4.18.2007

quit talking:talk quitting

the talker, alas, is no longer with us.

you might recall that he and the partner-formerly-known-as-amorous had a mutual detestation of each other.
not a shift could pass without them arguing, bitching or complaining. not a week passed without the entire store knowing the drama that unfolded between the two of them. it didn't matter how many 'coaching conversations' were had or how many times the manager threatened to write them up, nothing could keep these two from their verbal warfare.

from the get-go is was clear that pfkaa was the dominant combatant. she had the better comebacks and the tougher skin. the talker, on the other hand, was all emotion with none of the wit. and as soon as pfkaa would wail particularly hard on him, he'd escape to the backroom to have a cry.
except he called it a "moment of personal reflection".

"i really don't want to argue with her," the talker once confided to me. "i'm really above all that, but i just can't take her talking crap about you and everyone else in the store."
"well, let me and everyone else fight our own battles." i replied, knowing he was full of it. "if you're above it, then don't participate."

of course the talker was never "above it" and their arguments only increased in vitriol and volume. finally the manager sat both of them down and informed them that if they couldn't get along, then one of them would have to be transferred.

"well, it's not going to be me because i've been here the longest!" the talker proclaimed shortly after his meeting with the manager.
"dude, i'm not going anywhere!" pfkaa shot right back at him. "i already had to transfer once because of stupid drama."
"you're the reason for all the drama." the talker was holding back tears. "i used to love it here, but now i hate it. you've made my life a living hell!"
"what life?" pfkaa smirked. "like eating marked out pastries at home alone is living."
i'm sure the talker was just waiting to unload with some biting reply, except that he had to run to the backroom for his cry.

as promised, the manager decided to transfer one of them. he decided the talker would be a "better fit" for the store down the street, but the talker wasn't having any of it.
"i'm not going anywhere!" the talker said to the manager.
"i'm sorry but i gave you fair warning." the manager told him as he handed the talker his schedule for the other bux.
"this bites!" the talker started to cry again. "i quit! if i can't work here, then i'm quitting."

the talker ended up quitting on the spot, not bothering to finish off his last week at our bux. although i don't blame him for quitting, i certainly don't feel sorry for him.
now, if we can only get the manager to get rid of pfkaa...

barista rant: yelling "hey!" to the back of my head is useless. especially since i'm blending frappuccinos and i can't hear you. snapping your fingers doesn't help, nor does banging on the counter. and why was it so necessary to get my attention? why did you bypass the barista on bar to yell at me? especially when you ordered an espresso drink and not a frappuccino? and when i finally finished with the blenders and came over to help you, you barked that your drink wasn't hot enough. how the hell is that my problem? complain to the barista that actually handed you the drink!

18 comments:

mellowlee said...

Well, hopefully you will get a bit of peace around there without those two bickering at each other..then again, there are always the customers ;O)

Cup said...

We had a guy at the bookstore who would cry easily. It became a sport for the rest of the guys to see who could make him cry first.

Praying that PFKAA dramas herself out the door soon ...

Andrew said...

I made a girl cry once, when teaching her math at the Math Tutoring Center I work at. It was almost funny.

It would be sweet if those people would all just leave ^_^ But then there would be nothing to blog about!

Thy said...

a starbucks opened near my house.
my mom suggested my brother work there over the summer.

Manuel said...

Workn with couples is a nightmare. I work with a girl who phones her bloke in another outlet every hour. If he can't come to the phone she bitches and whines for ages.Seroiusly, I can live without that grief, the customers are bad enough.

Magnolia said...

Just saying "hi" from one barista to another. It's so funny how I can empathize with your rants...I swear, customers are the same everywhere! We have our very own Mr. and Mrs. Moocher, Guy Who Wants His Drink As Close To Free As Possible, door-tuggers, talkers, etc etc etc. *sigh* At least the job provides the occasional amusement. Hang in there! :)

Anonymous said...

"what life?" pfkaa smirked. "like eating marked out pastries at home alone is living."

Best.Comeback.EVER!!

first time commenter - love your blog

Steve said...

We had a manager at the liquor store up and quit on us, leaving me and the store manager as the only ones who could open and close the store.

Gotta love it when people quit for stupid reasons. Hopefully Starbucks is better staffed than a seedy liquor store :)

Steve
Liquor Store Stories

Cheer34 said...

We have great barsitas at our Bux. The one down the street is ok but not great, the one farther down the street they need an attitude adjustment. Just a loyal customer's view on bux baristas.

PS I am a talker, but the baristas know when to shove me out of line and when to just let me talk. I tip really well too.

Love your blog

Unknown said...

What is with people crying at work? And "a moment of personal reflection"- hahahaha! That's too funny.

Good for you for staying out of the drama, even when Mr. Sensitive tried to recruit you.

D said...

My flatmate and I work on the same hotel bar. At home, she's a delight. At work, she's unbelievably stroppy and if I'm on shift with her she invariably ends up yelling at me in front of customers.

I'm just thankful we can work shifts round eachother! Nothing makes work worse than bickering with people you're close to.

Johnny Yen said...

That sounds like the students I work with. Most are over 18 (I work with high school dropouts) and they will be the first to tell you that "you can't tell me what to do-- I'm a grown-up!" My response is "Then act like one."

I had a cryer one year when I taught sixth grade. Me and the art teacher, a friend of mine, used to have contests to see who could make him cry the quickest.

Allan said...

Alas, poor talker , we hardly knew ye...
wait, that's not it, sounds like he was too well-known. I'm sure the drama lives on somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

I once worked at a restaurant that had it's own version of "Amorous"...after months of dealing with all her personal drama, a couple of my co-workers told the manager that she made unwanted romantic overtures to them...she was gone the next shift, presumable bringing her special vibe to whatever dump he ended up working at. The co-conspirators had to make sure everyone was on the same page (i.e., wanted her gone pronto) or it could have backfired on them (or all of us).

Regarding the "Cryer", we had one of those at another of my former jobs, and as soon as we all found out how to trigger the waterworks, it became a great source of amusement to see who could make it happen the fastest and/or most consistently. In fact, I think he works for Starbucks now...couldn't handle our more "mature" environment, I guess. Or got into management, so he can make others cry now.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear the talker is gone, I worked with one for 14 months, which was 12 months too long. He should have been fired when they found out he lied about his experience, instead he was transferred inside with us, he was unable to keep his mouth shut, if he wasn't talking, he was making noises, all the time, didn't matter if you were in a meeting, with a customer, on the phone, there was this constant 'noise' coming from his office.

It was a happy and quiet day when he was fired, all of us downstairs couldn't believe how quiet it was with him gone.

she said: said...

I honestly don't know why people hold out like this. I can always tell who the crazy one in a dispute is. The one who won't move. If they both won't move - they are both crazy.

SkippyMom said...

'detestation' is my new FAVORTIE word...bravo and sums it up nicely.

I simply don't lknow how you put up with the babies in your store it would drive me nuts...tis' a good thing one is gone, now how to get rid of pfkaa..hmmmmmmm?

And I always say, Momma didn't name me 'HEY' so bite me.

Hugs. Skip.

6th Floor blog said...

Everytime I goto starbucks I always feel like my drink gets more and more complicated. I'm contemplating a grande soy half-white vanilla mocha next time. I had something similiar at a place called Bad Ass Coffee at the Hard Rock Casino in Miami that was excellent.