dear readers, with the easing of Covid-19 measures, I have been going back to office more frequently. In the midst of doing so, I revisited one café during lunch that I have not frequented for a long long time.
After I ordered my meal, what struck me was the use of a machine by the café to make the coffee that I ordered. The machine did the job fast and I was surprised at the use of the machine since at the other outlets of this café chain, the coffee was made by hand: at the café outlet in my neighbourhood, one particular auntie at the outlet made the best coffee for me.
When I sipped the machine-made coffee, the verdict was clear: the coffee was not comparable to those hand-made by the other outlets of the café chain. This machine-made coffee lacked taste and substance.
Then I was shocked to realise that despite the seemingly short queue, there were at least eight orders in front of me. I waited far longer than I was before at the café for my food. While waiting, I realised that the café has slashed the number of café assistants from three to two while substituting the hand made process of making coffee with a coffee machine.
My order finally came after a long wait. And I guessed with this long waiting time and lack of coffee quality (technology via the coffee machine does not solve long waiting times and food quality), the café may lose some customers like me. But overall, it should still be profitable business for this café as it is situated at a place with large footfall.