5.06.2011

the fussies

so, i've mentioned before that i have a wonderful set of customers. i'm lucky to be in a city that really embraces and supports local businesses, and i know many of my regulars pass a bux or two on their way to my coffee house. as we get busier, our clientele gets more varied, which means i'm beginning to see the kinds of personalities i would deal with on a consistent basis when i worked for bux.

we have a duo of women who use our coffee house as a weekly meeting ground. i guess they picked us because we are equidistant to the both of them, because they certainly don't seem to care that we have organic coffee or free wifi. in fact, every time they come in there always seems to be an issue with their drinks.

the first time they both wanted decaf lattes, but one of them forgot to tell me.
"i'm PREGNANT!" she stressed aggressively.
so, without matching her attitude, i remade her latte.

the next time they showed up the non-pregnant one asked for a vanilla latte. remembering the decaf fiasco from before, i verified her order, and asked if she wanted decaf again.
"no, HALF-caff" she half-growled.
so i made her half-caff vanilla latte and after two sips she informed me it was supposed to be sugar-free vanilla. yup - yet another modifier she failed to inform me about WHILE I VERIFIED HER FRIGGEN' ORDER!

the third time they came in mr. brat made their drinks. he didn't give me the details of that encounter, he only informed me he was now calling them "the fussies" because nothing seemed to make them happy.

cue to earlier this week. the pregnant one wanted only water, and i was somewhat surprised she didn't have a complaint about the temperature or the amount of ice i put in. her friend, however, wasn't going to let me off scott-free.
"i want my usual," she told me.
"half-caff sugar-free vanilla latte?" i verified the order. but seeing it was insanely hot that day i figured i'd ask if she wanted it hot or iced.
"oh definitely iced!" she fanned herself with hand.

so i made her iced half-caff sugar-free vanilla latte and handed it to her.
"oh, i wanted it blended," she said as she wrinkled her nose.

so, again without attitude, i remade her drink. when she saw i was making it from scratch instead of just tossing her drink in the blender she said "oh, you didn't have to totally remake it!"

um, yeah right.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brat, can I please come work for you? I'll bring all my nice, pleasant, high-tipping regulars!

I've been following your blog for a few years now, from when you were working at the bux to now, where you own your own coffee shop. Thank you for the smiles, and I have ALL the commiseration and eyerolls that go along with working at coffee shops.

:)

SkippyMom said...

This is where I wish you could get them to write down and initial their order. :) I know that isn't feasible, but at least you have proof they never said "blended" or whatnot.

At least the one didn't complain about free water.

Zoltar Panaflex said...

All I ever want is a tall mocha nonfat- either hot or iced - I can clearly remember the two times I had it remade - the beans were really off or something.

But I have no problems being polite (Baristas are Supercool after alll!) even on those days I had to fast until 9am!

Any time I see a cranky ass like that, I imagine their home-life is pretty miserable too - imagine being stuck in a house w/such a sunbeam. Bleah!

Jonathan said...

Greetings from a new follower. This sounds like a breakdown in our super secret network that allows every barista in your town to know exactly what your "usual" is before you even step foot in our door. Ooops, sorry, did I say that out loud?