So I'm a barista at Starbucks. Super cool right? I get to make drinks, I get paid above minimum wage plus tips, free drinks when I work, and discounts when I don't. What's not to love right? What if I told you that some of you guys are jerks. Not all of you but seriously people are rude to their baristas. I get it you want your coffee, but you don't have to act like we're stupid or inconveniencing you if we ask for your name. Literally we are suppose to. Also, please don't complain to us about the following things: prices (yes cause we determine that), size of drinks, how much ice we put in (we're suppose to fill the ice a certain way unless you tell us otherwise), names of sizes (we get it they're all large in various languages. Let me call ole Howie* up and tell him), and why isn't your drink done when there's twenty drinks in front of you. We do not have control over those things and barista also do not have control over whether or not we are out of something. We do not order the product, our morning supervisor or our manager does. Additionally, don't be that guy who comes in a minute and a half before we close and order frappuccinos, which are the more awkward drinks to make especially when you're down to one blender. It's rude. Also, don't be that guy who order 10+ drinks and doesn't tip. Yeah, I know you're getting them for the entire office, but come on. A buck or two here and there isn't gonna kill you. Another thing, if you find a drink off the secret menu do not do not do not tell us just the name of the drink. We are not trained in the secret menu. Therefore, if you say, "I want a twix frap," we probably don't know what that is. If you tell us what's in the drink, then it's cool. Otherwise, we're just gonna stare at you blankly while you get mad. Lastly, a word for the wise, be patient with us. We make mistakes. If you swore you ordered another drink and got the wrong one, just kindly let us know. Don't yell at us, belittle us, or make us feel stupid. Sometimes our brains fart. So next time when you're at Starbucks and it's taking a bit long or your drink wasn't made right, remain calm and realize that if you're nice to us, we'll fix whatever mistake we made. There's even been times when I've bought a drink for a costumer simply because they were the first person not to bark their drink at me or yell at me because we were out of a popular item. Baristas are only human.
*Howie, or Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks.
Hi Shelby! While I agree with a lot of your viewpoints, I think it goes both ways. I've encountered some pretty rude baristas in the past.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I do know what you mean when it comes to having unbelievable interactions with customers. I work retail and have had someone scream at me so aggressively that spit was flying out of their mouth onto the counter tops...over a pair of shoes. I've also seen individuals get extremely crazy over a super simple thing (like a wrong drink order) at Starbucks. And it's just kind of weird to think that those people have made it through life for as long as they have.
Shelby--Good new entries. Interesting topics and points. Keep developing analysis.
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