There’s this tea place in town that’s fairly new – it seems to have an impressive selection on hand and I’d love to sit down and pick the brain of the person who does their baking. The trouble is, they’re cool. And by cool I mean that the staff are attractive and thin and act like your presence is a major imposition on their time and they’d rather do anything other than make you a cup of tea. A friend of mine chalks this up to the fact that North American style customer service is a relatively recent import into the UK, but I’ve seen this in North America. It’s that shitty snobby attitude some cool shops have that they think makes them cool.
Which is crap, because I’m cool and I’m also really friendly. And you know what? Bluebird are cool and they’re really friendly, too. There’s something really lovely about people who are clearly passionate about what they produce and are enthusiastic about sharing it, especially when it’s really, really good.
I wanted something grounding and smooth this morning, and this fits the bill perfectly. Unlike coffee, which tastes weird to me with anything lighter than half and half cream (which is all too rare in Manchester supermarkets) this is so creamy and good with milk, and I don’t know how the farm flavour of pu-erh works with coffee, but it does so well. Mmmmmmm. Good.
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What’s the tea place called? Thinking of making a trip to Manchester in a couple of weeks and want to bring back some tea (there is no loose leaf in Huddersfield!!)
It’s called Propertea, just next to the cathedral. What’s weird is I think it’s part-owned by the same folks as Teacup Kitchen, where they were really nice. There’s also Sugar Junction, which I intend to test out with Gentleman when he’s back from Japan; their Northern Quarter blend sounds gooood.
yay for new tea shops…boo on blechy service
Agreed. What’s with places who think indifferent shop assistants is good for business? Maybe I’ve just spent so many years in giving excellent customer service myself that I’m hyperaware of when somebody is plainly just, like, snooty and awful.
Wow, that is a lot of tea places! I’ll have to check them out, thanks (: as for the service, I noticed last time I was in Manchester the service in a few places I went wasn’t great, compared to back home (near Newcastle) where I’m used to super friendly American-style service. It may have something to do with the North East in general, or because it’s a small town compared to a city like Manchester. Whatever it is, it saved me a tip!
It’s definitely in part a size thing, as I always notice that people are less open and friendly in London than they are in Manchester! And if you get a little bit out of the city, a random kid on a walking trail will start chatting to you and your friend about whether you like England or Canadia better.
(He called it Canadia. SO cute. Then he shouted ahead to his sister, “Hey Laura, this lady’s Canadian!” and I sort of waved and said hi and it was so cute)
Yeah I definitely think that plays a part in it. It makes me miss home when I go somewhere people are cold ):
Haha aww, that’s adorable! ^^ kids can be so cute
I think that’s why I feel so much more isolated a lot of the time in certain big cities: less so Manchester than London or Toronto, mind. Then there’s NYC, which is a whole other kettle of fish that I absolutely adore. And then there’s LA, which is a terrifying, terrifying place that I only go to for professional development (read: getting tipsy with a bunch of friends who write for Doctor Who and probably snogging some people) but I feel more comfortable in mid-sized cities, where it’s not so nuts.
Yep, mid-sized in best for me, too, I’ve found (: I rather love London, though! I was taken there for my 13th birthday and fell absolutely in love with the place, whenever I go back it still feels magical. I don’t think I’d like to live and work there, though, and see the big industrial side of it. Manchester is great, too. I went there for the first time only about 6 months back!
And I’m sorry, but “friends who write for Doctor Who”??? :O That would be the best job ever.
I think living sort of on the fringes of London might not be so overwhelming – like, but I doubt I’d ever have a high enough income to find out anyway!
I am so sad that I have yet to write for Doctor Who. One of these days…
Haha yeah, it is ridiculously expensive down there! Manchester is a great place to be anyway for a writer, what with the BBC and everything (: I’m sure you can do it! It would be so amazing.
I’m going to keep trying to infiltrate the moat until they file a restraining order :p
Sounds like a good idea to me! But then again, I may have occasional boundary issues…
Heehee, I try very hard not to!
Thanks very much for this – it made me smile. Nice to know we’re getting customer service right!
What’s the tea place called? Thinking of making a trip to Manchester in a couple of weeks and want to bring back some tea (there is no loose leaf in Huddersfield!!)
It’s called Propertea, just next to the cathedral. What’s weird is I think it’s part-owned by the same folks as Teacup Kitchen, where they were really nice. There’s also Sugar Junction, which I intend to test out with Gentleman when he’s back from Japan; their Northern Quarter blend sounds gooood.
yay for new tea shops…boo on blechy service
Agreed. What’s with places who think indifferent shop assistants is good for business? Maybe I’ve just spent so many years in giving excellent customer service myself that I’m hyperaware of when somebody is plainly just, like, snooty and awful.
Wow, that is a lot of tea places! I’ll have to check them out, thanks (: as for the service, I noticed last time I was in Manchester the service in a few places I went wasn’t great, compared to back home (near Newcastle) where I’m used to super friendly American-style service. It may have something to do with the North East in general, or because it’s a small town compared to a city like Manchester. Whatever it is, it saved me a tip!
It’s definitely in part a size thing, as I always notice that people are less open and friendly in London than they are in Manchester! And if you get a little bit out of the city, a random kid on a walking trail will start chatting to you and your friend about whether you like England or Canadia better.
(He called it Canadia. SO cute. Then he shouted ahead to his sister, “Hey Laura, this lady’s Canadian!” and I sort of waved and said hi and it was so cute)
Yeah I definitely think that plays a part in it. It makes me miss home when I go somewhere people are cold ):
Haha aww, that’s adorable! ^^ kids can be so cute
I think that’s why I feel so much more isolated a lot of the time in certain big cities: less so Manchester than London or Toronto, mind. Then there’s NYC, which is a whole other kettle of fish that I absolutely adore. And then there’s LA, which is a terrifying, terrifying place that I only go to for professional development (read: getting tipsy with a bunch of friends who write for Doctor Who and probably snogging some people) but I feel more comfortable in mid-sized cities, where it’s not so nuts.
Yep, mid-sized in best for me, too, I’ve found (: I rather love London, though! I was taken there for my 13th birthday and fell absolutely in love with the place, whenever I go back it still feels magical. I don’t think I’d like to live and work there, though, and see the big industrial side of it. Manchester is great, too. I went there for the first time only about 6 months back!
And I’m sorry, but “friends who write for Doctor Who”??? :O That would be the best job ever.
I think living sort of on the fringes of London might not be so overwhelming – like, but I doubt I’d ever have a high enough income to find out anyway!
I am so sad that I have yet to write for Doctor Who. One of these days…
Haha yeah, it is ridiculously expensive down there! Manchester is a great place to be anyway for a writer, what with the BBC and everything (: I’m sure you can do it! It would be so amazing.
I’m going to keep trying to infiltrate the moat until they file a restraining order :p
Sounds like a good idea to me! But then again, I may have occasional boundary issues…
Heehee, I try very hard not to!
Thanks very much for this – it made me smile. Nice to know we’re getting customer service right!