sometimes customers like to talk with their baristas. and sometimes they like to banter and flirt. usually the banter is light and innocuous. sometimes the flirting borders on creepy.
tonight, for instance, a customer delivered a line that caused me to cringe: "would you sit in my latte to make it sweeter?"
SIT IN MY LATTE.
i guess he was going for the variation of "it's sweet just because you made it" or even "will you sweeten it a little more by putting your finger tip in it?" <-- still gross, by the way.
but asking me to SIT in his latte? that went way beyond flirting and straight to "strange uncle". he also informed me that he likes it "extra hot - and with extra whippage". but what really made me feel dirty was when he waved a dollar at me and said he was tipping because i always "do him right".
ugh.
it's not just the girl baristas that have to deal with this sort of customer. boy baristas also have their share of admirers. i used to work with a guy who looked like he belonged in a boy band. not only were the teen girlies hot for him, their mothers were as well. in fact he was propositioned by more than one desperate housewife looking for a "workout partner". one mother in particular was so aggressive that my fellow barista buddy started hiding whenever she'd come into the store. if she cornered him while he was at bar she would always ask him to add his "special sauce" to her drink.
so. very. wrong.
partner rant: you've been here for three months already! how long will it take for you to learn that "GTL" stand for "green tea lemonade" and not a "green tea latte"? i know all the symbols can be confusing, and many of them are similar, but you make this mistake EVERY SINGLE DAY! why can't you learn to differentiate between "GTL" and "GRTL"? it's not rocket-science!
20 comments:
I mentioned earlier that some things I read on the net make my eyes catch on fire....and I run screaming from the room.
This definitely ranks as a TOP FIVE....aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh
<-------Skippy has left the building.
eww.
eww.
EWW! sorry, but nothing else comes to mind. :)
"would you sit in my latte to make it sweeter?"
Brat: Sure, when you sit on a sprung bear trap.
Ugh. I think those comments top the worst I've gotten, which was asked out by someone thirty years my senior. I feel for you both; there's definitely no excuse for such bad behavior.
Eww.
That's just plain wrong!
How do you keep a straight face when you hear that? The finger-in-the-latte line, I know I would've burst out laughing as soon as I heard that.
Your sit-in-my-latte line, ranks right up there with another one I heard in terms of creepiness... One of my friends, who has a higher-than-average pitched voice, was talking to someone when he eventually asked:
"Your voice is like a little girl. Can I have your number?"
...wrong on so many levels... K
ok, so it's not rocket science. but you have to admit the BUX management was a little off when they designed that particular distinction -- GTL vs GRTL -- when the difference is in the Lemonade vs. the Latte, not in the Green Tea. The GT or GRT by all rights should be the same for both drinks. Then should be followed by an "LA" for latte or "LE" for lemonade. If the management would use a little common sense, you'd probably have far fewer "partner rants"!
I had a steamed eggnog last night at Bux. It was yummy. But I thought of you and didn't get anything complicated mixed in nor did I complain about whatever they wanted to charge me.
Just have to say, as an SM, that on bar this weekend, a venti cold cup came in queue marked GTL...I looked at the barista double barring with me and said "Damn, an iced green tea latte...how about you make that?" She snickered and said, "how about a Green Tea Lemonade, boss?"....we both laughed in the midst of the 20 other cups in line and moved on. Does that make me a bad barista? No.. does it make me my store's best barista? Nope. But then again...I don't want to be the best barista in my store. Is that wrong?
grossed out... "if she cornered him while he was at bar she would always ask him to add his "special sauce" to her drink."
that was funny though... poor guy. although he must've been hot. hmmm... in those cases if i find a server hot... i just kinda keep going back to the bux but not say anything and just smile. i remember there was a time in melbourne when i walked into Philippas (it's an awesome bakery) and there was this really hot guy working behind the counter... we caught eyes and all that... i actually moved into that suburb and found that he lived really close to me... ended up dating him for a couple of months too... :p awwww... but i'm no freaky stalker... just a friendly admirer??
wonder if you can chuck these sickos onto http://www.hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/
like, subtly get snaps of the losers... although they are your customers... but they're BAD customers...
Wow--I am not really surprised by this, but whenever it goes from "flirtaceous" to "creepy," that is something else. So much for dealing with the public.
An older woman customer stopped our 22 year old barista boy just as he finished whipping her mocha and told him she didn't want whip.
He reached for the spoon to scoop off the whip, and she says, "Why don't you just lick it off?"
Ahhhhhhh!
I don't think people realize how damn nasty they come off. They think they are provocative and witty but are really creepy and bizarre. Yuck!
Let me tell you, there is nothing scarier than "seductive" soccer moms. We have several instances of creepy women trying to take our baristas to a hotel or just "flirting". We also have a hot female barista who is always getting asked out or the guys will try their "pickup" lines. My managers never did anything about it so I would always either talk to the them or scare them (I am a 6'3" 220 pounds and I have dark hair and eyes which is great for unnerving people ;-). I know Starbucks is the "third place" but we arent a club or escort service. Those people really get under my skin and make me mad.
"You want me to SPIT in it?! OK, but I don't think it will make it any sweeter. Spt. Here ya go."
I am a bux regular.. to the point where by the time I get to the counter they just tell me my total. I love my bux... but yesterday I went in and the manager was taking orders (I rarely see her because I leave for work at 5:30am and almost always am the first person through the doors) she looks at me and says "You look shorter today"
What the heck do you say to that?? I am five foot nothing and I never wear heels. The barista who was making my drink almost dropped my cup when she said that. After I paid she walk into the back and the barista winks and says "hows about an extra shot to help you grow"
I'll remember to wear my platforms next time I see her.
When I was tending bar at the Hilton in Lake Arrowhead I would occasionally find the "Mislaid" room keys left on the bartop,which I would promptly turn in at the front desk...mostly..
skippymom - haha, come back!
anonymous - my sentiments exactly.
writeprocrastinator - haha, he might have been into that, though.
amy - yeah, it was definately creepy.
shakennotstirred - you said it!
kiz - haha, wow - that IS so very wrong.
anonymous - i agree that corporate could have done a better job with the cup markings.
georg - haha, and i bet those baristas thank you for it!
anonymous - i don't think there's anything wrong with not wanting to be the best barista. i am, however, surprised that as a store manager you didn't know a)the cup marking and b)the recipe for an iced green tea latte. it's cool though that you and your barista could laugh it off. btw, were you an external hire?
marcus - haha, no you're not a stalker! what ended up happening with the bakery guy?
slskenyon - yeah, that fine line gets crossed often.
anonymous - hahaha! that is also VERY wrong.
pop culture diva - too true!
anonymous - very cool of you to look out for your baristas! it sucks that your manager hasn't taken care of the situation.
plain(s)feminist - haha! i'm going to remember that for next time!
hb - wow, that manager sounds like a ditz! i'm glad your barista has a witty sense of humor.
sling - haha, but if those women only knew about your elbow-sitting skills....
That's just nasty and wrong.
You crack me up, woman! HAHAHAHA.
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