3.29.2007

freebie jeebies

remember mr. and mrs. moocher?
they were the older couple who asked for extra cups, water, coffee "refills" and always tried to get everything for free.
well, the moochers haven't been around since we quit giving them freebies. imagine my surprise when i covered a shift at a different bux and i saw the moochers heading towards the register!

"you know about these two, right?" i whispered to the register partner before the moochers made it to the counter.
"oh my god!" register partner gave me a look and wrinkled her nose. "i HATE these two!"
"well, make sure they know they have to pay for what they order." i told her before i went back to bar.

of course the moochers pulled out all the stops with register partner when she told them they would have to pay regular price for their coffee. and of course register partner fell for it all and charged them for only one refill, when they should have been charged for two grande drips.

besides the moochers, this bux has another infamous customer who wants to pay next to nothing for his drink.
apparently he waits until bux quits serving their mild coffee (we don't serve two different types of regular throughout the day) and asks for an extra extra foamy mild misto in his commuter mug.
since there is no more mild coffee and he refuses to drink the bold roast, he demands two espresso shots undiluted in his mug before the milk and foam are poured over the top. then he makes sure to badger the barista on bar so his foam is super, super stiff and demands that it rises at least three inches above the rim of his mug.
so in reality he's getting a venti cappuccino, but only ends up spending the amount of a tall misto, minus the cup discount. and the kicker is he'll make the barista remake it until the foam peak is EXACTLY to his liking.

this bux must be known for being soft on policy because later in the day three jr. high kids came in and begged for pastries, although they had no money.
and the register partner GAVE them free pastries because according to her "they're so annoying, i'd rather give them free stuff so they leave rather than have to listen to them whine for an hour."
wow, she's gonna make a great parent.

barista rant: don't accuse me of stealing your money just because you lost your wallet in my bux. especially if you lost it three days earlier and only just recently noticed it missing. don't label us baristas as thieves because you can't keep track of your belongings. and don't blame us for the fact that none of our customers turned it in.

10 comments:

Eric said...

Hiya Brat, Still reading and enjoying but not commenting.

pilgrimchick said...

People like that amaze me. What's worse is when a customer is really stuck--who really does want a mild roast and has to settle for a bold if there isn't any left or really does need an extra cup--he or she is labeled as just as bad as the really true offenders.

Nice wallet guy. That stunt has "brilliant" written all over it.

mellowlee said...

Wow, a fussy moocher, lovely!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I get it, she doesn't want to hear them whine for an hour, but she'll give those kids free pastries so they'll come back tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that for the rest of forever to ask her for more free stuff. Sounds brilliant. Almost makes me feel like a sucker for actually paying for my food. hehe.

Anonymous said...

Since we are on a Delurk Mode I just wanted to say Hi and that I enjoy your posts! Keep it up!

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

Pensive Penguin - agreed... I feel like a chump now.

What I do like (sometimes) is when I ask for a soy chai latte, and the baristas don't charge me extra for the soy. It doesn't happen often, but it makes me smile when it does.

(Plus I tip well)

Anonymous said...

People like that annoy the hell out of me. I constantly have people asking me to "cut them a deal" or expecting they can trade in a game for a game - of course it doesn't work that way. They're not happy when they don't get to do it the way they want to.

Sling said...

You know,if we could tap all that energy that moochers put into getting freebies,..well..We'd have lots of energy..That sounded better in my head.

Traveling Matt said...

in response to the rant:
once, this woman picked a fight with me because I wouldn't give her a free frappuccino when she thought she deserved one. She called me a liar and an ugly bitch and left, forgetting her credit card. I considered throwing it away but opted instead to throw it in the safe. She came back the next day wanting it and accusing "someone" of stealing it. I told her it was in the safe and that I would be happy to set it for her, which would take 15 minutes as soon as I was back from my hour lunch. And then I went to continue eating.

SoftSilverTain said...

Recently, we've had a guy from new york (this is in a chicago suburb) who will come into our store at about 5 in the afternoon, look at the offerings board, and say that he doesn't like anything we have. He'll ask for someone special brewed, and we'll offer the french press. He'll say no, that he wants it through the brewer. If we hesitate ONE SECOND he'll start yelling about legendary service and talking to our DM. Oy.