7.21.2006

tell you what you want to hear

"but the other bux does it!" is a phrase all baristas hate to hear.

it's annoying for a variety of reasons. the first one being that customers feel if they bitch enough they'll get whatever it is their little hearts desire, whether it's a free drink or a heated up pastry. another reason is the customer's high maintenance drink is usually so time consuming, it breaks with the natural flow and our bar ends up being backed up because some individual felt we were morally obligated to humor them.

and then there's this reason: the customer doesn't realize the other bux just told them a big fat lie get them out of their store and now we are the ones left to educate annoying customer.

case in point - this morning a customer came in and ordered a chocolate brownie frappuccino, a drink that has been of the menu for a matter of YEARS. when we explained that the frappuccino most similar to the chocolate brownie is a java chip frappuccino, the customer vigorously shook her head and said "no!, i don't want the java chip, that's a totally different drink! i want the chocolate brownie!"
so, thinking that she wanted the coffee-free version of a java chip (which is called a double chocolate chip frappuccino) we asked the specifics of what she wanted in her blended mess.
"i want a frappuccino... with mocha... and chocolate brownie bits... and coffee!" she says super slow so us brain-dead baristas can understand.
"ma'am" i informed her, "we no longer carry brownie bits. what we have now are java chips."
"well the other store makes it for me!" she interrupts me by whining.

that's when the lightbulb finally clicks in my mind.
this customer is such a pain at the other bux that they felt it easier to make her a java chip and tell her it was a chocolate brownie frappuccino.
and you know what? i can feel for them, i really can. however, the problem that they attempted to eradicate has now become my problem. so, a drink order that should have taken seconds has turned into a drawn-out ordeal.

it's happened with other bux's making "blended caramel macchiatos" for customers when they are really making caramel frappuccinos. with "sugar-free frappuccinos" when they are actually making frappuccino light (that still includes sugar, mind you) and when they pretend that they've brewed a less caffeinated coffee when they really just put filled a cup halfway with decaf and halfway with regular.

education is key. i just wish the baristas at other bux's would be willing to do their part.

barista rant: how many times did i suggest you register your gift card that had over 100 dollars on it? i explained that losing the card was like losing cash, however if you registered it and it was lost, you would be sent a new card with the remaining balance. each and everytime you told me "ah, i won't lose it" and yet, what happened? yup, you lost your gift card. so, why the hell are YOU giving ME attitude? and how dare you act like you misunderstood me and thought you could register it AFTER it was lost. sorry, but you get no sympathy from me. you get no free drink for your pain, either.

5 comments:

Cup said...

Still amazes me that there are so many a**hole customers ...

Natalie said...

I think what you need is a bux bouncer. It will make the line move faster. =)

Anonymous said...

Interesting website with a lot of resources and detailed explanations.
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Ceetar said...

I miss the chocolate brownie frappachino. Though I guess the only difference is the brownie/javachips. Chocolate Brownie is a much better name though. hell, they could've just chopped up espresso brownies instead of getting java chips, just for the name.

damn, now i want starbucks.

Anonymous said...

Well Im one of those customers, because Im not a coffee addict, in fact I maybe drink coffee once a year. Sometimes though Im forced into a Starbucks because my friends are addicts. So when I try to order something I enjoy, usually non coffee sometimes its no longer on the menu.

Chocolate Brownie Frappuccino, or Vanilla Bean Cream Frappuccino Afogato Style. Both these drinks were at one time advertised on big cards at the register. It wasnt until tonight when I tried to order both and failed, instead getting a drink I couldnt drink half off that I decided to search online and find out what the hell it was I drank before that I wanted again but couldnt order since it dissapeared.