Podcast: Leadership lessons from my first job
Malika Kapur: Tell me about your experience at The Ugly Mug, and do you think those early years of working there have influenced your work ethic?
Julia Hartz: I grew up in a small beach town, very close community. Um, the founder of The Ugly Mug moved into town, was sort of a peculiar guy. He was very, very passionate about coffee.
So he- he brought this beautiful manual Italian machine, that was probably the only one in our town, and he was meticulous about training his staff on how to use it.
It just, I think it taught me a lot about excellence, about craft, about attention to detail, about, you know, being meticulous. And I was just this high school kid and I’m learning how to draw the perfect espresso shot.
Um, and so that was the first lesson. The second lesson was customer service because, um, there was always this one woman who would come in on Saturday mornings.
And she would stand outside at 5:59, and I’d open the door at 6 a.m. and she would walk in.
And any drink I made her, no matter what it was — and she’d- she’d actually order different drinks every week, which was interesting — um, she hated it and she’d send it back.
And I was terrified of this woman because she also would just tell me, like, how much my latte sucked. And so it’s very negative.
And then I finally realized, about four weeks in, that she just wanted someone to talk to.
And instead of going back and forth about the drink, I started, um, stealing my parents’ local newspaper with me on the way out the door.
And I’d put it on the counter, and she’d walk in, and I would point to, like, any kind of story and be like, “What do you think about that?” And we’d start talking about that, and all of a sudden she loved my drinks.
And so that was a big lesson for me, right? Like of empathy, of understanding customer needs. Um, and I- I don’t know how I would have gotten that lesson in life if it hadn’t been for that experience.
Vocabulary:
influenced – to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, “The mentor’s encouragement influenced the young artist to pursue a career in painting.”
work ethic – the principle that hard work and intrinsic effort are worthy of reward and moral benefit, “His strong work ethic meant he was always the first to arrive and the last to leave the office.”
peculiar – strange or odd; unusual in a way that is sometimes hard to understand, “The house had a peculiar smell of old books and lavender that greeted everyone at the door.”
meticulous – showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise, “The architect was meticulous in his drawings, ensuring every measurement was perfectly accurate.”
craft – an activity involving skill in making things by hand or with great care, “The carpenter spent years perfecting his craft until every chair he made was a work of art.”
attention to detail – the ability to notice and consider every small part or feature of something, “Her attention to detail was evident in the way she organized the complex filing system without a single error.”
send it back – to return something (usually food or a product) because it is not satisfactory, “The steak was overcooked, so the customer had to send it back to the kitchen.”
terrified – to be extremely frightened or filled with terror, “The hiker was terrified when she realized she was being followed by a large bear.”
going back and forth – to argue or discuss something repeatedly without reaching a resolution, “The couple spent hours going back and forth about which color to paint the living room.”
stealing – taking something that does not belong to you (often used colloquially here to mean taking without asking), “I wasn’t really stealing my brother’s sweater, I just borrowed it for the afternoon without telling him.”
all of a sudden – happening quickly and unexpectedly, “We were enjoying the picnic when, all of a sudden, it started to pour rain.”
empathy – the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, “Showing empathy toward your coworkers can help build a much more supportive office environment.”