Here are the eight types of annoying people you'll find at Starbucks

1. The Intern Who is Buying for the Entire Office
2. The Guy Who Hates Starbucks But Goes There Every Day
3. The Person Who Peruses the DVD Section As If They Might Purchase
4. The Complicated Order Guy Who Needs his Coffee Right The F*&K Now. PLUS: four more. (Read the HolyTaco.com post)

Comments

[Soi]

so true....><

[Sheik]

OK so they left out the most annoying of them all...

#1) The Person who Absolutely Must Dig in Their Purse or Pocket for that 17 Cents.

My motto is: "Digging for Cents makes NO Sense!"

[Sheik]

Actually the full motto is "Digging for Cents makes NO Sense, and During This Time, You're holding up the Line!"

[Coffee Soldier]

How about the most annoying Drive Thru Starbucks customers!

1. The whisperers who you have to ask to repeat their order 4 times.

2. The passegers who order and you cannot hear and finally after asking them to repeat again and again the driver speaks up!

3. The person who orders, pays, gets takes their drink and then loks at you and says "Oh this was suposed to be iced" and holds up the 15 people behind while we remake it because they are too dumb to say iced.

4. SMOKERS

5. People who didn't throw their trash out at the provided trash barrel 15 feet prior to the window who are trying to hand you their trash from the ten other drive thru establishments they've visited that day.

6. Customers on their cell phones!

7. Ordering with their music up too loud.

8. Frozen or broken windows! They then try to stick their arms around the door to get the drink!

9. Grabbing the drink off the hand off area and slamming it into their door frame and spilling it all over then being mad at the barista because they lack basic motor skills...should these people even be driving???

10. Asking for beans to be blended or split into multiple bags when you aren't cripple, old, or have small children....a-holes on their cell phones in perfect able shape should walk ten feet into the store and show some consideration to the 10 cars behind you.

And my biggest pet peeve!!!!!

#11 passing the speaker without ordering even though the 4 other cars in front of you stopped and ordered and arrive at the window to place their order.

*also it is not cute to let your 3 year old in the back seat pay you and try to get the drink.

[drive thru hater]

can we just some up Coffe Soldiers post with "people who use the drive thru"??

[texass]

Let us not forget the massive diesel trucks who roll up in the drive thru and dont turn off their engine then get annoyed when you can't hear a word they are saying, or the lovely tex-mex family of twelve who lets the nine year old in the back do the ordering because he is the only one who can speak english and asks fifty million times if the "frappuccino vanilla bean grande es la cold frozennn one" but wants a shot of espresso and extra "shocko-lett" drizzle in the cup plus a french vanilla cappuccino only so they can spend five minutes at the window to figure out that cappuccinos and mostly foam and they wanted an iced mocha.

[Mark]

Why do you people work at Starbucks? You're all like a poison to this company that I love. Get over yourselves already.

[dick]

How about the ridiculous register folks who say "May I take your order?" all the while typing in their secret password on the register and not listening to you, then pretending they did and ring it up completely wrong? That's a riot! Or the ones who stare at you like a deer in headlights when you give them your order, not writing it down on the cup, or they call it out completely wrong to the barista when the words literally just came out of your mouth? HI-larious! Or the barista who can't read their own handwriting, uses whole milk instead of non-fat, then reads it as they're handing it to you, realizing it, and has to start all over again? LOL! This is the funniest post EVAR!!

[Jonathan]

Interesting topic.

Here are my top 15:

1) The people who drive past the speaker and order at the window (unless they are deaf, which I understand). Did you think the person in front of you was having a conversation with the menu board?

2) The person who orders from the passenger side and is annoyed when I tell them that it's hard to hear from the passenger side and if they could please speak up.

3) "Do you guys have french vanilla cappuccinos?" Not only do we have to explain that we are not a gas station and that our cappuccinos are not what they'd get at Gas America, but we have to explain that we do not have french vanilla syrup and that the best we can do is to mix vanilla and hazelnut together. And then tell them what they probably want is a vanilla hazelnut latte.

4) The person who is too lazy to throw their garbage away in the trash can that is straight ahead and scoffs at me when I kindly tell them we are not allowed to take trash through the window because it is against health code.

5) The good ol' teenager frappuccino rushes.

6) The person who orders a Venti Black Iced Tea with no ice and no water, and then a iced venti cup full of ice, which is completely cheating the system.

7) The person who doesn't answer you when you ask them how they are doing when they pull up to give you their money because they are on a conference call or because they are just plain rude.

8) The person who barely rolls their window down when it's pouring down rain in the drive thru and is annoyed when I tell them I am having a hard time hearing their order because of it. You know, because coming inside where there are NO customers, is too much for them.

9) The person who comes back in to say their drink doesn't taste right on a regular basis, even though every other person who orders the same beverage never has a problem, just because they know that they will be appeased with free drink coupons.

10) The person who complains that the prices are different at our store and that they've been overcharged, when in reality, they bought their previous beverage in a different county and was therefore charged a different tax.

11) The person who holds up the line in drive thru because they need every little thing explained to them, such as "what is espresso?" or "what comes in a mint mocha chip frappuccino?" or my favorite -- "what are all of your different pastries?" Do us a favor, please be courteous, and come inside and we will be more than happy to answer your questions.

12) The person who condescendingly asks only their favorite barista to make them their beverage because God forbid anyone else can.

13) Those lovely people who order a coffee traveler in the drive thru.

14) The person who yells at me because their favorite syrup was discontinued as if I just got back from a trip to Seattle and sat down with the big wigs and personally signed off on the discontinuation bill. Especially after I've been very sympathetic and offered you a free beverage to make up for it.

15) My personal favorite -- the customer who answers my "Hi there! Thanks for stopping at Starbucks. This is Jonathan. How can I help you today?" with a lovely "GIVE ME A BOLD COFFEE BLACK." and then drives off before I can repeat the order back to him. Yes, this is hands down the best kind of customer you can get.

This was fun :)

[Coffee Soldier]

Oh I love Starbucks and the 11 examples I typed above are far and few in between...maybe one out of every 100 customers is in violation of one of my annoyances...but as an 8 year partner and 4 of those years spent in a drive thru I feel that I can express some annoyance on occsion because I am sickingly sweet all day long to these people! I could probably list 100 DT customers whom I absolutley love...I know them and their families, pets, jobs, what baseball tea they root for and what they are doing this coming weekend....but the difference is those customers are respectable people who treat me with respect when they pull up, put down there cell phones, take 30 seconds to converse with me, don't blow smoke in my face, order their correct drink and at the speaker, come inside when they was a 1/4 pound of 1/2 caf komodo dragon gound for espresso! And turn off their diesel cars too! Thanks Texass! I forgot that one on the original list!!

Off to work to play on the drive thru!!:)

[chi-town's best angry barista]

ahhh, the interns. we hate them and their lists and their "why is this taking so long to get my 18 drinks when there are 40 other people in line and i am so much more important?!" and their insisting that we have to write everybody's freaking name on their cup when we already label them with the drink. please, you are successful individuals with high-power jobs and you cannot figure out which coffee is yours. give me a break.

[dick]

Incredible how merely strapping on a green apron (or black - black seems to be the new green) makes you all hilarious super-geniuses! Your nose rings and tattoo sleeves endow you with powers far beyond those of mortal men!

[Sheik]

I really hate the self-righteous jerks who come on this website only to bellyache: "Why don't you guys just quit your jobs!/Get over yourselves already!"

LET US VENT ALREADY!! Don't like what you're reading? Exit this thread, dammit!

[Person]

Aside from the fact that we are not allowed to have either nose rings or visable tattoos.

[dick]

Zeke or Shiek or whatever-

You vent enough when I all I want is my drink prepared correctly and all you want is to go on another smoke break and sketch in your Moleskine.

[espressoblend]

ahhh, the interns. we hate them and their lists and their "why is this taking so long to get my 18 drinks when there are 40 other people in line and i am so much more important?!" and their insisting that we have to write everybody's freaking name on their cup when we already label them with the drink. please, you are successful individuals with high-power jobs and you cannot figure out which coffee is yours. give me a break.

Posted by: chi-town's best angry barista | May 22, 2008 3:13:33 PM

You know, those interns probably spend about $3 a drink, making a total sale of more than $50 before taxes. Maybe not personally, but it's them putting cash in your registers, and then, later, in your paychecks. All I'm saying is you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you, you know?

Starbucks employs a widely known policy of "Just Say Yes." If I want my order done quickly, I expect you all to buck it up, say yes and prepare it as fast as you reasonably can. I said "reasonably" there -- so don't jump all over me. Also, if I want names on the cups, you can just put them on there. I mean, I'm spending good cash there, and, besides, you're ALREADY marking the cups. What's another thing to put on there? Besides, remember: just say yes.

It's those successful, high-powered people that outsource their coffee habit to you all. That's how they became successful and high-powered. Why do for themselves what they can delegate to supposedly competent people doing a very simple job? Especially at a premium price?

Why don't you give me a break and just do your very simple jobs without complaining? I mean, it's really, you know, your job and not mine. That is all.

[spork]

Dear fellow baristas,

I love you. I love us. I love venting.

[Cali ASM]

Coffee soldier:
If you've been a partner for 8 years, then yes, you more than deserve to let out a little steam.

I enjoyed both yours and Jonathan's lists.

[dick]

You all do realize that with the ridiculous number of Starbucks locations now and the decline in quality and service, you're the new McDonald's. I understand that I can now get a comparable cup of coffee at Mickey D's, and the employees there actually appreciate their jobs.

[Jane5]

Hysterical Dick! My thoughts exactly.

[wholahay]

Yeah, i'm sure they feel really fortunate to work at McDonalds....are you serious?

Starbucks will NEVER be McDonalds. McDonalds takes no pride in their product, They treat their employees like crap, and it's pretty much the most embarassing job out there.

[dick]

Wholahay - from your own incredibly informative blog:

Starbucks scores top rating for customer satisfaction among restaurant chains

How they were ranked and their points:
Starbucks, 77
Pizza Hut, 76
Papa John's, 76
Domino's, 75
Little Ceasar's, 75
Wendy's, 73
Burger King, 71
KFC, 70
Taco Bell, 70
McDonald's, 69

You should be proud!

[Former Starbuckie]

Dick, You took the words right out of my mouth......... The commercialism is haunting...... Welcome to the world of FAST FOOD!!!! Can't wait until "baristas" have to make "fruit drinks" too.... that should be interesting. Maybe they can do their "training" at Jamba Juice!

[dick]

Again, from the fabulous "Starbucks Gossip" blog:

Ousted Starbucks CEO Donald agreed not to work for McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts

Although no longer working for Starbucks, Jim Donald will still get paid $1.25 million this year as long as he sticks to his pledge not to work for McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts -- or not badmouth his former employer.

I wouldn't want him going to the "competition" either!

[Former Starbuckie]

WHOLAHAY, Funny, there was a time when McDonalds and $tarbucks would have never, ever been mentioned in the same sentence, Now the two are in the same breath constantly.

[P.R.I.D.E.]

Here are two more "annoying" categories:

1) Trolls who love to hate on this company, that come to this site.

2) Baristas who claim to love what they do, then come to this site to tear the company apart.

I think these two are worse than any of the others listed so far.

[dick]

Another thing comparable to McDonald's - the cleanliness of the bathrooms, if they even work. I've seen cleaner truck stops.

[dick]

P.R.I.D.E. -

I don't hate Starbucks and I'll continue to give them my money. I just don't like being treated like I'm wasting your time when it's really my time and my money and I want my drink prepared properly.

[Peaches]

I've worked at some pretty busy stores, and I've had many the intern come with a large list. However, I've never had the attitude you all seem to have encountered. Most of them are quite confused by the lists they have been given, and I am usually able to help them through it and figure out what the person actually wants. They understand that its going to take a few minutes to make all the drinks, and they wait patiently. After they are made, we help them out to their car with the trays, and they leave happy. Does this not happen to anyone else?

[dick]

Peaches -

You sound like the rare helpful employee I'd like to encounter once in a while.

[Argentius]

I'll admit, as a non-driver, I get pretty confused by some of this drive-through stuff. Sometimes the drive-through makes me cynical, especially with the volume of crap that people carry around to throw away in their cars! But, I guess I'm as much of a non-participant in "disposable culture" as I can be...

But, for the Intern Order, come on, this is the stuff that makes Starbucks successful: we CAN churn out 17 drinks in 10 minutes, or whatever, and the average ticket is going to be like $50, $75 if they get pastries.

Really? This is a problem for you? Do you like your job?

McDonald's is a GREAT benchmark for Starbucks, in a negative way: When we become McDonalds, we've lost.

This is the reason SBUX wouldn't do as well as a franchise: at its core, we're the customer service industry, not the fast food one. Now, wait a second, many people say, of course drive-throughs blur the line between the two, and SOME customers are only looking for a fast-food experience.

Most aren't.

[SoCalRocks!]

Dick, if you treat our partners in person the way that you degrade them on this thread, then I'm really not surprised that you haven't encountered a helpful employee.

Isn't it ironic when people's names end up fitting their personalities....

[LilBarista]

I really don't want to complain about customers. I realize it is our job to help them despite what they're like but after a couple years there ARE certain things that just drive a person crazy and we do have amazing customers at my store.. they come in everyday and I really enjoy seeing them...
but then there is chai guy.

EVERY single day he has a new complaint about something we do wrong or how Starbucks isn't as great as other places. "oh, well yesterday I left my wallet in the car and CARIBOU gave me my drink for free. what do you think about that?" so we felt we had to give him a drink coupon and "I was on the phone to your corporate today to tell them about this and that" and meanwhile we make his drink perfectly to his specifications everyday.. but still he is NEVER happy and complains about SOMETHING. So badly I want to say "so why do you come here then if you hate it so much and think we do such a terrible job", but I somehow I don't.. haha. So I could relate to the one about the guy who hates Starbucks but goes there everyday.. I mean, we are pleasant, we talk to him, we do as much as we can.. but when he starts up, that just really gets under my skin.. I'm sure every business has one of those too!

[HORSE PIG]

I think P.R.I.D.E's post sums up ~95% of the dynamic on this blog. That was actually a fantastic post - you captured an entire geist in a few sentences. Hemmingway 2.0

[SUPERBARISTA]

"Posted by: HORSE PIG | May 22, 2008 7:45:54 PM"

I agree with this post!

And..unfortunately...this one too..

"Posted by: SoCalRocks! | May 22, 2008 7:03:23 PM"

I love what I do, but if someone treats me like crap they're only going to get a smile and a yes, period. I understand busy days or bad days or impatient self righteous customers, hell I've been guilty of it before, but what it boils down to with some of my most horrible customers and how they act: ....am I not a person?

[voyeur]

the catty, tangential ramblings in the COMMENTS section are better than the piece itself, and make the bantering on this forum seem, by comparisson, FAR more civilized

[HAAHH]

Newsflash:

We're not being payed now, on our computers so no, we don't have to smile and pretend like Starbucks is a golden calf.

I love being a partner; I don't love being told how I'm supposed to feel when I'm off work.

In conclusion, shut up.

[Jack W.]

I can't be the only person who thought *Akeelah and the Bee* was a good movie.

[Anonymouse]

A sincere question to the workers who are miffed with people who don't engage in conversation at the window:

Do you go to a drive through ready to explain to a stranger how you're doing today?

This one continues to make me chuckle that people find it rude if someone doesn't answer. "How are you doing today?" has become the equivalent of "I'm only saying this because I'm paid to" in cultural terms these days. That doesn't mean it's ok to not give a polite "good, thanks" in response - but are you REALLY expecting or CARE to know how the person is doing, or are you asking out of habit or because YOU don't want to sound rude? Do you want to hear about their latest medical procedure, soccer game, you-name-it?

People don't choose the drive through because they want to waste time - sometimes you have to admit that it is what it is. It shouldn't be taken personally, is the point here. Some people really, truly do care - but you have to stop and consider that we as Americans are conditioned to being somewhat "disengaged" as we go about our daily errands. That's not necessarily a good thing - but you'll spend a long, lonesome career waiting for the day when every person who drives up appreciates whether you're sincere or not.

[BarisTundra]

Anonymouse:

I always ask "how are you doing" and not entirely insincerely either. Most of the time I just get "fine, thanks" back, but when someone actually answers I'm more than interested in hearing about their day.

Try it some time, you might be surprised a how engaged people might be

[dick]

"Isn't it ironic when people's names end up fitting their personalities....

Posted by: SoCalRocks! | May 22, 2008 7:03:23 PM"

Amazing. You figured THAT one out all by yourself. Starbucks should be proud to have a "partner" with your smarts.

[Darleen]

Why is it that this site brings out the worst in some people? Don't get me wrong, I totally understand having to vent, but maybe you should vent to your spouse, your friend, anyone but a public forum where people read it and think this is how ALL partners feel ALL the time. Anyone who says this kind of negativity is not hurting our company is wrong. Customers read this and think this is the attitude baristas all share. No matter how a customer acts no one should ever alter their drink, where are your ethics? Next time you are faced with an angry customer try being extra sensitive to the fact that they are having a bad day and try to turn the experience around for them. The pay back is much better and the both of you leave the transaction feeling good. What happened to providing an uplifting experience that enriches people's daily lives?????? Make your store the one your customers want to go to, they do have options you know. Get your passion back, it's not anyone's job to give it to you, find it and share it. Stop breaking this company down customer by customer. Remember we are in the PEOPLE business, let's start taking care of our people!

[dick]

Bravo Darleen! If Starbucks does wise up and gives you and Peaches a franchise, I'll pay you both your first dollar!

[Darleen]

Dick,
I would love to be able to buy into this company, this is where I plan on retiring and I have as much, no, MORE passion than when I first came on board 6+ years ago. It breaks my heart to see such unhappy partners here. Believe me, we are not all this bitter, some of us still love what we do and love to share it.

[almondlatte]

Darleen,

On a sidenote, how can one feasibly retire from Starbucks? I mean, you cap out at $30,000 a year, right? How can you even make enough for day-to-day expenses plus sock away enough a year for general investing and retirement, plus an emergency fund?

[a]

I came up with this list as i was trying to put together a list of things that people shouldn't do in our cafe as it annoys other customers. It never went up but made it a good thing to read and laugh (don't work at starbucks anymore. work in an independent cafe. own it. blame starbucks for creating a culture of feeling they are entitled assholes. but anyways...)
it got long. but it's funny.

1. If your child is under 5 years old, pick their pastry/for them. A two year old is just as likely to point to a donut as a brightly colored fire extinguisher when asked what they want.
2. You can’t bring in your dog/cat etc… inside. It doesn’t matter how well behaved, well bred or clean it is. Sanitation department is pretty clear on that. It can get us shut down.
3. When ordering a medium latte, we have no way of knowing that you wanted it iced, skim and with a pump of vanilla syrup. You actually have to tell us that.
4. Any eating establishment is a public place. Consider not taking off your shoes, putting your feet on a chair or coffee table and spreading your paperwork around you.
5. Cell phones are great things. Jobs that let you work from home are awesome. When you come in to the coffee shop, don’t expect the music to get quiter or customers
16. Please watch your children. Baristas share no responsibility for injuries to your child.
17. Don’t put your dirty feet on the coffee tables. They are really not for that.
18. Absolutely no sleeping on our couches. This is not your bedroom.
19. Please specify if you want something iced, with whip cream or without onions. We don’t read minds.
20. If there is a line behind you, this is not the time to ask the barista about where the nearest restaurant is and talk about the weather for long periods of time.
21. Yes this cafe is large. No you can’t “help” me to “promote” it by throwing parties/raves here.
22. Unless you are a successful restauranteur/café owner/entrepaneur, I really don’t want your advice. Even if back in the day you owned a café/bookstore/store.
23. No you can’t drink alcohol here.
24. If you are going to insult our current pastry selection, I hope you are not trying to sell us your goods.
25. Please don’t suggest to us how to compete with other businesses. Unless you are a successful restauranteur/café owner/entrepaneur.
26. Do you have a crazy business proposition? I don’t care.
27. If you don’t know how to use your own computer please don’t get mad if we don’t know either.
28. Newspapers that are for sale are actually for sale. As in, you buy it, you read it and it’s yours.
29. We can make most drinks that our competitors make. But if you don’t know what you have been ordering, we can’t really make it for you.

The list can go on.

[Darleen]

Almondlatte,
Sorry, I make 52,000 a year plus bonus, although that hasn't happened lately. I'm a store manager and have absolutly no problem with money.

[dick]

A-

Everything on your list is just common sense, both from a business standpoint and social one.

The problem with this post is that they're being incredibly harsh to people, most of them very good customers. The intern is just doing the grunt work and not getting paid anything, but they've gotten their foot in the door of a promising career and that makes most "partners" on this site incredibly jealous and bitter because they haven't gotten their foot in the door and probably never will.

The writer is there for a different atmosphere to get the juices flowing - not to show off. Again, these bitchy "partners" are bitter because no agent has discovered their screenplay that they "accidentally left" in the bathroom, in turn making my coffee bitter.

For every stupid grievance on this list, there are customers with similar ones about the "partners".

[Peaches]

Dick, just to clarify a bit about the intern with the foot in the door...

I have plans on moving up within this company after I get out of school. I've been working in different stores throughout the years, and I think that you can certainly establish a foot in the starbucks door through your actions and reputation. I understand that its not a true internship, but when I turn in my resume to corporate, I know for a fact that I have multiple store managers, store managers, equipment techs, and even some regular customers in different regions in the US who have seen me work, and can back me up. This is just common sense, though.

Your actions establish your reputation, and your reputation is what people see first.

[Peaches]

district* managers