2.11.2007

weekend wrap-up

things i found extremely annoying this weekend:

- each and every customer that listened to me repeat their order verbatim, only to complain that their drink was supposed to be iced/nonfat/decaf/blended/whipped after the barista had made it.
- the bitch mommy who told her son to "shut the fuck up" when he asked if he could have a hot chocolate.
- the teenagers who kept asking "are these samples?" and couldn't keep their grubby fingers off the cupcakes we have on display for valentine's day (cupcakes which had a large sign that read 'DO NOT TOUCH - FOR DISPLAY ONLY')
- the barista who preceded me on bar and left me with no steamed milk, grande hot lids or whipped cream containers during a rush.
- the lady who kept propping open our front door because her doggy felt lonely outside (the same lady that gave me a stare down when i asked what kind of dog she had - "she's NOT a dog!" she informed me. "she's my baby girl!")
- the woman who left her toddler's poop-filled diaper in the bathroom sink.
- the man who growled at me "don't you understand english?!?" when i asked him to clarify what his drink order was (he wanted a caramel frappuccino but was asking for a 'caramello flurry')
- the partner who spilled mocha in the milk fridge but blamed it on the manager (uh, hello! the manager didn't work this weekend!)
- the jerk who ran off with one of our tip jars.

things that put a smile on my face this weekend:

- finding out kick ass newbie was covering one of the talker's shifts.
- a visit from one of my old bux regulars.
- the customer who brought us a box of krispy kreme donuts.
- the teenagers that picked up after themselves and told us to have a good night when they left the store.
- the woman who thanked me for always making her drinks the correct way.
- being sent home early on a sunday afternoon!

partner rant: why is it so hard to rinse the frappuccino lid after every use? why must you throw it in the sink and leave it there to get covered in milk and frappuccino guts? doesn't it bug you to have to fish out the dirty lid from the bottom of the sink every time you need to make another frappuccino? don't you realize how much time and effort is wasted by not rinsing it right away? do you like making extra work for yourself or do you just expect other partners to clean up after you?

13 comments:

SkippyMom said...

Okay...I was going to comment on the things that brought you down this weekend b/c I was aghast at most of them [no, the diaper doesn't surprise me...lol] BUT..after reading the smiles put on your face part of the post I have to say....

What the heck is up with the woman telling the kid to "shut the fuck up" ? I seriously would've stared her down b/f I ever served her. Knowing full well that you had to, and I am sorry for that.

Still - the smiles were delicious and I enjoyed those so much.

Hugs from Skippymom!

Anonymous said...

I work at a Panera Bread, and I seriously think I've had all of those customers this weekend too, except for the nice ones who bring donuts.

Sabrinas said...

wow-how do you not snap at some of those customers, especially people like that "don't you speak english" guy. i work at a coffee shop and almost all of my customers are regulars, and almost all of them are nice, but once in a while we have someone like that who assumes i'm a complete idiot because i'm not wering ann taylor and formating spreadsheets for a living, or, we have a few older regulars who make inappropriate comments, about my boobs, or sometimes about minorities. sometimes it feel like i'm torn between doing a good job, and a huge part of me doing a good job is customer service, calming the customer down, educating them about our establishment, and me the human being. is it part of my job to hear customers defend michael richards to me and noty say anything, or to coyly deflect thier "jokes" about my boobs?

Anonymous said...

Barista, I have a question. Is there any sort of formal policy on people who steal drinks? Yesterday I waited for my husband at a Bux. It was quiet, so quiet that one barista was reading a book. When husband arrived, I placed my order. No one had ordered anything for about 15 minutes. When they called out my venti caramel apple cider, someone from across the store swooped in and took my drink and walked out the door. I was five feet away, but I couldn't catch him before he drove off. The girl working cashier just sort of looked at me when I told her what had happened and told me that they didn't have any more orders waiting, not getting the point. Then I was told they could make me another one, but I would have to pay for it.

Is this real policy? They saw me yelling at the guy, they clearly knew I was the only drink being made. Were they assuming I was somehow in cahoots with the guy who ran off with my drink?

Anonymous said...

Well, the pisser moments are still 2 out of 3, but at least you have SOME decent customers. I so want to drop a rock on the dog...er, 'baby girl' owners head.

Anonymous said...

This is for the anonymous poster who had her drink stolen.

At my store, I've never had a problem with people stealing drinks. Yeah, people pick up the wrong ones every now and again but not out and out stealing.

It blows my mind that the barista was going to make you pay for a re-make. If it was that slow, they should have been able to know what was going on. If I were you, I would submit a complaint about the barista that told you that. That's ridiculous.

Schlatko

Tom said...

Brat,

I once read guidelines for what a bystander can do when they observe child abuse in public. I looked this up after I saw a very well dressed Upper East Side New York lady throw her seven years old son against the wall in the shoe department at Bendel's when I was in college and just stood there, gaping, along with everybody else in the store, as she grabbed him and pulled him into the elevator. The article I read said that there's a calm, quiet, supportive way that you can approach the parent that can actually help them and the kid. Big help I am here--I have entirely forgotten what it was. But I am going to look it up for you because that "Shut the fuck up" definitely qualifies as damaging behavior, and God knows it's probably only the tip of a big bad iceberg of abuse. And God knows it may not be the last time you witness such a thing, or worse.

mellowlee said...

I hope the good made up for the bad! "frappuccino guts" made me queasy btw LMAO!!!

Anonymous said...

I've never even been into a Starbucks, but I have done a brief stint at Tim Hortons (canadian coffee chain) and I've dealt with all that and worse in the short month I was there.

I do wish my current job allowed for more customer screwery though. Some of them really deserve it.

Anonymous said...

Why I would be fired after my first day on the job:

"Don't you speak English?"
"Yes, and I also speak fluent jackass, which is why they sent me over to take your order."

Allan said...

have you ever considered the possibility that you may be way, way too smart to be serving coffee to assholes?

Red-Stapler.com said...

Greets, I came over from bbcamerican. Wow... hell of a week. My local bux rarely gets my order wrong, but even then I don't bother to complain, cuz it's tasty anyway. Unless it's decaf, but then I probably wouldn't know the diff... I worked in a similar job many moons back, and it really left me with a disdain for the general public. Anyhow, great blog. It should be required reading for jackass customers.

barista brat said...

skippymom - yeah, that "mother" is a real bitch.

colin - panera seems like they have really uptight customers.

goodness gracious! - i've been lucky enough to never have had a customer make jokes about my boobs (except for the guy who made a reference to the time bux baristas were in playboy).

anonymous - first: you NEVER should have been told to pay for the second drink. second: the barista needs to be informed of policy and the best way to do that is by filling out a comment card/talking to the manager/calling corporate. you really should be compensated for your horrendous experience. i believe that bux owes you a service recovery coupon (if not two).

evangaline - seriously. "baby girl"? "not a dog"! that lady needs help.

schlatko - well put.

tom - i agree. i'm sure what i saw was only the tip of the iceberg. sad thing, too. i'd greatly appreciate seeing that article if you can find it.

mellowlee - the good is what helps me stay sane, believe me.

girl in a gamestore - i've never been to tim horton's but i've heard a lot of people say they prefer it over bux!

jp - i'm going to save that comeback for my last day, if you'll let me (though i have no idea when my last day will be). i would love to use that on a jerk customer!

allan - god, i hope so, haha!

red stapler - thanks for stopping by!