At Starbucks, Tully’s, and similar places, you return your empty glasses and trays to the designated return area yourself.

You see many restaurants doing the same, not just cafés.

With staff shortages these days, this is becoming the norm, and when I am a customer myself, I naturally clear up after myself.

Recently, as a customer was getting up to pay, they asked, “Where should I return the dishes?”

For a moment, I did not understand what they meant, but then it clicked, and I replied, “Please take them to that sink, wash them there, and then put them back in the cupboard.”

Of course, I was joking—though perhaps it was not the most refined joke—and the customer immediately understood and laughed. It was a little moment that made me feel the times we live in. ☺️