there's a reason why coffee shop workers have an attitude... (long)

[thebelljar]

Being new, I should start off by mentioning that I work at a Starbucks...drive-thru. *grin*

This effectively (or not effectively? you decide) combines the atrocities of fast food with the psychotic atmosphere of coffee-vending...why they thought this was a good idea, I will never know.

There's something about high-priced coffee that attracts really eccentric (read: SCHIZOPHRENIC) or self-righteous people...and then, there's something about being in the safety of a car that gives people more courage to abuse you in some way. (There's also something about being in a car that makes people virtually asleep.)

I've been there for a little over 3 years, nearly pulling my hair out. Most of my job entails being psychic to some degree (of course) and saying yes to pretty much anything, even amid tirades of verbal abuse, with a sugary smile. Most people assume we *have* to be this way, or we'll be out of a job. My coworkers and I spend most of the day finding loopholes around this. It passes the time.

I digress. (First post and all.)
We met some really special people today.
I was interrupted at the bar by someone leaning on their horn several times outside the window.

I turn around with a cry of "whaaat??!!" only to catch the tail-end of a middle aged man's enraged bellowing into the window as it closes. He's got a snickering woman in the passenger seat.

My coworker, R, is standing near the window making drive-thru drinks. He looks
mildly at the man, turns back around, and resumes working. I do the same. This is a normal reaction from us if you try to get our attention that way. We have dignity.

The girl on register, J, comes over to the window after a few prolonged minutes. The man is making all kinds of "AAAUGGHHAABBARRRRGHAA" noises and shaking his fist. I overhear some yelling on her part. J gets the manager and comes back, furious. This, according to her, was the conversation:

SW: conniving woman
SM: pompous man

J: welcome to starbucks, what can I get for you?
SM: "we want a short coffee with blah blah and also a venti coffee with blah blah."
J: *repeats the order verbatim* is that correct?
SM: yes.

They drive to the window, pay for their drinks, and recieve them. All is well. After a few minutes of just sitting there...

SW: HEY! HELLO??
J: yes?
SW: are you stupid? I only wanted one drink.
J: what?
SW: You're trying to rip me off.
J: Ma'am, you specifically ordrered *this* and *this*, I confirmed your order, and you agreed. You ordered two separate drinks, I did not imagine the other one.
SW: *snickering* what are you talking about? I know what I ordered. I wanted one thing.

SW continues to argue, still laughing to herself. This enrages J and she turns and walks away. This is where the honking starts.

J comes back with the manager, gives them a refund for the *imaginary* drink, and hands them a reciept to sign. (standard procedure, usually a pain in the ass.)
SM recieves the pen and promptly drops it in his car. He looks blankly at her. SW continues to laugh.

SM: Well? *expectantly*
J: *exasperated* Sir, you dropped it. Inside your car. I'm not going to get it for you.

He somehow finds it and manages to finish the transaction. J takes the drink back and makes a point of pouring it out on the ground next to their car, and goes away to walk it off. I've never seen her more furious.

I wish I could have witnessed more of the conversation...although I'm convinced they were messing with J out of pure malice. Most people are just not paying attention and then want to blame us for it, it's expected, but these people were in their 40s and acting like 16 year olds.

*sigh*

I look forward to tomorrow...

[Tigress]

Well, those were some quality shitheads right there. I wish I could say I was surprised, but I still remember the story a former co-worker told me about one of our clients trying to get her fired because she "didn't speak" to the client while they were both shopping at Wal-Mart. My co-worker admitted that she purposely didn't acknowledge the bitch's presence while on her own time, but it was one more example of the petty shit they pulled with the company for no other reason than to get us in trouble.

[ktopmil]

We met some really special people today.

He He. Gotta love the sarcasm. The next best thing to do is to tell them their special. There always will be SC that are like that everyday.

[Snowbird]

The girl on register, J, comes over to the window after a few prolonged minutes. The man is making all kinds of "AAAUGGHHAABBARRRRGHAA" noises and shaking his fist.

Did this guy take lessons from a murloc or what?

Seriously though, the horn thing would've driven me batty. I don't suppose there's a way that you can tell them to take a hike? "Move along, this not the coffee shop you were looking for." Starbuck mind tricks.

[Fire_on_High]

Did this guy take lessons from a murloc or what?

LMAO! It sounds like it.

OT but scary...we've got a kitty named Murloc. He makes a very good faith effort to try and imitate it...not that it'd have anything to do with us mimicking the sound at him as a lil one...

[chainedbarista]

I don't suppose there's a way that you can tell them to take a hike?

no, unfortunately; the big green apron follows the bs mantra: 'the customer's always right,' which many of them shove back in our faces multiple times per day.

we're supposed to be psychic, know that extra caramel means the whole damned bottle (meaning that $4.30 actually costs about $9 or $10 with that amount added, creating loss for us), extra whipped cream means a large amount of this puffy lard on the drink AND more in a cup on the side.

that we should also know when they plan on having a different drink and multiple drinks and ground coffee, what grind it is, where highway/building/street x is and provide bus fare. (on top of wiping their asses)

yes, we're multitalented people to the Xtreme!

[theredbaron47]

but these people were in their 40s and acting like 16 year olds.

Hey now, that's insulting to 16-year-olds everywhere!

I agree with the poster who dubbed them "quality shitheads". If only you had a device that you could push a button and let the air out of their tires with no one the wiser. *sigh*

to , by the way!

[Forensic Waitress]

Welcome fellow Starbucks worker

I use to work for them several years ago in London and also for a while in Sydney. When I did my training those many years ago when they told me their mantra I nearly fell off my chair laughing, I said that after years of working at Macca's I can tell you that that particular statement is completely incorrect and that it is a breeding ground for people who will make your workers lives miserable, and boy was I correct, the amount of scammers and just plain horrible people around was just amazing, but I never gave in to their stupid demands, although it meant that I could only be there for so long before I had to quit and get out. Now I'm in waitressing, much better let me tell you .

During these dark days I just keep reminding myself that it is 2 more years and I can have a lovely lab job and no longer have to deal with SC's and their stupid demands.

[IHateStupidCustomers]

I don't think I would want to work at a Starbucks....although I love their coffee. Too many snooty people in there for me.

Although, I will admit that I've probably been a stupid customer in there a few times. When I first started going there and was trying to figure out what I liked, I ordered a "cafe vanilla" which was listed under the "frappucinos (sp?)" on the menu.

The cashier (would was a bit snotty, but she was probably sick of stupid people) was like "WHAT KIND???"

Apparently there are a few different kinds. I only saw it one place on the menu. Oh well. I learned how to order, now.

[ArcticChicken]

My first reaction on reading the first sentence of the post was "Oh dear lord, I am so sorry."

If I'd been in J's position, probably would have thrown the drink at him.

A little OT
Am I being sucky when I walk into Starbucks and order a "large", instead of whatever of the three Italian words for "big" means the biggest they've got?
/OT

[myswtghst]

See, I don't order things from Starbucks if they're not on the menu. And if you do, I will look at you like you're being an asshole. Because you are. Especially if you act condescending while explaining your (disgusting sounding) special order to the barista, and it includes having them special grind up some espresso beans to put the grinds in your "drink."

And not to take away from this thread, but the guy who did the above also tried to hit on me when my mom walked away from the table to use the bathroom. And was at least 15-20 years older than me. And knew it - he actually said "Oh, and I know you're much too young for me...what are you, like 20?" I just said yes. It was a lie, but I didn't feel like giving him any false hope.

OH, by the by, welcome thebelljar!

[RetailWorkhorse]

A little OT
Am I being sucky when I walk into Starbucks and order a "large", instead of whatever of the three Italian words for "big" means the biggest they've got?
/OT

I'm worse. I will say, in the deepest Atlanta Southern Drawl I have, "Biggest one ya got with a double shot of Vanilla Syrup, if you don't mind, Master/Mistress."

Ya know...because I'm a dick who has good manners underneath all that heritage.



Special indeed, my my, how uncouth Humans have become*. Wish ya had gotten that puppy on tape for us.


*I think I'll be reincarnated as a dog. Sheesh!

[Zipporah]

I didn't even know that there were Starbucks locations with drive-thrus!

Also, I knew someone who worked at Starbucks as a barista, and she told me that they have some kind of "just say yes" policy. She also said that if an SC claims that you shorted them 5.00 or something, you have to give them the money and suffer the loss at the end of the day. Is this true or is it an exaggeration?

[Whyme]

no, unfortunately; the big green apron follows the bs mantra: 'the customer's always right,' which many of them shove back in our faces multiple times per day.

we're supposed to be psychic, know that extra caramel means the whole damned bottle (meaning that $4.30 actually costs about $9 or $10 with that amount added, creating loss for us), extra whipped cream means a large amount of this puffy lard on the drink AND more in a cup on the side.

that we should also know when they plan on having a different drink and multiple drinks and ground coffee, what grind it is, where highway/building/street x is and provide bus fare. (on top of wiping their asses)

yes, we're multitalented people to the Xtreme!

The memories, the horrible, horrible memories...

People get very aggressive when they want extra caramel. It reached the point I just handed them the bottle because they kept saying "I SAID extra caramel!" while I kept putting it on. It really irritated me when we couldn't charge them for extra caramel. My store did it for awhile but so many people complained corporate made us stop. I don't know what the point of the "add caramel" button was then when we weren't allowed to use it. This was quite a few years ago so the button may not be there anymore.

As for the OP, I used to repeat the orders back to the customer only to discover that half the time they would agree and it turns out they weren't even listening. Eventually comes the "Why is it so much?" question, I again repeat the order, they say no, that's not right, etc, etc.

I hated it when we started taking names for cups. Some people would refuse to give it saying it was how the government tracked you, some cups we simply put "Cell phone girl/guy" on because they refused to acknowledge us due to the fact they were on their cell phone, some people would still take the wrong drink despite it clearly saying another person's name. The worst was the people who get angry and say "I come here every day and you don't know my name?". One co worker apologized saying "I'm sorry ma'am, I serve over 100 to 200 people a shift and my memory is too poor to remember all their names.". I don't know how we were supposed to know some people's names when they never told us in the first place. I guess that's where being psychic comes in.

[Alpha Strike]

Am I being sucky when I walk into Starbucks and order a "large", instead of whatever of the three Italian words for "big" means the biggest they've got?
/OT

No: everyone knows exactly what you're talking about when you say "large." I've always thought the way the drinks were labeled and listed was a bit pretentious and that what they sell is vastly overpriced. Fortunately I'm not a coffee-drinker, so unless I really need a hot-chocolate (and they do make them well at Starbucks) I never go in there.

Of course my girlfriend can't get enough of the venti cafe latte mocha carmel chives vanilla dolce cinamon coffee , so she blows a fair bit there. We all have our little indulgences though...