by Caitlin Blackmon | Features Editor
Working at Starbucks for over a year now has been quite an experience. I love my job, not only for the benefits, but also because I have a genuine love for coffee and people. The problem with serving people coffee, though, is that it seems there’s more of an entitlement issue when a customer doesn’t get an insta-worthy latte. This isn’t to say that misunderstandings between customers and baristas are always terrible, lots of them actually make for hilarious stories.
- Having a ridiculously long customized order, then proceeding to complain that it didn’t meet expectations just gets underneath a barista’s skin. There’s a menu for a reason, but if you must be picky, be patient.
- A customer who acts like their barista is a nuisance while they’re on a phone call. Talking on the phone while ordering a drink is rude, but treating your barista poorly because he asks you if you’d like whipped cream is just downright disrespectful.
- Someone who doesn’t know what a cappuccino is, orders it, hates it, and asks for something else is the worst kind of person. Ask for a sample first- that’s what they’re for. Your barista has to remake it for you due to company policy, but don’t throw a fit just because it’s not what you thought it was.
- If you change your order after it’s already been made, there’s a nice way to say that that’s not what you wanted. The barista is not the one who made the mistake, so please don’t pretend like that’s the case.
- Something about not having enough time for your barista to heat up your frozen sandwich, but somehow having all night to spend complaining to the manager about not getting your sandwich just doesn’t seem to add up.
- Custom ordering something through the app. Please don’t do it. You’ll just want it remade because you’re that picky. Plus, you’re not a barista, so you don’t know that if you don’t specify that you want your soy milk steamed, it won’t be steamed.
- If you’re upset that your drink is melted when you get to the store because you ordered through the app, that’s because you took too long to get there. But of course, if your order wasn’t ready when you got there, you’d complain too. The Starbucks app is your barista’s worst enemy.
- If you’re upset that your Pink Drink costs more than it used to, it’s because your barista wasn’t ringing you up for that coconut milk. And chances are, unless they just didn’t know, they were probably just trying to be nice and save you sixty cents. That’s the problem with being nice.
- Starbucks is not McDonald’s. Frappuccinos are not frappes. That is obnoxious.
- If you provide the spelling of your name without being asked, you’re automatically thrown into the category of annoying customers. It may not seem like a big deal, but in doing this, you’re doubting your barista’s intelligence and lack of creativity. Because honestly, it’s fun to misspell names. Get over it.
- If you roll through the drive-thru like you own the place, just stop. Although you think it’s no big deal, it causes confusion and unnecessary stress. And if you think you don’t have to tell someone you ordered a mobile order, you thought wrong. Your barista isn’t a mind reader.
