People are predictable.

Matt McAlister made an interesting point on his blog, based on a recent interaction in his coffee bar. Despite all technological developments, there is true value in human contact. Nothing beats personal contact, especially when ‘experts’ like your local barista notice how predictable you are.

The dude who runs the coffee bar in the afternoons here knows everybody’s favorite espresso drink. I asked him how he remembers the drinks. He said, “I just remember people. I see the same people at the same time of day.” I asked him if he could predict what drinks different people like. He replied, “Yeah, it’s easy. But some people don’t like that. They don’t want to be predictable. So, I wait for them to tell me. But I already know most of the time.”

It turns out that, in fact, we are very predictable. If the coffee bar dude knows what I want to drink before I do, then I’m sure there are lots of things being predicted for me throughout the day that I don’t even know about.

It could and should be a great starting point for interactions in hotels, bars and flights. Unfortunately, too often, people are untrained to be awesome to their customers.

Written in 2006, left as it was. Where I took it later: Change the default.

Original: People are predictable, 15 March 2006. Historical links may no longer work.