The evening came around and I'd expect Futaba to come into Leblanc soon. There happened to be pleasant weather and another flyer created courtesy of the technological wiz Futaba generated some buzz on Leblanc and in turn, a lot of young looking customers came in; the likes of which I haven't seen since Leblanc was in its prime. No false promises this time…good. How she managed to set up a social media account so quickly and make it look so professional was beyond me: as I continued to look at the Leblanc account, I saw the posts that were uploaded with brief descriptions straight to the point. I might seriously need to pay her as well as using Wakaba's money to care for her. Sheesh…
Some of the young looking people only came in to get a coffee - one in particular decided to leave before his coffee was finished wasting my time and more importantly, a precious brew. He had the gall to leave payment as if to say he'd pay to not dine here. It was not too long after this point that Ren came in with a grin on his face. He'd had the slight waft of a girl's perfume…he'd clearly enjoyed his time after school. I figured making some small talk would allow that kid to break his demeanour a little.
"Evening Ren. How have you found school so far?"
"It's been challenging but I'm enjoying it." Seeing as I haven't exactly trusted the kid…or should I say, his motives, I can see why he wants to keep his answers brief.
"That's good to hear. Put down your stuff and change into a different outfit. We'll then get started here."
"Alright." Watching as the kid went upstairs, his mood didn't change in the slightest. He seemed to be taking the time to choose something suitable for his shift today. He'd come down in a casual outfit which was presentable enough. Watching his every move was highly important considering he was doing this for the first time ever - I was subconsciously ticking everything he was doing right and wrong.
"Use that apron hanging over by the TV." I went and pointed to the green apron.
"Okay." He also went and washed his hands properly in the sink, drying his hands with the provided towel.
"Good. I want to show you how I do what I do here at Leblanc. Funnily enough, you've passed one of the tests I had in store for you. What do you think it was?"
"Washing my hands before starting."
"Exactly. If you didn't even do that before coming over, I'd have told you to go off and do something else as it'd be nothing but a waste to try and teach you."
"..." Try and get a little culture so you don't end up having nothing to say, you moron.
"As harsh as it sounds, it should be 101 for anyone who wishes to work at a restaurant to clean their hands before beginning to work. A person who hires someone that can't even do that deserves to lose their business. Now, do you know what the main item served is?"
"Coffee."
"And do you know what grade and types of coffee are served?"
"I'm not sure."
"No worries. The varieties of coffee served here are from all over the world: I have over 300 flavours that I offer. The coffee served here uses Grade 1 beans - these beans are the highest grade of coffee beans you can find and must be brewed carefully. I emphasise quality above all so if you try and brew crap, I'll throw you out."
"..."
"My business and my reputation as a cafe owner rely on these beans and the way that they are brewed. Anything so far that you don't understand?"
"I don't really understand the grades." No one ever does on the first time.
"There are 5 different grades to the coffee with grade 1 being the highest quality and grade 5 being beans that a competent coffee maker avoids at all costs. Most of the beans that are used and that you will drink from are Grade 2. Shops such as St**bucks and D**tor will also use these sorts of beans balancing quality with presentation. Some cheapskates will use Grade 3 beans - to an inexperienced taster, it means very little to them but it's an insult to avid coffee lovers."
"Right."
"I don't head to the supermarkets to buy the beans but instead order directly from the supplier. This way, I know what I'm getting is the real deal and that I'm getting the quality I wish to offer to my customers. Even if I end up not turning a profit on a given day, I will not compromise on what I offer. I'll show you how to prepare a brew now so pay attention." That supplier of mine's probably been the most reliable provider of beans - everything that is sold from them is stored with proper materials and the beans are fresh from opening the bag.
It was important for the kid to watch how a Leblanc brew is made - if he flubs it, he goes. I can't afford to have financial problems with this kid. My wallet has seen better days… Each step was pretty much second nature to me: grind the beans medium fine, prepare and apply the filter, pour the grinded beans and then hot water to make the brew. Filling it any further than half makes the brew lose its flavour - I had to learn that lesson the hard way a long time ago but I digress. The kid had enough respect for me to carefully watch and see how I craft the brew. This could serve up to 2 people so I poured a cup for myself and one for him to try. He'd had a very satisfied look on his face after tasting it which brought a grin to mine.
"When you've made a proper brew like this one day, I'll probably be as chuffed as you are right now. It's how I felt the first time when I was learning this at your age."
"It's not too complicated to brew a cup at all is it?" Idiot. You sat and watched the simple steps.
"Of course it isn't. Whilst any idiot could do that, it's only those who have practiced that know how to brew it right. The steps that I use to brew my coffee have been honed into my own style - different baristas will brew their coffees differently. Whether it's a different filter or brewing apparatus isn't important but it's honing each part of brewing the coffee to suit your style. I suggest you stick with the steps I've shown you and when you build your confidence, you can try your own trick or two."
"Sounds awesome. I'll keep at this."
"If you want."
At this point, Futaba came in to the store. She was wearing some khaki cargo trousers with a couple of pockets and a black tank top with some jargon or something on it and lime green trainers. She'd ran and hid behind my back. It didn't really help that some of the customers who turned to look at her wanted to stare. I scratched my goatee as I sighed.
"Futaba, you asked several times if I would let you come and help out this evening." With uncharacteristic haste, Futaba spoke up.
"When I asked you, I thought you'd be showing me things with just him and you here and that there wouldn't be anyone around to disturb us and I'd kept on trying to psyche myself up and tell myself that I could do this and that it would be nice to try and get out a little more and that I'm not gonna be thrown into something scary and why are there so many people? there's a lot more people here than I expected." Fast talking? Yeah, this may have been your own doing but I won't hold it against you.
"You can head home if it's too much for you."
"..." Futaba seemed to be wrestling with her emotions - should she help out as she asked or head home was probably what was going through her head. All of a sudden, the kid spoke up.
"Don't worry. Me and Sojiro won't let anything happen."
"..." It seemed futile to try and push her to make a decision but I arrived at that thought too soon.
"So the legendary Fu-chan's too afraid to face down the mobs?"
"Fu-chan?" So they have pet nicknames now? When did the two become such good friends?
"Wah?"
"Fu-chan, the supreme overlord of the kitchen is afraid of the mere, passing-by mobs?" So the transfer's also got jargon from games and the like? Hold on… He'd pressed one of Futaba's buttons to motivate her and now she was more than ready to work - it was that easy? Damn, kid. How did you manage to even pull that off? You've not spent much time with her.
"...You're on, Ren! I'll help out so well that you'll cower before Fu-chan's mighty name!" Futaba seemed determined to put the kid in his place with that smack talk.
"We'll see. What will we each be doing Sojiro?" You're throwing this onto ME? Fine, let today be a test of your skills.
"Sheesh. You kids…We'll make it a competition then. Futaba, you'll be performing clean-up of the crockery and utensils when customers are finished with their food and drinks. Ren, you'll be interacting with the customers tonight. This will include taking the customers' orders, bringing their food and drinks to them in a timely manner and collecting the finished plates to hand to Futaba. I will judge the winner and give you my verdict once the number of customers dies down. Once you begin to grow a little more confident Futaba, you and Ren can switch roles."
"Nonononono, anything but talking to people!" Oh, she's not THAT determined but it still beats her not willing to try.
"Hm. You won't get too far like that Futaba. It's nothing to be too worried about though. Don't let me down you two."
""Roger!"" It was now time to handle the evening period and mark the beginning of the contest.
Futaba's role was to ensure that all items used in Leblanc were fully washed, dried and put away properly to ensure the workspace remained safe for use as well as maintaining the preparation surface. Each time I was able to look over her work, she was following the procedures to clean everything that customers would use - there were two sinks: one for the preparation items (such as the chopping boards, wooden spoons and used chopping knives) and one for the used crockery and cutlery. She'd made sure to place the preparation items into one sink and the rest of the items in the other. She also made sure to spray disinfectant as well as washing-up liquid into each sink leaving the preparation tools to soak for a few minutes whilst instantly dealing with the used crockery, cutlery and mugs. Ensuring that the serving utensils were bubble soaked enough, she drained the filthy soap water and washed the items with a scrubber and sponge under hot water. Thankfully, she was wearing gloves so the chemicals from all of the cleaning stuff wouldn't harm her skin. Not once did she skip checking an item - she inspected each and every one before beginning to dry them with fresh towels. After a certain number of items, she would change the towel she dried with to another one. When it came to the remnants of raw pork and unused onion/carrot that needed to be disposed of, she ensured they were placed into a biohazard bag taking care not to overfill the bags. She then placed the bags into the biohazard barrel which I would take out at the end of each working week. Once the raw bits were out of the way, she then used some bleach disinfectant and a cloth to wipe the surface. I taught her that the best way to wipe was to do circles so that there were no blemishes on the surface - she'd wiped in medium sized circles from corner to corner meaning that preparation to serve more curry would be possible if need be. These cloths were disposable but they could go into the general waste - no cloth was to ever be used twice. Naturally, Futaba kept on top of making sure she didn't overuse the gloves she wore and before switching to a new pair, she washed her hands and disinfected them properly. I remember the very first time I had her doing some cleaning duty - she was so anxious of the customers who came in, every few minutes or so, her fingers would slip and a plate or mug would break from a drop. I would try and get her to calm down and keep a level head but it would only work a few minutes before I had to repeat the cycle. Back then, I didn't have as much of a keen eye so I sought to replace the broken sets to the same quality. Sadly, the number of broken crockery continued to increase so I opted to go for a different set that wouldn't break so easily. Seeing her not make even the slightest slip up made me feel really proud of how far Futaba has come and I wanted to give myself a pat on the shoulder for my efforts training her. Once she overcomes her fear of socialising with others, she'll be a force to reckon with.
As for Daigaku's kid, he seemed to have a natural knack for customer service. His role was to note down the orders that each customer had (and their specifics), hand them over to me and ensure customers have a positive experience here at Leblanc whilst keeping within their rights. When the kid got started, he'd had a keen eye on the customers who came in and customers already present. Operating on the first come first serve policy, he had the flexibility to adapt to the room situation: if customers were not ready to take an order, he would instead tend to customers who were. There was no poor posture whatsoever and he'd had a positive tone of voice when speaking. As he took down the orders, he made sure to maintain eye contact without staring too hard and actively listened to the customers. When the opportunity presented itself, he would try to promote an item on the menu. He can seriously talk out of his ass and make it sound pretty convincing. Bringing the orders over to me, Ren wrote each order with such clarity that he wouldn't have to go back and double check with the customer. In no way is this flawless but it's far clearer than I could ever write - it would put some chefs to shame, no doubt. There happened to be an unexpected bunch of rowdy customers who were nothing but trouble, not just to the customers I already had but also, to the kids. One of the bunch of thugs woof whistled when he saw Futaba - at that point, I would've thrown the customer out there and then with no refund for such a disgusting act of harassment but the kid handled it well. When he was bringing some used plates to Futaba, he'd basically checked to make sure she was okay before carrying on with his role. He moved to a position where it would be hard for that customer to leer so blatantly and gave a kind but stern warning to respect the workers otherwise they would be barred from coming here. That kid really managed to stay as cool as a cucumber. He's got his similarities to Daigaku, I'll give him that much. The group continued to cause more trouble in this place but even then, he still served them and treated them with the same level of respect as the polite customers. When a few of my regulars came in, they decided to start up a conversation with Ren. I'd feared the worst would happen if he started talking but my fears were quelled in the end - he made good small talk and actively took an interest in the regulars posing questions at the opportune moment. Finally, each time a customer was finished, he would take the time to ask how their experience was with the food and the service before taking their used utensils and placing them in the area for Futaba to sort. When a booth or seat was no longer in use, he cleaned the area using disinfectant and dried it with care for the surface it was making it readily available to customers who came in. Ren, I'm honestly impressed. You really are a good kid.
Thanks to the efforts that both of the kids put in, I could focus mainly on cooking and getting the products out to customers in a timely manner. The occasional customer who was nothing but trouble I would shoo off but otherwise, things remained smooth until the end of the evening. By closing time, the kids finally got to rest and catch their breath for a bit. Futaba was breathing very raggedly due to the immense concentration she had whilst Ren sat on a high chair. Leblanc's profit today was as good as the daily profits in its prime time. Once Ren instigated Futaba into action, she seemed like a different person altogether. If it wasn't for him motivating her, I would not have been able to make the sales that I normally don't see. If he wasn't a minor or part of my responsibility as a guardian, I'd hire him to work here full-time. Just the effect of him being here helped out Futaba with her fear of socialising.
"First, I want to say thank you to the two of you. Not only was service as smooth as it could be but you actually helped me turn out a good profit. I'll treat you guys when you're both free as a one-time reward for today."
"Sweet!" Futaba was overjoyed at hearing this whilst Ren kept his reaction to himself.
"Thanks Sojiro."
"You're welcome. As for who performed better than who…"
Both of the kids had eager expressions wanting to find out who I felt did a better job - there really was only one answer to it.
"I'm giving today's victory to Ren."
"Ehhhhh?!" Futaba was in total shock at this news.
"Futaba, the cleaning today was impeccable. There were no blemishes to be seen on any dish or cup and no moist spots on any piece of cutlery which allowed for me to plate up for customers when I needed to at any given time - even a professional cleaner will slip up once or twice and have to repeat a few dishes. I remember the first time you tried out doing some washing up and comparing your ability then to now, it's phenomenal how much you've improved."
"Well done, Fu-chan." She blushed when Ren said that - he doesn't seem to get just what he means to her.
"Ren. This is the first time you've been thrown into a role like this and you've had no prior experience of customer service. You were a natural today. You managed to keep a good log of orders which were neat and easy for me to read and you additionally managed to keep a level head for all of the customers - even when the unruly ones came in and tried to get a rise out of you. You treated the regulars with the same level of respect I would and made all feel at home here. I'm honestly very proud of you, Ren. If you keep this up, you'll be charming enough that any lovely lady you'll want will fall for you." Alluding to the time he spent with someone today, he seemed to catch on.
"I'd definitely want to be charming."
"You got your eye on someone?"
"Hmm…you could say that, yeah."
"You show that someone just how good you are at this, then you'll-"
"Sojiro! Ren!" Futaba was feeling like a third wheel in this conversation - continuing would lead to her being more irate so I stopped this line of conversation.
"Ha-ha, we'll keep that topic for another time."
"Indeed." I figured that this night would end peacefully and all of us would wake up feeling refreshed.