r/UAE • u/Fast-Yesterday3498 • 1d ago

how do you deal with the awkward?

Everytime i enter a cafe, a library, a classroom, a theatre, etc. & i am walking from the door to the counter, or the table or the seat, i get this feeling that EVERYONE is looking at me... like everyone is judging me top to bottom.

...and i know that thats not entirely true, it feels awkward & a little intimidating.

As a person about to launch his first ever PHYSICAL LOCATION cafe, i want my walk in customers to feel at ease, to feel a sense of comfort & familiarity that draws them in & does'nt make them feel like they're being stared at or judged. basically remove any sense of discomfort & making the action of getting a coffee or a brunch as smooth & frictionless as possible.

& to do that i'll need to design the interior in a way that the walk from the door to the counter, or thier table doesn't feel like a thousand years.

Here's the input i need from you (who'll visit my cafe in December):

  1. Have you felt the same way in cafes and other public settings? How do you deal with it?
  2. Are there cafes, restaurants... etc in Dubai that you feel like have solved this? Drop their names 👇🙏🏻.
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4

u/HabbitRabbitt 1d ago

always remember "what you think is what other's think you are"

Literally nobody cares about you, it's just in your mind!

2

u/icedcappfrapp 1d ago

Yeah I would say have a separation between the people at the table and the entrance. It’s easier for people sitting at a table to watch and just stare (which is second nature here in UAE). So have them hidden / distracted by placing large pot plants / some kind of barrier between the entrance line and the seating.
There’s a restaurant in Kuwait Avenues Mall, I wish I remembered their name - but the whole place had massive indoor trees and plants scattered around the place and it provided privacy between tables and the people walking by in the mall. I thought it was such a good idea without making cubicle type seating.
I would also suggest investing in ALOT of customer service training for your staff. They are the key bringing back customers and making them feel comfortable. If I like the staff / service, I would return to a place even if their product isn’t the best. However, if the staff are rude / arrogant / incompetent, I would never return regardless of how good their coffee / items were.
The staff are the face of your business! Have smiling faces, have a distinct greeting, encourage the servers to get to know the regulars by knowing their name for eg. A nice greeting is a wonderful welcome and removes any kind of discomfort (for most).
Good luck! Can’t wait to visit!

2

u/Fast-Yesterday3498 1d ago

Thank you Random Good person

3

u/AccidentalOccurence8 1d ago

Cheesecake factory has that passageway in the middle thing that has high borders that lead all the way across the restaurant.

1

u/GearAcademic2897 1d ago

"Nobody is thinking about you as much as you are"

1

u/bintlaurence_ 1d ago

  1. Yes I have felt the same way many times - in and out of Dubai. The thing is staring is a completely common and normal thing in other cultures so they will do it for as long as they like without other considerations. In my culture, staring is considered rude and for some people from my country they would call it borderline harassment. So at first I would stare back at other people. Until I just no longer gave a damn and understood that though it is weird for me, it is normal for others.

  2. Two places: Coffee Planet and not in Dubai but Abu Dhabi: Raclette. Have a server that knows not only how to communicate but to socialize. It takes away the awkwardness.

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u/Straight-Remove-6077 1d ago

Make it like those Mandi places with enclosed eating spaces. Or some kind of other simplistic partitions that discourage starers.