3 customers showed up at a Starbucks as it was closing. The response from the barista was brilliant

Sometimes you just need a coffee. Whether you're traveling, running errands, or just need a place to hang out, for many people that means a stop at Starbucks.

This was the case recently, when my wife, daughter, and I checked into a Starbucks on our way home from an event. We had an hour and a half drive and left the event with just enough time to get to the nearest Starbucks. The only problem was that we entered the queue three minutes before closing.

To be honest, I started to feel a little guilty. I mean, even though we wanted a coffee for the ride home, I've worked in restaurants and retail stores and I know every employee in that situation is just counting the minutes until he can lock the doors, close everything, clean up and go home. It's understandable - being up all day to attend to customers is hard work. At some point, you just want to be done.

As I placed our order, I apologized for showing up at closing time. I was mostly trying to avoid the sound of frustration in the voice of the person on the other end of the line and let them know how much we appreciate them having us so late.

Instead, the response from the person at the window was completely unexpected: "No problem. We love making your favorite drink, and we're always happy to do it!"

There are several things I like about this answer. One is that as a customer it made us feel welcome no matter what time. It also made us feel like the barista was happy we were there and was happy to have the chance to serve us.

The other reason is that it was completely unexpected. I don't know if you've ever shown up at a restaurant a few minutes before it closes, but that's not the answer you usually get. This is absolutely the answer you should expect. Yet you often walk into a restaurant or retail store, or anywhere else, to find employees who would rather finish and go home than have to serve one more customer.

It's human nature.

Recently, I was walking through a grocery store about 45 minutes before the scheduled closing time. Overhead, an employee announced that it was time to "make your final selections and checkout. The store will be closing soon."

I get that you want to let people know you're closing, but nothing makes you feel less like a guest and more like an imposition than being told to hurry up and get out of the store so we can all go home . If that's your customers' experience, you're wrong.

I've even been to a restaurant where a sign out front says 'kitchen stops serving 30 minutes before closing'. Which isn't really true. If you stop serving people, you are closed, for all intents and purposes. Just because people are still seated inside, if you can't get in, grab a table, and get served, you might as well be closed. Otherwise, if your doors are unlocked and you're open for business, you need to take care of your customers.

For years, Starbucks has stated that its mission is to be the third place for its customers. He's built a business by being where customers go to do things like work, relax, study, talk, read, and yes, drink coffee. If you say your mission is to be a place where people feel welcome and at home, you have to be intentional about welcoming people. You need to make them feel that you're glad they're there. That's what happened that day when we ordered our three glasses.

I contacted Starbucks to find out if this was an answer they had trained employees on, but did not immediately get a response. Either way, it's part of the Starbucks culture and it's such a good e...