"How many months pregnant are you? Oh....you're not!" And customers -- what kind of exchanges with baristas do you wish you could take back? (Ugly name-calling after getting an unsatisfactory drink? An awkward date-proposal to a barista who you later discovered was married/dating?) Tell your stories!
I was working the DTO and decided to have some fun by pretending to be various characters. For one of the Cars I pretended to be michelle obama, the customer then replied" Are you seriouse?" I said yes I decided to work at starbucks before I go to the white house. She then drove off. I can only imagin she drove off because she probably voted for another canidate and plus we live in the south!!!! She eventually called the store and wanted to know who it was that said it and then proceeded to say " okay I have corporate on the other line." she must live a miserable life to get pissed off like that!
Posted by: Southern style | November 22, 2008 at 08:58 PM
So, I work at a store in a small city outside Portland, Oregon. One day, a lady came in and asked for a grande nonfat 185 degree chai, and then she asked me to free pour it. Now, after freshly steaming milk and "freepouring" it into the drink, one would expect it to be quite foamy...right? I finished her drink and handed it off to her, and about 2 minutes later she comes back and says "So if I scrape all this foam off will you put more milk in it?" I was just a little confused. Normally I would just remake the drink without saying anything but this had been a particularly bad day. So I tried to go about it in the nicest way possible and just said "I guess I'm a little confused because you asked me to free pour it, which would make the drink more like a cappuccino, very foamy." BEST RESPONSE EVER: (in a bitchy know it all voice) Totally cuts me off midsentence with-"NO NO NO. I'm from Portland" What the hell does that mean? Obviously being from Portland her coffee knowledge is far superior to mine....
Posted by: | November 22, 2008 at 11:02 PM
Bill,
I was thinking the same thing about drivethruhaters post. I would have been pretty pissed off if I had heard someone say they spit in my drink. I don't think I'd have let it go at just having someone else make my drink for me. Some "jokes" just are not funny, and that's one of them. All that because someone didn't reply to your asking how they are? Maybe drivethruhater needs to build up some "thicker" skin if he gets so upset about those little things we all deal with day after day. I definitely would have been on the phone with either his DM or corporate on that one. Drivethruhater, you are lucky to still have a job in my opinion, and I hope you learned a lesson from that. Never do anything to someone's drink, Karma is a bitch and will surely catch up with you.....
Posted by: Darleen | November 23, 2008 at 05:05 AM
Ok...so this is a pretty silly story. I was working drive thru one night, and I had been working for like ever and a day. So I was tired. I answered the drive thru "Thanks for choosing Starbucks Drive thru, my name's kat, how are you doing today?" Everything is going very normally and everything's good. Then I take their order,and as they finish up, I brazenly say "Alright, well I'll see ya later."
I froze. They got to the window, laughing...and I tried to explain how tired I was. They didn't care. It was awesome.
That's not to mention the number of times I've answered the phone "Thanks for choosing starbucks drive thru..."
some of the funniest shit happens at sbux.
Posted by: BaristaKat | November 23, 2008 at 02:52 PM
While working the drive-thru at my old store many many moons ago, after asking a customer if there was anything else I could get for him, he responded with "no, that'll do" to which my DTB partner replied (on the headset to me) "That'll do pig, that'll do"
Needless to say, the comment caught me off guard, and when I turned to the customer waiting at the window, I said to his face, "That'll be $2.93 Pig" I turned every shade of red ever known.
Thankfully this customer was a regular who laughed it off when I told him what happened.
Did I mention that this customer was a cop?
Posted by: IDcoffeemaster | November 23, 2008 at 04:32 PM
"I finished her drink and handed it off to her, and about 2 minutes later she comes back and says 'So if I scrape all this foam off will you put more milk in it?'"....
This reminds me of the woman who ordered a dry cappucino and then turned up her nose and said "this drink is three quarters foam!", as though I'd somehow tried to rip her off.
More out of genuine puzzlement than snarkiness, I said "You ordered a dry cappucino....I can make a wetter one if you want". She looked confused and I saw that I would have to explain what "dry" and "wet" meant. The guy with her, who appeared to be her date (and had also ordered a dry cappucino- only he knew what it was, apparently) could barely contain his snickering. I actually felt kind of bad for her...but don't just order something because you think it sounds cool, you may not end up impressing anyone :).
Posted by: | November 23, 2008 at 04:50 PM
I don't understand the context in which you guys are using "freepouring"
The only definition of "freepouring" I know is the opposite of "etching", both being 2 different ways of creating latte art.
Posted by: ian | November 23, 2008 at 08:32 PM
I always have issues if I work mornings because I'm normally a closer. I constantly tell people to have a good night at 9am..
sometimes when I tell people their total at front register i say 'that'll be 3.82 at the window'
I got embarrased once because there's this guy that some of us think is cute that's a regular in the drive thru and I'm single so they're always teasing that I should write my phone # on his cup etc. So one night I answer the DT and it's him and my coworker next to me says very loudly "hey! It's your man!" and it broadcast over the headset. He's never said anything about it, but I made her take his money etc because I was too embarrased to.
Posted by: artistbarista | November 24, 2008 at 01:07 AM
What's with the homo propaganda pieces in these comments? Nobody wants to hear that crap.
Posted by: WTH??? | November 24, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Oh, I've got a couple.
Back in the Blue-Jean days of our Blueberry Summer '07, I was asking my assistant manager about the appropriate jean-wear. In a joking manner I said, "So, I guess I can't wear a pair of jeans that say juicy here" and I gestured to my bum. Some gross Car Dealer guy who was at the register said, "It wouldn't be a lie," and I had to run to the back to compose myself. Apparently, he looked at my Assistant manager and said, "You too, honey."
A few months ago my Manager was asking if there were any morning buns in the drive thru [pasty case] and I shouted -without hesitation, control, or realization- very loudly "MY morning buns are in the drive thru!" The whole lobby looked at me like I was some freak. It was hilarious. My manager, I'm pretty sure, was more embarrassed than I was.
Posted by: Caitlin | November 24, 2008 at 04:09 PM
All these stories are fantastic! I couldnt help it and had to add a few of my own.
A couple weekends ago I was finishing up a morning shift at my store. The last customer I helped before I cashed out my till asks if he can "get a large or venti or whatever you call it mocha". Without even thinking I tell him "no problem, we dont discriminate based on size". He gets this really creepy look on his face and says "oh really hmmm? Thats always a good thing to know". I was completely mortified!
Posted by: Laney | November 24, 2008 at 11:01 PM
ian-
freepouring is after you've freshly steamed a pitcher of milk, instead of holding the foam back with a spoon (which you would do with any drink except a cappuccino), you "freepour" it without holding the foam back. Since the milk is freshly aerated, it will be really foamy milk, unless you let it sit a couple minutes to separate. So normally when referring to freepouring, the milk will be very foamy. Hope that helps.
Posted by: | November 25, 2008 at 01:37 AM
to WTF???
Gay men and women work at all levels in every kind of business in this world. They are people just like you and I, and are simply telling their stories here like everyone else. That is not "propaganda."
It saddens me that you felt the need to spoil a wonderfully entertaining thread with bigotry and hate.
Posted by: human | November 25, 2008 at 06:22 AM
Ok...so let's share the top mispronounced starbucks drinks (example, the vivianno...where do ppl get that extra i?) :)
Posted by: xtrahotonice | November 25, 2008 at 10:25 AM
The other day i was pre-closing with one of my favourite coworkers, his girlfriend had just shown up and i was making whips. I turned to him and said, "Hey Matt can you whip me?" As soon as i said it i knew what i had said and i started laughing. Matt then took off his apron and jokingly started whipping me with it in front of his girlfriend. We were all laughing until our manager walked in and saw the entire thing. Matt and I both got told off on our reviews for that.
Posted by: Chailatte | November 25, 2008 at 06:42 PM
The debit machine at our store is really finiky so quite often i have to tell customer to go slowly. One day I was working with my asm and i had just finished saying,"Sorry, you have to be very gentle it's really sensitive today," I didn't realize the implications of what i had said, and looked over to see my asm laughing. I asked him and he told me to think about what i had just said. I started laughing and the other barista started laughing too(I was the only girl on)
I usually open on sat mornings but the first time i came in at 7:30 i realized i was on the bottom. i turned to the other barista and said i feel funny being on the bottom. I don't know what to do.
Or
customer"can i have a tall in a grande"
me"sure" a few seconds later
me"do you want room in that"
Posted by: Chailatte | November 25, 2008 at 07:10 PM
Ummm, so there's a camera in the Drive thru??? Yikes, I feel so dumb now if that's the case. lol
Posted by: grande | November 25, 2008 at 07:25 PM
I just remembered the time a woman's change came to $6.66, and I made some silly joke about it.
She started talking about Revelations and the end of the world and how seeing those numbers was a sign of Satan at work in our world this very minute. She went on for quite awhile.
I was standing there completely speechless, having no idea how to react. Um....yes, you have a good day now.
I have never joked about it or pointed it out to anyone since :).
Posted by: ShiftyinNV | November 27, 2008 at 02:54 AM
I was working bar during the rush one morning when I handed a girl her drink. A few seconds later she came back and said I'd forgotten to give her whip cream.
It was no big deal, and she was really nice about it, but I was exhausted and not really thinking. So, with a smile on my face, I grabbed the whip cream canister and said,
"Alright, let me whip you."
We both kind of hit the pause button and started laughing.
Posted by: brainybarista | November 29, 2008 at 01:09 AM
when i hand off drinks i usually tell customers that i hope they enjoy their drink and sometimes I tell them that we appreciate them. the other day a customer got the hybrid, "hope you appreciate it". i realized what i said and apologized profusely and told him how i'd gotten my two phrases mixed up. he hadn't been paying attention to what i said at the hand off but was pissed (for some reason) to know i'd said that because i apologized.
Posted by: maxpunx | November 29, 2008 at 11:21 AM
I worked at this starbucks right next door to a quiznos, and so we would get people coming in all the time and ask us about our sandwhiches...well this one time a guy was like: where is your sandwhich menu...and I replied: quiznos is next door, we're a subway.
TOTAL ACCIDENT!! I meant to say we're a starbucks....the customer didn't notice but my shift broke down laughing.
Posted by: BouncingBarista | November 30, 2008 at 01:20 AM
One day I had been answering the drive thru all morning and then finally slid over to the front register. I had been on drive thru so long that day that I told the customers that were standing in front of me their total and then "thank you please drive around." Ugh
Posted by: rockthebucks | November 30, 2008 at 09:06 AM
2nd post of mine here at this place, just signed up for typepad.
Hope my overall time at this forumSite is good.
Up here in Anchorage, we set our RedCups out ThanksgivingWeek!!, and one day, an attractive blonde w/ 2 infants in tow steps up to Kiosk to order,
She makes comments upon the newRed Menu boards, theRed cups etc, and what I say next had a few men inQue behind her giggling.
"Yes, theCups are bigg!!, Aren't they hot!? oh.. 2 Venti's?, ok...
Two Big cups,
*quietly muttering to myself as I mark theVenti's*- "vanilla, Full of hot steamy milk, 2 shots, handOff!!"
I see her come by every other day or so, she's HUGELY endowed and looks great!! I've even had to walk her out of theShop after she had a large order once,
Anyway, yeah.
Reading all these other postings,
theWorkShift!! gets funny sometimes, whether privately or for theWholeShop to see!!
take care,
-theSam!!
SLFlyinghorse
aLicensedStoreBarista!!
Anchorage, AK
Posted by: theSam!! | December 01, 2008 at 04:52 PM
Have you ever had a customer that was a complete ass and wanted to be one back?
I can't say i actually regret this but here it is.
I just finished with my 10 min break. I walk up to the front and there is just one guy working his name is Nick.
This foreign guy with an Australian accent just finished ordering
Nick ask me to ring him up cuz he didn't have a teel (teal?). So i ask the guy what he ordered. He said "ah shit mate. are you kidding me? I just had to tell him and now I have to tell you"
I tried to tell him that I just got back from a break and didn't hear your order and Nick can't ring you up and looked at him like "are you serious". <-thats my look
He says "First I gotta tell him my order, then you and now this shit again? Are you kidding me mate?" Followed by some mumbling and other crap. He just had a bad attitude in general
I said "Sorry sir, let me try this again, hmmhm...(that's me clearing my throat) Welcome to starbucks, what can I get for you today"
He says "oh now you're gonna be a smart ass now huh? Whats your name? Is there a manager on duty?" almost like one question though, not giving me time to respond to the first.
I said uhh, steves the name mate (name's not steve) and I think so, let me go get him. I walked through the back door and tuned right back around and said "hey welcome to starbucks my name is Steve and I'm the manager (I'm not the manager)
Nick fell out laughing. Then Israel(the manager) came out from the back and the Aussie gave him hell. I can't believe I didn't get fired. this guy deserved it though.
From now on employees call me Steve as a joke.
Posted by: THe FUnk Trunk | December 01, 2008 at 09:19 PM
I've had a few, but here's one that I'll never forget:
I was working in the drive-thru and I took this girl's order, and she was really loud. When she got to the window, she was actually in the backseat, and her whole upper torso was out the window. I thought she was high or drunk or something. Anywho she gave me her money, and then she belts really loudly "OMG you're so cute! Can I have your number?!" I turned really red, politely said no thanks, gave her her drinks, and the driver drove away. Then I realized I still had her credit card in my hands.
I was working again the next day when I see that same girl come into the lobby asking for her credit card. Turns out we didn't have it anymore for some reason, and she proceeds to yell at me and my shift, telling us she needs it to pay her bills. Oops.
Posted by: j | December 02, 2008 at 04:13 PM
A billion years ago when many of the DTs still had dog treats at the window, I was taking a woman's change and asked if she wanted a treat for her dog.
Right after I said that, she shot me a confused look. Then her baby (the dog) started crying.
Woof! I couldn't recover from that one.
Posted by: tcasm | December 03, 2008 at 02:13 PM
Hi--
I'm not a Starbucks employee. On a quest to recharge my Starbucks card, I simply stumbled across this site while googling the company name.
I have to say that I find a few of the comments pretty horrifying. For example, an employee "jokes" about spitting in a customer's coffee, the customer overhears the remark, and (understandably, I think) won't accept the coffee, and the employee thinks the CUSTOMER should get a grip? And a few other posters actually AGREE with this infant?
To future posters: as an extension of the excellent service most of you usually provide, would you mind identifying which store you work at, so customers may exercise discrimination about which stores they choose to patronize?
Posted by: Queequeg | December 13, 2008 at 10:22 AM
I was working the Drive-Thru bar, and listening as my partner was taking a order.
Barista: Hello thanks for choosing starbucks, my name is ___ how my I help you?
Man: Hello, can I get a uhhh... white mochacino.
(I started laughing)
Man: ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME?!??! I KNOW YOUR LAUGHING AT ME!
Barista: Ahem I'm sorry we're not we're not.
Man: It's alright. Frapuccino!!! I'll see you at the window!
As we had a kick about that all day, he was a great sport and it was for his wife- so we made his day. To make his wife's day.
It was on us.
Posted by: | December 18, 2008 at 06:13 PM
Ooh also I once had a customer come in and ask if we had anything salty or salted for a snack to wit I responded;
"Hmmm, well...I've got nut sacks right up front here." At which point I gestured to our packaged cashews and almonds in front of my reg.
As bad as it was that I said it, the customer didn't catch it but she knew something was up because my barista started laughing so hard he literally had to take a knee to catch his breath. I was crimson.
Posted by: Becky Barista | March 03, 2009 at 03:44 AM