RECENTLY at the fine baker – a conflict story from everyday life

Can you still remember when bread 🍞 really tasted like bread 🍞? A question you can only ask if the gustatory memory of your tongue 😋 reaches far back into the last century. My memory, in any case, is so deep that I'm willing to pay the equivalent of two Hugos or 10 Milka bars for 1 kg of bread from bakers who work without Chinese baking mixes and use their own sourdough. Who would have thought 30 years ago that we, as "Europe's delicatessen 🇪🇺," would only get quality bread from fine bakers? Basic needs come into focus when there is a shortage. Just like the need for toilet paper 🧻. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the connection here: Do you still see the images? Shopping carts full of toilet paper. Even yeast 🧊 was unavailable, as many Austrians decided to bake their own bread to combat the abundance of free time. Well, the new gourmet bakers are successfully addressing these basic needs, as an incident on a sunny Saturday morning in Vienna's city center shows:

Recently at the fine bakery – What overpriced bread and occupied toilets have in common.

After my wife and I waited about 15 minutes for a tiny table in the equally spacious outdoor seating area of this well-known bakery (slogan "Breads with Character" 😂 ), we were seated (✋ wait to be seated). This immediately makes you feel even more exclusive, and you're willing to pay the price of a lunch menu for a loaf of bread with organic egg, freshly grown cress, and some avocado. No problem, the sun is approaching its zenith anyway. We happily stay a little longer, order a second coffee, and enjoy the atmosphere and the hustle and bustle of the people, which leads us to the following situation:

Our gourmet bakery not only has (real) bread, but also the necessary restroom facilities (required by trade regulations). Just as I assume he'll soon be releasing a limited edition of his bread in collaboration with the Prada brand, the place where he does his business is designed to be just as elite. A lounge area in front of it offers a view of a leafy courtyard and invites you to linger. The point is, you generally don't want to pause contemplatively, but rather get straight to work. With one restroom per gender, which can sometimes lead to bottlenecks.

When my wife still hasn't returned after 10 minutes, I don't leave the table because a horde of tourists with greedy eyes is already preparing for an unfriendly takeover. Five minutes later, she does return – with one more experience under her belt. As statistically proven with women's restrooms, they are occupied more often than men's. In this case, however, the time occupied far exceeds the usual time, which can put (really) pressure on those waiting to look for alternatives. My wife tries to draw attention to the need by knocking and asking questions, but neither olfactory clues nor noises suggesting anorexia or lovemaking give any indication of a developed life form. My better half promptly decides to use the men's restroom, taking advantage of this typically male sense of ownership. This courage to solve the problem earns her the astonished look of an Indian tourist (male) as she leaves the place, and the apparition of a woman of indeterminate age who is just leaving the ladies' restroom, zipping up a makeup bag. Could it be that this is why some women refer to her makeup as "just a makeshift" one? My wife, not averse to certain beauty rituals herself, demands a somewhat abbreviated explanation: "Really?"

In my opinion, the resulting form of conflict resolution is currently experiencing a massive increase: The woman does NOT REACT AT ALL. She ignores the question, the other person, the situation. She leaves the place without a word. I'm not even suggesting ill will here, but rather a lack of conflict management skills. Moreover, her own needs are so strongly pronounced that there is simply no room for the perception of other people. Conflicts are caused, but their existence is denied because conflict resolution would inevitably lead to a change in behavior. Men, and women too, would rather move on to business as usual and order another cappuccino in the refined Döbling Viennese style.

Let's evaluate the conflict situation. At least one person (leaving the Indian out of consideration) experienced a massive restriction, but a solution was found through their own active actions. By definition, therefore, a conflict exists. However, it must be noted that this only became a conflict when the beauty queen's actions became apparent.

Conflict Barometer

The Conflict Barometer is a non-scientific attempt to assess conflict situations. Depending on the severity, up to three sticks of dynamite or peace doves can be awarded.

As trivial as this incident may seem, the negation of other people's needs that lie outside one's own sphere of influence is a serious problem. We also see it in our own consumer behavior, for example, when we ignore the situation of the people involved in the cultivation of coffee beans or the production of fashion items.

People involved: 🧨🧨🧨

Escalation: 🧨

Relevance: 🧨🧨🧨

Possible empathy: 🕊️🕊️🕊️

Solution options: 🕊️🕊️

Achievable compromise: 🕊️

With this series, the author aims to stimulate personal reflection on conflicts that arise in everyday life. He only allows himself to use satire when dealing with personal conflicts.