Popular news blogger Pat Kiernan has a daily "Starbucks Alter Ego" feature that includes photos of names on drinks that aren't quite right. (Theresa comes out as "Tourisa"; Reuben is identified as "Roubin" etc.) He and his contributors are just having fun, so keep that in mind before you get all snippy on him. || Discuss his names-on-drinks or anything else Starbucks-related in the OPEN THREAD.
This is hysterical...im wondering if im responsible for any of them!!
Posted by: javagirl666 | June 03, 2011 at 03:21 PM
My name (Colleen) is almost never right. I get Kelly and Helene a lot. Sometimes I just say Kelly in the first place to make it easier.
Posted by: Colleen | June 03, 2011 at 03:23 PM
Just clicked on the link and saw there is another Colleen whose name is often messed up. Good to know it's not just that I can't enunciate well enough!
Posted by: Colleen | June 03, 2011 at 03:24 PM
there was dude who came in named Clint. I write in all cups usually and it was very busy when he came through, so my tracking with characters was a bit off. The cup Clint ended up with had something like 'C L I N T" on it.
Posted by: P | June 03, 2011 at 04:18 PM
A fun drink for a delightfully warm day: raspberry lemonade frappuccino.
Posted by: Dave | June 03, 2011 at 05:39 PM
Having an international name is always "fun" when ordering a drink at Starbucks. I've even considered creating a site just for the mispellings I get :D
Posted by: Guillermo | June 03, 2011 at 06:18 PM
I've heard customers commenting at hand-off: "oh they never spell my name right" and variations. Hey, feel free to spell your name out when asked...we don't mind!
Posted by: morningbecomes | June 03, 2011 at 06:35 PM
I'm betting than more than half the people who give us the name "Ann" are being kind.
Posted by: spencer | June 03, 2011 at 06:53 PM
I have a common name with a less-than-common spelling. I have no problem with people misspelling it. But if they make it into a different name, there might be a problem.
Posted by: hearbutloud | June 03, 2011 at 07:35 PM
That is why I ask customers " what is your name today?"
Posted by: Trippin | June 03, 2011 at 07:37 PM
Is Milwaukee too small of a market to be called by name? I am at my neighborhood store 5/7 days a week and never has a barista marked my cup with my name. I'm not saying they don't say hello, goodbye, or anything, but never am I asked for a name. They just call out the drink when it's done.
Posted by: nandypants | June 03, 2011 at 09:27 PM
Yeah, the first time a barista asked me for my name was yesterday in Seattle, at Benaroya hall.
Posted by: af | June 03, 2011 at 11:35 PM
imagine... my real name is not only a cultural name... but it doesn't start with the letter that it sounds like. the butchering that goes on with it. that's why i'm stan to every starbucks who asks me my name that i don't work in.
Posted by: Stan | June 04, 2011 at 12:01 AM
i laughed so hard at these i nearly peed myself.
Posted by: inkedmuse | June 04, 2011 at 12:56 AM
@Colleen
My name is similar, has the ahhh sound in the middle, eeee sound on the end, and i too get kelly A LOT. it is my go to alias for girls nights!!
Posted by: inkedmuse | June 04, 2011 at 12:59 AM
I'm normally a top-notch speller, and I even spell correctly quite a few unfamiliar names from people of different nationalities... If I can hear them! Sometimes the blenders are going so often, and the music is on a little louder than I prefer, so I imagine there's been quite a few Colleens that I misheard as a Kelly, or something like that. Often after I've asked them to repeat their name 3 times for me and I still can't hear it clearly, I'll just put whatever sounds similar to avoid further embarrassment! Haha. Some of these kill me, though.
Posted by: LV | June 04, 2011 at 01:46 AM
If only we could get customers to wear name tags. I'm not beyond waiting to mark the cup or call it out until after I see the precious little gold card.
Posted by: spencer | June 04, 2011 at 06:16 AM
We usually ask how to spell it, if it's an unusual name, or could be spelled a million different ways (Carrie, Kari, Kerry, anyone?) My favorite of the linked photos is "Chris with a k," though. That looks like something we'd do to a regular just to be funny. We have a couple of regulars who say "no," when we ask if we can put their name on the cup. "No," is exactly what goes on the cup then.
Posted by: Jazzhands | June 04, 2011 at 10:09 AM
I heard of a barista who didn't like a particular customer and wrote, "bitch" on the cup. She brought it back to the SM later and it's no surprise he was fired.
Posted by: Georgia | June 04, 2011 at 10:19 AM
When I worked at an airport 'bux, we had this girl spoke English as a second language, and she had the HARDEST time with names, even though she was fluent enough in English for the job. I will never forget "Tom" being written down on the cup as "Time." I also remember being scolded for not calling out a name, and I was like "well, can YOU read what is written there?"
Posted by: ash_sk8s | June 04, 2011 at 11:56 AM
@P: Better to space those letters widely than to jam them together. When capital L and I get too cozy, they look like a U, and you can see the problem that would be in the name "Clint".
Open-thread question: Is the iced trenta size really going to be nationwide or what? One store here in metro Detroit said it would be nationwide by May and that they'd be ordering a lot of the cups to accommodate their open-air shopping center customer base; now another store says it's just for "warmer climates" (BTW, it's 94 here today and summer's just getting started) and/or bigger cities. So what's up? My venti iced coffees go too quickly.
Posted by: Hirayuki | June 04, 2011 at 02:40 PM
@Hirayuki -- unless I misunderstood, I think that was P's original point...that his L and I flowed a little too closely together for comfort on that particular name. Funny.
Posted by: amanda june | June 04, 2011 at 03:09 PM
@Hirayuki: I don't think it's for 'warmer climates.' Up here, in New England, Massachusetts actually, they've been here for about half a year and we are everything but a warmer climate...
Posted by: Dave | June 04, 2011 at 05:27 PM
A barista once wrote, "cafe" instead of asking my name (or even leaving the cup blank), which was especially insulting since the drink was made by the cafe barista, and I was the only person in line...
Posted by: baristamclane | June 04, 2011 at 11:19 PM
My name was once spelled "Harsley." Not sure how. But I suddenly got a flashback of the "Swarley" episode of How I Met Your Mother.
Posted by: Ashley | June 04, 2011 at 11:30 PM
My DM told us about a year ago to stop asking for names on the cup. So our store no longer does it, nor do any stores I've been to in my state.
Posted by: rawr | June 05, 2011 at 07:58 AM
As LV said, the problem is that it's so difficult to HEAR. Starbucks is too loud. I am sure it is damaging people's ears.
Posted by: saywhat | June 05, 2011 at 01:40 PM
P's "CLINT" comment made me chuckle; the movie theater in my small hometown is called the Flick, where an unfortunate marquee font choice combined with capitalization causes many first-time visitors to the MAYBERRY FLICK to do a shocked double-take, quickly followed by stifled laughter!
Re Starbucks names: I habitually tailor the moniker I provide to corporations, in order to track who puts me on which mailing lists. Thus, my Starbucks gold card identifies me as "Bucky", although I never remember to use that nom at the register. Unfortunately, I probably wouldn't realize you were calling me if you wrote that on my cup, either ...
Posted by: Mitt Schlag | June 05, 2011 at 01:49 PM
I have a question for the partners. A good few months ago, we all started rolling about Beverage Repeatable in the stores to improve (or not, as some think) the drink making process. There are stores in my area that do it, but only if the DM is around.
So here's my question: Do you actually follow it months after it's been rolled out? Is it better? Worse? Why do you think some stores don't follow it yet?
Posted by: Alexander | June 05, 2011 at 04:33 PM
@nandypants: My store has sticker printing machines at the different workstations so that we can reroute the production flow as needed for DT/in house/CBS etc. When we switched to simphony we lost the ability to put a name on these stickers. Sometimes people want to give us their name to put on the cup, and I am sad that we have no efficient way to do it anymore. If anyone knows a way to do this it would be awesome.
@Alexander:
Most of the partners at my store use the repeatable routine. If they don't they are taken off the bar because they are not able to keep up with the pace. I believe the repeatable routine improves the quality of most partners drinks, and improves the speed of all partners. Why wouldn't you use the repeatable routine? Is there a more efficient process that you are using?
As far as only doing things when the DM is around... you should hold yourself to a higher standard. Listen to that little voice inside that wants you to be the best!
Posted by: rpm | June 05, 2011 at 05:58 PM
It amazes me how many people are unable to not only spell the name "Carol", but recognize what it is it when I say it to them. I usually have to repeat it a few times. And the spellings I get on the cup range from Carole to Karol to, the one I got yesterday, Carroll, like a surname. My favorite misspelling is "Carl" though.
Posted by: Carol | June 05, 2011 at 06:25 PM
Shout out to Stephan Pastis & his comic strip "Pearls Before Swine"- thanks for the laughs this week!
Check out May 31-June 5: http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine
Posted by: livin' la VIA loca | June 05, 2011 at 07:36 PM
Question: What is the best way to drink an iced caramel macchiato? Stir it up, or take the first sip of only the very sweet milk at the bottom first?
Posted by: af | June 05, 2011 at 07:46 PM
i totally think BR2 rocks. i can't even think of going back now.
maybe i get out of sequence every so often, or may start working both bars solo (but always replacing like with like, and keeping the bars busy/constantly working) - but i can't see how people can NOT do BR2.
it makes life easier, drinks come out faster - and taste better. it often gives you more time to chat with people -- why wouldn't you do it?
what do you do instead of it?
'the old way' of doing whatever you want, whenever you want?
steaming milk for more than a drink at a time?
or just not following the sequences..
i find it hard to believe that so many partners are resisting this logical, efficient and less-stressful approach to making beverages..
can you share why?
Posted by: or | June 05, 2011 at 09:48 PM
@or
I too follow BR2 most of the time, but a couple times a day, I'll see say... a short chai following a tall chai or something, and it seems to make more sense to me to steam these milks together. In total that's about 10 oz or so of milk, and I find that with our large pitchers, the quality of the foam will be better if I steam more than just the tiny amount required for the first drink.
I think what I'm trying to say is that I'll break out of BR2 when it makes sense for drink quality, though this is a relatively rare situation.
Posted by: otterinthewater | June 06, 2011 at 12:37 PM
I don't know a single person with the name Carol and before seeing it typed here would have probably spelled it Carroll. Any name can be spelled wrong...if you are so specific just say I'd rather not give my name...or give your initials. It is especially hard to hear over blenders, brewers, grinders, timers, screaming brats in the cafe, people conversing and mix in the music we play along with other baristas having conversations with customers or each other, add in another barista talking to someone on a headset outside and yet another at the drive up window! Half the time I cannot understand whispering customers so I just copy it off their gold card.
Posted by: Coffee Soldier | June 06, 2011 at 02:01 PM
Dude, it's not a common name but it's not like it's some old name like Mildred or Beatrice. I'd rather they just look at the gold card that I *just handed to them* than try to ask me what my name is over and over.
Posted by: Carol | June 06, 2011 at 02:22 PM
Yeah..id probably rank Carol up there with names that arent so common anymore..no offense. If youre that uptight about giving your name, just tell them not to bother.
Posted by: javagirl666 | June 06, 2011 at 04:39 PM
I do brr and its great but I too deviate in a few circumstances, also or sounds like a kool aid drinking DM.
Posted by: Red cup | June 06, 2011 at 05:55 PM
I've had a few cups handed to me with "Melanie" written on it, and it's easy to imagine how my name could sound like that. I'm surprised only at how often people spell Melanie incorrectly - Like "Meloney"?? LOL. Oh well.
Posted by: Melody | June 06, 2011 at 08:15 PM
Seems like a good time to revive my suggestion that everyone use stage names.
My favorite is Biff.
I suggest women use Cordelia.
Posted by: Torontodude | June 06, 2011 at 10:45 PM
There is one customer at my store that allows me to make up names for him every day. My favorites... "The King of Spain", "David Hasselhoff", and "Urkel". His co-workers get a kick of of the names I come up with. =)
Posted by: Guat.my.mala | June 07, 2011 at 12:40 AM
Some of the stores in my area ask for my name and others don't. I for one wish that ALL stores would STOP asking customers for their names. It's a ill conceived and actually quite phoney way of attempting to make a connection with customers. Much better to forget the name (unless it's a regular of course!) and just simply focus on making a sincere connection with them (being asked how my day is going will always make me feel better than having a barista shout out my name at the top of his or her lungs in an blase and uncaring manner). As for the argument that names on cups really serve to ensure that customers don't grab the wrong one--all I can say is that if a customer is not paying attention (most likely because they're yapping on their cell phone), they're not going to recognize their name anymore than they will a particular beverage.
Posted by: ncsm | June 07, 2011 at 11:12 AM
We have only asked for names for a short period, when we realized how many had the same names and it caused more confusion than it was worth. Id rather know about someone and only recognize them as a drink, than know nothing more than a name.
Posted by: Jmo | June 07, 2011 at 12:17 PM
@ncsm
I can only speak for my store, but since we started getting names, regulating which customers take which drink at the hand off has become easier. You're totally right about the not paying attention thing for a certain amount of people, but we've found that at my store, it does make things better at the bar.
Posted by: otterinthewater | June 08, 2011 at 09:04 AM
I have a high volume Chapters cafe store with a small hand-off area. If we don't get names on cups, it's a nightmare. You either have 4 grande chai lattes in a row and people fighting over them or some guy waiting on his coffee misto and grabbing a cold drink and wondering if it is his.
I wouldn't say it is a phony attempt to make a connection, that seems a bit presumptuous doesn't it?
Posted by: Kandi | June 08, 2011 at 06:09 PM
To be fair, I'd much rather get your ridiculously customized drink order right than worry about spelling your name correctly.
Posted by: Jewel | June 13, 2011 at 09:52 AM
Patricia was spelled as Pertrisha :)
Posted by: Tori | April 12, 2012 at 08:46 PM