Doing it Yourself (again)

One of the interesting things I noticed about Gothenburg was an absence of what you might call ‘flunky’ jobs.

In the numerous coffee bars, bakeries and lunchtime restaurants I visited (in the interests of research of course), I saw no wait staff, nobody clearing tables. Instead, customers picked up their own orders, and cleared away their own mess as they left – in one restaurant we even cleared our plates and sorted our dishes into trays ready for the dishwasher.

It was as if nobody felt they had to increase their own status by having someone else adopt an unnecessarily menial one (even as a paid role). How very grown-up.

The sincerest service takes place between equals.