What the...?!: Starbucks customer goes ballistic when store runs out of scones

The drive-thru customer lobbed her hot coffee at the Starbucks employee after being told the store was out of scones. She sped off and cops want help locating her. More details, please, from anyone at that Calgary store who reads Starbucks Gossip. (Calgary Sun)

Comments

[Sheik]

I've said it before and I'll say it now:

It's Starbucks COFFEE

Not Starbucks Food & Pastry

[averrycafinatedbarrista]

*blinks*

now that was just uncalled for.

[Steam Heat]

And she did that before drinking the coffee!!

[Sheik]

Maybe they should write "Caution: Please do not hurl this extremely hot beverage you're about to enjoy at a barista if they're out of scones" underneath the usual silly statement, "Careful... The beverage you're about to enjoy is extremely hot."

[deaf barista]

i'm not surprised. this was waiting to happen.

[RjD]

It seems to me the general public is getting more rude and demanding everyday. Maybe it's the approaching holiday season but people seem cranky. Going ballistic over a scone? Time for some therapy...

[Tim]

Wow... I sincerely hope they find her and book her on assault. What a degenerate.

[jabanga]

i have never seen a customer throw a cup of coffee but i have seen customers completely freak out because their drink wasn't nonfat or they ordered two and only got one. after it happens usually the whole store customers and partners alike are usually completely stunned by it...

[JustABarista]

I'm not one bit surprised about this story. I pretty much half expect to see a story like this everytime I come here. I've seen fully grown adults regress in to full on child mode temper tantrum when we were out of product. I've seen a customer go ape shit when we were out of soy when there were signs on the door, a temporarily out sign on the menu, and somebody recongized the customer and alterted them we were out of soy. Full on temper tantrum. I'm really surprised that it took this long for this to happen.

[James the Barista]

I sure hope the barista is alright, thank goodness for our filled to the brim burn kit. I can't believe this world is getting to all of this.

My manager once got a caramel apple cider thrown on her when a customer thought there was something wrong with it. The customer walked out a door that wasn't on video tape so we had no way of identifying her, so it would have been pointless to call the police. It was like something you'd only imagine in the movies.

well, it's obvious that she didn't "NEED" the coffee (she's fire-up enough as is).

[mikie STBX lover 13yrs]

LOL. I almost did the same thing when I was told the SPRINKLES for My peppermint mocca were out!lol
I was an little pissed since they just got them back anyway =9

[nyc angry barista.]

see...if this was my store...or at the very least a non-drive thru store and this happened to me or one of my partners on shift...i would have chased the person (man woman or child) got a shot in or two and physically dragged them back to the store and force them to wait for the police.

....and then i would lose my job because I defended myself or my co-workers against an assault...sorry its against policy to enter a physical confrontation with a customer. I can cover my face if i am being attacked...but under no circumstances am i allowed to strike back...immediate termination...

[Boston Starbucks Rebel]

I would've popped a cap in their ass. In the words of 007 if hurting people bothers him, "Well if it did then I wouldn't be very good at my job."

[Caffinatedx2]

Something like this happened about 2 years ago or so in my market. Customer walked out of the store mad about something wrong with their drink, spun around in the parking lot and hurled the drink as hard as he could at the door. Drink explodes across door and side window, man drives away.

i simply dont understand people who cannot control outbursts like that. The few temper tantrums i threw stopped somewhere around the time i was 9, with maybe one or two during high school.

Theres a secret, small part of me that desperatly wants to teach people that rude a lesson. im thinking punching them in the mouth, but maybe a friend could sit them down, sort of have an intervention. "Listen, Bob, we're here today because, well, youre a tool, and im going to share how thats negativly affected my life".

[frank]

nyc angry barista:
you are not correct. there is absolutely no policy that says you can't defend yourself in a confrontation with a customer.

it is preferable to not do so, but i can tell you that it's actually happened to me and i didn't lose my job, or even get reprimanded.

a customer threw a coffee at me and punched me in the head. without thinking i reacted and kicked him in the groin.
i was worried that i would be in trouble... know what my DM said?
'you think he'll be able to still have children?'
me:'probably'
DM: 'that's too bad..'

[delilah]

Good Lord, if one loses their temper over denial of a scone, one has to ask, what 'life experience' would really place them 'over the edge?" There are a hell of alot more problems in life than getting bent out of shape over a Starbucks coffee or pastry. If one is healthy in mind and spirit... they dont need a reminder of 'what is precious in life." For the most part, if you rise out of bed, healthy along with your loved ones, have a hot shower, a job to perform that you enjoy, clean clothes and a healthy attitude about your day..you have the world in your hand. The day is what you make it.
To be angered by the most trivial matters must be frustrating for some~I would suggest putting lifes issues in perspective.
Priorities in life do not necessarily require a great cup of coffee or a pastry in the morning-Consider yourself lucky to have the choices and the money to afford such a luxury everyday. Appreciate life and what it affords you-think about those who dont have the opportunity. Be kind. Think outside 'your box.'

Nuff said.

The funny thing is, the customer had the audacity to come back into the store to have her CM replaced. Police will file assault charges if she is found.

[delilah]

PS: If only I could abbreviate the message and have Howard Schultz's permission to print it on the cups as a "thought for the day, week or month".
Thoughts? I have many.....!LOL

[fiat lux]

Just a few posts back there is a story about a customer who is suing Starbucks because their kid was supposedly injured by a spilled hot chocolate.

Well, turnabout is fair play. The barista should sue that customer for damages due to the thrown coffee.

[Cory Nickolatos]

Poor barista... At least the crazy lady didn't get her in the face. I hope the manager gives the employee something nice to make up for it. :-(

[coco]

I have had Frappucino's lobbed and thrown at me. It is assault as far as our police are concerned. Especially with hot coffee!
My goodness, perhaps the barista could have offered another tasty treat in the scones place?
Thanks goodness it wasn't EGGNOG thrown. that smells terrible when dry!

The barista did offer other things, she was hell bent on a White Chocolate Blueberry Scone....

[coffeeguy]

You know if someones going to be super rude to you to the point of yelling or throwing a tantrum I kindly ask them to leave the store and not return until they can control themselves.

Frankly it's NOT part of your job to deal with verbal or pysical abuse. I know none of the papers I signed said that i have to put up with being sworn at or hit by a customer.

Some "people" are misled into thinking that people working in customer service are their slaves, and completely forget that those people do in fact happen to be PEOPLE too.

I find it insulting to even be classifying those ignorant assholes as "people".

Here is the best outcome of some fool thinking he can have his way with a full on temper tantrum.

This one clown came in and wanted just a tall cup of coffee with no lid. A different barista gave the guy the tall coffee WITH a lid in error and this guy becomes an ape like he was throwing his own fecal matter. Well, this tall coffee burns the side of this sweetest barista who just happened to walk out from the back. She was burned but not too bad.

This was too much for one of our regulars who proceeded to grab this jerk by his collar takes him out the side entrance and proceeds to beat the holly crap out of him.

The best thing? The regular customer (who by the way hardly ever says thank you) comes back in and says to the whole store, "The guy wants to leave you a tip." As he places a wad of cash (estimated to be about $130) in the tip jar that he "liberated" from Mr. Nuclear Reaction.

The whole store applauded. All 22 of the people in it! Baristas and customers alike.

I will never see anything like that again as long as I live.

It was so wonderful! And the regular? He always says thank you now as we give him a venti drip instead of his usual grande.

Hey baristas, don't ever take any guff from anyone!

[sbuxgossiper]

And in CANADA, no less. Those have to be some pretty great scones.

Maybe the lady felt safe doing whatever she wanted cause she was in the DT and could get away really quickly? If so I'm glad I work in a *$ on the second floor of a bookstore, no DT for me!

duudddddddddddeeee there's blueberry white chocolate scones?? Yumm! Can someone send those down to the states?

[JW]

Oh my. I don't even buy anything from Starbucks but COFFEE. People demand way too much these days. Cell Phones that do everything but call people, Playstation 3, DVD rentals from Mcdonalds... SCONES...when will the tragedy end?

[416barista]

I feel this persons scone-less pain. I wanted to buy a book but when I got to the book store, I was told they had no copies. I just freaked out and started throwing the biggest hardcover books I could find at the staff.....HOW DARE THEY BE OUT OF SOMETHING!!!

hahaha, oh I make myself laugh. Seriously, when will people just chill out??

[friendly]

A friend of mine who was a barista too had a hot drink thrown at him after the drink wasn't made to his very specific (and extremely nitpicky) taste. He told the customer that the cameras were on him and that if he didn't leave immediately, the police would be on their way (actually wasn't true). The customer left promptly.

I'd have to say this is the one thing that would make me snap, reach over the counter, and grab the customer by the throat. Never forget that the *people* serving you could be one step away from snapping.

[Counter Bean]

WOW! I hope that the employee is OK, and that they catch this woman and make an example of her.

Recentlly a similar thing happened at a DUnkin' DOnuts in Massachusetts, where a moron threw a hot coffee at an employee because he was incensed that he had to pay sales tax on it.

Not that running our of scones is even cause for a harsh word, let alone trying to hurt someone, but a sales tax has nothing whatsoever to do with the store!

[njbaristachick]

Now answer me this...Did the person who threw the hissy fit over the lack of scones turn all green and buldgey and have their shirt rip off a la the incredible hulk?

[ex shift]

I DO work in the same market as this store in question (Calgary).

I work a drive-thru location, too.

This is not a surprise occurance. I have been spit at, had garbage thrown at me, called bitch (and worse). Partners being brought to tears by rude customers is not an unusual occurance.

Just this morning one of our Shifts was sworn at. Our ice machine had broken and she offered a customer a complimentary tall beverage in place of the Frap we could not make.

My location happens to embrace the Starbucks creed regarding diversity, employing personnel with broad range of ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientation. We also employ several handicapped partners. It is truely amazing what some customers will say to someone whom looks or acts differently.

[mymacchiato]

Respect goes BOTH ways. We do not have to cater to anyone that is not treating us fairly. The first thing on our guiding principles: "Provide a great work environment and treat eachother with respect and dignity" Hi Roger :) Partners come first (under certain circumstances of course)

[SconeEater]

If they would stop being out of scones at 7 30 in the morning and stop telling you they are "breakfast pastries" or are "popular today"; if they are breakfast pastries then they should have more out at 7:30am and if they are so popular then perhaps a little planning is in order, you wouldn't want to be out of something popular now would you? (and no, they aren't usually 'out' of them, they are just in the freezer in back and no one has put them out.

[Chi-towns best/angriest barista]

actually our scones are delivered each morning, so we aren't hiding them from you in the back freezer.

Not only that, the customer in question was apparantly told that the extra pack of pastries would be there on Monday to last through the morning. This happened on Sunday...regardless, it does NOT justify having a coffee thrown at them!!!

[sbuxmanager]

Chi-town-
Sbux has what's called "frozen markets" i.e. non-major cities where pastries are shipped frozen once a week and kept in a freezer at the store. Store managers must decide what to defrost far in advance of actually selling it because they take a long time to thaw. I've only worked in major (non-frozen) markets but I'm assuming that it is difficult to guess correctly and expensive to get it wrong, hence all the complaints about being out of stuff early.

Sconeeater AKA Mr.Asshat- I guess being out of scones warrants throwing burning hot coffee at another human being.
If you are so incenced about a coffee shop being out of a scone that it ruins your day and slowly turns you into a sad bitter little man, then you have 2 choices:

1. Seek professional help. Obviously, somewhere during you're childhood you're mother never taught you to deal with minor dissappointments (a strict freudian interpretation, I know).

or

2. GO TO A DIFFERENT F**KING STORE!!!

[njbaristachick]

Really dudes...It's a scone...get over it...And from the way it sounds, do yourself a favor and switch to decaf.

Thank you.

[njbaristachick]

That last comment was directed towards the butthead who got angry over the lack of scones...

Just clarifying

well this weeks at my store wich is in the same zone our store manager was slaped in the face by a customer lucky for here though 2 cops had just walked in the door and threw her to the ground and slapped the cuffs on her. this was all over here falling asleep in our caffe though (we had lots of white choclolate blueberry scones!)

[Chi-towns best/angriest barista]

nope, the scones at my store are deliverd, i watch the guy bring in the crates of pastries with the milks and high volume SKUs every morning or night. sometimes i have to appologize for getting in his way, but he's a nice guy.
maybe the canadian markets are differnt? i don't know, but this is how we roll.
without a freezer.

[sbuxmanager]

chi-town-

You see, chicago is a major city, so it is not a frozen market. Cities like detroit, boise, (NON-major cities) etc. have freezers.

[ex shift]

Sconeater, et al

1. Calgary is considered a major market.

2. Having the correct pastries at the correct time is a feat easier said than done. Merely ordering extra is not the best answer...

a. some stores simply do not have the room to stow all the extra pastries. Remember, the storage of food must also meet Regional Health Authority guidelines;
b. the popularity of items is inconsistent. Customers tend to order what they hear people order in front of them. On one day a tray of pumpkin scones can disappear in a half hour, yet every other day in the week you are trying to give them away else discard them.
c. the morning/pm transition time is only a guideline. I work in a store, the business of which is almost entirely the morning commuter traffic. Maybe 70% of our store business is out the drive-thru window with most of that between 6:30 and 7:30am. We will go from a high of 78trans per half hour to 10. Is it a surprise then that we are already placing our pm pastries on the shelf by 9am?
d. delivery is unreliable. While the standard is to have the pastries at the store prior to opening (delivery drivers have store keys), the guarantee for delivery is by 10am according to the contract. The Calgary market is regularly experiencing problems with delivery. During the week the infamous incident happened, I know our delivery was late several times; and
e. At high peak times it is difficult for the D/T partners to know what the status of the pastry shelf is. My pastry shelf is completely out of the range of my vision. Often, I will place the order knowing an item is there yet, by the time I reach the case to retrieve the item, it has been sold to a front counter customer.

[coffeeguy]

It depends on the market I guess. I've been told by someone who worked in Calgary that they have their pastries delivered fresh each morning with the milk.

Personally we have our delivered by the local bakery once a week and we freeze them. We then pull out a designated amount and thaw them overnight before putting them in the case in the morning.

It all depends on the city.

[ErosLane]

I love it when my local Starbucks display case is empty (it is frequently missing items). Easier on the wallet.

[B.Rista]

In our neighborhood storethere's a mutant who curses when we run out of croissants. The other day she repeatedly asked for a cranberry scone -- two baristas had to tell her we don't carry them, and she said, "Oh I was joking." There are a handful of customers who really need therapy....