Let me first start off by saying, I love my job.
I truly do.
So with that, here are some of the, "joyful moments", we'll call them, that happen at good ol' Starbucks on a daily basis.
Lets start simple,
.: when people are on their cell phones, trying to order. Or better yet, NOT ordering. Just standing there continuing to talk, while staring at you, and yes of course while we have a line. OH, they're about to order, but not before apologizing to the person on the PHONE first. How does that even make sense?
They're still on the phone, waiting for their drink. Their drink gets called out, a few times. They finally come up,
"oh is this mine?"
"yes"
"oh ok I didn't hear you call it out"
............
get off the phone.
.: If you're ordering for a friend, that's totally fine. But if you have this time in line to figure out what they want, or better yet, the time BEFORE you get to Starbucks, use it. Don't try to figure out what they want once you get up to the register.
.: "Hi how are you today?"
"Can I get a...."
Oh, hello to you too.
.: One of my favorites is when people come up to the hand off plane and ask,
"Can I get a glass of water really quick?"
(Oh and yes, I do have a line of drinks)
oh real quick, yeah ok that'll happen...
"Yeah it'll be juuuuust a second"
Order your water with the rest of your drinks..
**There ARE genuine people that ask in the sweetest way and just tell you to take your time getting it, thanks for that**
.: *Customer standing right next to the hand off plane*
I call out- "Venti Iced Unsweetened Green Tea"
*Customer looks at me, then at the drink*
..."Is this the green iced tea?"
"Yes"
"It's unsweetened, right?"
Yes I JUST freaking said that
"Yes :)"
.: Another one of my favorites:
"oh is it too late to make that latte soy?"
oh you mean the one I'm putting a lid on right now? yeah, it is too late....
"No not at all, I'll get right on that for you"
Same applies to, last minute: "Oh can you make that decaf" or "Can I get no foam on that?"
Freakin order those modifications for your drink when you put your order in.
Or the best is IMMEDIATELY after they order, they look to me on bar and add 2 more modifications.
Umm, hello, you put your order in with the barista at the register for a reason..
.: When customers are are just staring at you making drinks (as if they know any better), and try to tell you how to make it.
cool.
Along those lines, ^^
lets say, putting whip cream on a frappuccino for Greg. Miss Suzy is watching your every move, and bursts out,
"No whip no whip no whip!!!!"
*looks at her with eye brows raised, KNOWING its not hers*
"For Greg?"
"Oh no that's not mine..."
yeah that's right, back off.
People, let the baristas do their jobs, they know what they're doing. (Most people, for the most part)
.: Oh this is just the best:
*walks up to register*
"Ok I need an express order for a (fill in the blank). I'm running really late"
...........
Yes, this really happens.
Or they will order, and go straight to the bar and ask,
"Can you put my drink in front of the others? I really have to go."
Oh is that so? That's nice, just because you asked, I'm actually going to put your drink in the BACK..
No I don't really do that, but it makes me want to go slow just so they don't get their way.
I'm sorry, but I have NO sympathy whatsoever for people who come into Starbucks at 8am, right in the middle of our rush, (knowing that it's going to be busy) and expect us to put their drink ahead of others. Are you for real?! Leave sooner, get up earlier. Ok, so you woke up late, that's fine. Don't come in then. Or at least don't expect to get treated like royalty.
And actually, I'm not sorry for having no sympathy.
.: I love when customers take other customers drinks. I mean reeeaally love it.
Hey, we put names on cups for a reason.
Especially when you order a venti, and end up taking a grande size. Welp, sucks for you. You now have the wrong drink AND a smaller size than you originally ordered and paid for.
Just look for your name people.
It's also great when customers ask if a drink is theirs, even though its not even the right size, or temperature for that matter (iced or hot).
"Is this the grande iced mocha?" *points to a venti hot cup*
................................
"Nope I've got yours right here"
For those of you thinking, "Yeah right those are two completely different drinks.."
..it has happened. (More than once)
This is also happened:
*Call out a frappuccino* (Clearly has whip cream on it, because, well, the lids are clear.)
and customer asks, "Is there whip cream on this?"
.................................
True story.
.: Every so often people will come up to the hand off plane with an empty milk carafe, and will nicely request a new one. No problem at all. But there's this one older gentleman, that will bring it over to the bar, and just stare. Not say a single word. I literally just want to be like, "Yes what can I help you with?" But instead, I kindly ask if I can get him a new milk carafe.
.: I think one of my favorite experiences happened pretty recently, and it just made me laugh:
"Excuse me this is not a soy chai"
"Ok is it supposed to be?" *takes drink from her*
"Yes, it is"
*examines cup and specifically remembers making that exact drink literally 3 minutes prior*
"Oh yes, this is soy, miss"
"No it's not"
"I promise you it is, I JUST made it"
"taste it"
yeah lady I'm really going to taste your freakin nasty drink
At this point I just wanted to bust up laughing.
"Nooo I'm not going to taste it, but I'll remake it for you.."
---There are most likely so many more "pet peeves" and "shenanigans" that go on, but these are just some of the top of the line stories.
I probably sound angry in posting this, I'm not. And again, I absolutely love my job. Like so much. Its people like these^^^, that sometimes just make it (believe it or not).
So, thanks so much to all you Starbucks customers out there (favorites and....the others), for making my mornings and days so eventful and fun-filled. You're all the best.
Sincerely,
your barista.
