Caroline Knightly, Features Editor
@knightlycourant
While some people enjoy a green tea lemonade from Starbucks, or a hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts, NCHS students can often be found at Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee. Whether you order a ginger peach iced tea mixed with raspberry or a vanilla iced coffee, visiting Zumbach’s has become a part of a student’s daily routine.
Junior Olivia Barden has been afternoon-manager at Zumbach’s for a year and deals with daily tasks of keeping the afternoon running smoothly for customers. “On week days, we have to do afternoon jobs, like filling the regular jars, then filling the flavor jars,” she said. “You have to make the flavored coffee yourself, then you have to refill filters which is how you set up coffee for the next day.”
Freshman Laurie O’Connor enjoys the positive atmosphere of Zumbach’s, as she learns to cope with the busy work schedule. “Sunday is one of our busiest days,” she said. “ I would say that Sunday is the one that really kicks you because it’s from 8:00am to 3:00pm.”
Since Olivia is the afternoon-managers, she is responsible for the trials and errors of the staff. “If something goes wrong, or if we forget to do something, that’s on me and that’s my fault because I didn’t see that,” she said. “I have to make sure everyone is on task and communicate with them if they are not.”
For Laurie, working at Zumbach’s is her first job. Through this she’s gotten to know the ropes of customer service. “You become more of a people person and you know how to talk to adults,” she said. “I’ve learned how to talk to them and I’ve learned so many different things just from having casual conversations.”
Olivia does not look at Zumbach’s as just her workplace, but also a place where she can hangout and relax. “I work a lot, but I’ll also go in and hang out when I’m not working,” she said. “If I don’t have anything to do, I’ll just go in and do my homework.”
According to Laurie, she has learned a lot from working at Zumbach’s, including financial and social skills. “I’m learning how to use my money responsibly and not to spend it all,” she said. “As well as working for the first time, I’ve met so many new friends, upperclassmen mostly, who are always there for me and are really sweet.”
