Kathleen W.
Yelp
It's only every few years that I'll take the time to write a review and i found my experience at sweetgreen yesterday -- the wonderful service, never mind the usual yumminess -- was worth noting:
The guys behind the counter were training a new employee and so, with me and all my questions alongside the trickiness of "mask & plexiglass communication," things could easily have gotten garbled. But instead, these guys were pure grace: pure NYC grace. They were SO patient and kind with the new guy, and with me, and went above and beyond to make both my travels down the choices-line AND the resulting Custom Bowl absolutely **perfect.** May sound a little gushy, but .... that shit really IS good-medicine: good for the heart, good the mind, even.....yes, good for the digestion.
But what really clinched it ??? As i sat with my utterly deelish warm bowl [rice + quinoa over arugula --- add shaved carrots + perfectly not-toooo-spicy spicy broccoli + halved mini tomato + portobello -- dressed with a combo of their pesto-vinaigrette + miso-sesame-ginger (yummmmz)] and a slice of hearty/yummy bread..... what clinched the deal was the grace one particular employee showed to theeee most subtly rude, DiSgracefully dismissive couple who brought to and through the line their own toxic recipe of bitch&moan undertone. It was that flat, riiight there under the surface, oh-i'm-so-exhausted to have-to-even-ask WHYyy-you're-out-of-avocado, eye-roll-y kinda way. [Ooooo i SO wanted to say "hey lady .... it's Sunday, late afternoon, 2022 in nyc, in a fast-food-heath-food joint. Hmmm, gee, "no avocado left?" ....i wonder. But, damn, sarcasm is cheap.]
But that was just the beginning. The woman and her poisonous tone began traveling down the choice-line -- with her husband, with his own, um, "subtle" tone of dismissiveness following hers closely. Still, the graceful dudes behind the line took great care to be of service -- one dude even offering the husband (whose glasses were fogging up as he was trying to read the menu while masked) a proper glasses-wipe which the "man" soooo very rudely declined.
Ugh, such poor, poor poor poor manners -- that poor, rude thing. It devastates the Heart, how people can be so subtly rude and dismissive, and then even jab it in with such a cutting response to good, thoughtful (full -of-thought) service. It's a weaponizing of sorts -- subtle emotional violence. Hurtful: full of hurt.
I have to wonder, when would putting out such bad vibes be deemed "appropriate" in any way? Why the utter opposite of simple/basic "Manners-101?" This couple was the embodiment of "anti-kindness" with their bringing of subtle/entitled/oh-I'M-so-bored&exhausted-being-here + youuu-are-either-dismissible-or-invisible, depending-on-my-needs" vibe.
But alas, there **was** a gentleman behind the counter: he rang them up, never having missed a beat of his own gracefulness, and presented them their order. With another genuinely sweet tone he noted the adjacent counter and its generous supply of handle-bags should they need one, and then -- again, very kindly -- thanked-them-very-much. 100% grace.
They? They did not respond in kind. Not even close. With the antithesis of kindness they offered????.... simply no response whatsoever. As if he didn't exist.
What's the **opposite** of infusing kindness + good-medicine to a moment or a place??... jabbing poisonousness + toxic presence?
Anti-Kindness.
That's what that couple brought in :(:(
Yet, on the contrary, inside of 3-4 minutes the sweetgreen guys offered care,
attention,
perfect service,
and a LLLLLot of patience
WHICH i daresay was the ultimate in generosity, all things considered.
They were truly perfect, perfect gentlemen.
And then eeeeven after the couple LEFT (!!!!), the gentleman who had rung them up said, still with a kind and gentle tone.... "That lady so seemed 'off ' didn't she?... hmmm, yeah well maybe she was just having a bad day."
Gosh, I sooo would have liked to have thought so.
Yet sadly, the subtlety of that behavior is a cultivated one. A low, sad and sorry cultivation.
He was right too, though: yep, they sure were "off" -- brackish to say the least, and the air was clearer upon their departure.
Anyway, if you're still reading this: (1) hello:):) and (2) let's strive always to be "gentle-persons," like the gentlemen behind the counter that day at sweetgreens on 71st & 1st. (And let us also strive always to NOT be like that couple -- no matter the kinds of days we're having.)
AND .......
ohmygod YUM:
my warm CustomBowl was sooooo
fKnnnnn
GOOD !!!!....
And 'twas unable to be soured...
thanks, that is, to the gentlemen at sweetgreen.