8.30.2006

soy what?

we have some stubborn customers at my new bux - especially when it comes to soy milk.
i don't know if it's the area my new bux is located in but we go through multiple cases of soy a day.

i'm not complaining, and i certainly don't mind steaming soy for lattes, mistos or caramel macchiatos (but i do hate soy cappuccinos! the soy we use doesn't steam as well as some other soy milks do) nor do i mind putting soy in iced mochas or adding it to iced cafe con leches. what i do dislike, however, are the customers that will waste ten minutes of my time trying to convince me to go against policy and blend them a soy frappuccino.

i've posted before of the whispers that we will be making a soy frappuccino in the near future, but if i don't have a recipe card for it - i'm not making it! these customers who want the soy frappuccino will often settle for an iced white mocha WITH whipped cream. so apparently their aversion to dairy frappuccinos isn't because they're lactose intolerant.
after growing tired of iced soy drinks, they will again try and coerce us into blending soy for them.

"please! i'll tip you a dollar!"
"come on, just this once - for me?"
"i know you're supposed to say yes to anything i ask! i heard an interview with howard schultz and he said so!"

these are just a sample of the different ways customers beg for soy frappuccinos in my new bux. but you want to know the best part? after ten minutes of whining and pleading they end up saying, "fine! just give me the damned caramel frappuccino with extra whipped cream."

customer rant: i have a suggestion. if you are a new barista and you don't know the drink recipes - don't go on bar. if you are put there, then don't fight with the customers about how the drinks are made. i ordered an 'old school' iced americano and you put water in it. when i informed you that 'old school' meant no water - just ice and espresso - you rolled your eyes and said, "ma'am, ALL americanos come with water." 1) i'm not old enough to be a ma'am, all right? 2) don't try and school customers that know more than you (especially if they are partners). 3) learn the damn drink recipes!

10 comments:

Moxie said...

Lactose & I don't see eye to eye on the politics of my GI system. I quickly learned that any frappy frapness, regardless of the presence of whipped cream, is not a good idea for me. So it cracks me up that these folks will whine for soy frappys but then settle for the full frap onslaught.

Actually, I would love to see Bux offer nonfat (skinny? skim? ha ha) soy milk. I doubt that will happen anytime soon though. But I also said gas would never go over $3/gallon and look what happened.

Zeus said...

This is my first time to your blog, and I found it by way of the Wandering Author review.

I'm not sure what the big fascination is with soy besides the fact that it tends to be associated with some fashionable, health trend. I wonder if some of these people are just attempting to be hip by ordering, and then when they realize the hassle, revert to their less-than-chiq normal orders. How funny though!

pilgrimchick said...

I love the attitude customers have--that you just have to to everything for them they ask--and it seems like they really hold on to that just because you aren't willing to make it even though they would happily settle for something else. They just want the satisfaction fo your doing what they want you do.

Cup said...

I tip a dollar every morning. Does that mean I get to make unreasonable demands? Sweet!

Anonymous said...

I did not realize that soy was so popular. I'm just not feeling the allure yet... rather, it still sounds kind of gross to me.

barista brat said...

girl with moxie - it might happen! i never thought they'd do a "light" version of the frappuccino, but they did.

zeus - soy is definately an image thing in my bux's part of town. thanks for stopping by!

slskenyon - exactly. i think bux is the only place they feel they can exercise their 'god complex'.

beth - haha, with as cheery as you normally are, i'm sure you're allowed to go crazy every once in a while - even without tipping the dollar.

jpdc - what's gross is the organic milk we use. imagine a petting zoo. now imagine drinking the smell of the petting zoo. viola - organic milk!

big boobs are kind of neat - bux is still hiring! you can try handing that application in again.

Wide Lawns said...

I get iced soy mochas from time to time to meet my soy requirements, and I always think I am the only person that ever orders soy and then I worry its not fresh, but apparently I was wrong. Thanks Barista Brat! Now I wont worry anymore. And I NEVER asked for anything soy and blended. Iced mochas only.

LordSomber said...

funny. You might appreciate this:

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/28726087/?qo=76&q=by%3Alordsomber+sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps

Anonymous said...

My question is why not? just add soymilk instead of the premade stuff. How hard is it?

soleil said...

"i know you're supposed to say yes to anything i ask! i heard an interview with howard schultz and he said so!"

why do they even advertise this policy? give people an inch and they will take a mile. or whatever that saying is.