Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Advice please? At a loss (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by Pomitlicious
Hello fellow baristas, I need some advice.
You ever have those customers from the deep pits of hell? We have one and ever since our location has opened shes been ordering her weird ass drink.
Its like tall CM, blonde shots, extra shot, cali style xtra caramel, Non fat milk, xtra hot, whatever. Sooo she started off just this bullshit with just the hot one.
As time goes on her order has been evolving and its getting worse. Now she goes tall in a venti, sub half and half, vanilla sweet cream cold foam, 2 more blonde shots, okay whatever.
Now she's escalated. She wants all this crap but DECONSTRUCTED. Like we're talking syrup in one cup, espresso shots in one cup, Ice in one cup but caramel on the ice?, 1/2 & 1/2 in another cup with VSCCF on top. Holy crap holy crap. Its like 5 cups in total.
Okay that's just her drink. Let me preface by saying Im a licensed starbucks in a big grocery store chain. Her signature move since we opened is calling the store and saying we made her drink wrong so she can get a new one. At first we were dumb and gave her the new drink but like its getting out of hand. It's happened over 10 times. We know her order by heart. It's not us and now she orders it deconstructed. How the heck do we make it wrong? If anything you made your drink wrong we just have you the ingredients lady 🤣🤣😭. She comes so often EVERYONE knows what she looks like. But today was the breaking point.
She comes and says "I'm here for my refund. My drink was made wrong." I was pissed off. I said "We don't just give refunds". She's like "you made my drink wrong. I need it remade". I try holding my ground because i'm SO sick of her shit. We went back and fourth. This girl is crazy. Eventually she makes me call the store manager. The grocery store manager. These people are people pleasers. They don't give a crap. They say just make them happy so they can stfu. Give them the drink to get them out of here. Then she starts cussing us out in front of the store manager. Saying Im always rude every time she comes, I make her drink wrong all the time, all this BS. How pathetic is this woman shitting on minimum wage retail employees just for fun. Type 2 diabetes better catch up with her REAL quick.
It's just crazy because I want it to stop. Management has no Starbucks experience. They don't understand what's going on. To them we're just another department (the store's huge). I estimate this girl has lied and cheated her way out of $200 worth of drinks. Why does she get to not pay while others do? How should I approach situations with this devil women? How do I make her drink as expensive as possible? What should be my reaction when she asks for her refund?
Now that I'm done writing I realize you guys prob can't help much but holy crap. How did you guys deal with devil customers? Anyone have a similar situation?
You ever have those customers from the deep pits of hell? We have one and ever since our location has opened shes been ordering her weird ass drink.
Its like tall CM, blonde shots, extra shot, cali style xtra caramel, Non fat milk, xtra hot, whatever. Sooo she started off just this bullshit with just the hot one.
As time goes on her order has been evolving and its getting worse. Now she goes tall in a venti, sub half and half, vanilla sweet cream cold foam, 2 more blonde shots, okay whatever.
Now she's escalated. She wants all this crap but DECONSTRUCTED. Like we're talking syrup in one cup, espresso shots in one cup, Ice in one cup but caramel on the ice?, 1/2 & 1/2 in another cup with VSCCF on top. Holy crap holy crap. Its like 5 cups in total.
Okay that's just her drink. Let me preface by saying Im a licensed starbucks in a big grocery store chain. Her signature move since we opened is calling the store and saying we made her drink wrong so she can get a new one. At first we were dumb and gave her the new drink but like its getting out of hand. It's happened over 10 times. We know her order by heart. It's not us and now she orders it deconstructed. How the heck do we make it wrong? If anything you made your drink wrong we just have you the ingredients lady 🤣🤣😭. She comes so often EVERYONE knows what she looks like. But today was the breaking point.
She comes and says "I'm here for my refund. My drink was made wrong." I was pissed off. I said "We don't just give refunds". She's like "you made my drink wrong. I need it remade". I try holding my ground because i'm SO sick of her shit. We went back and fourth. This girl is crazy. Eventually she makes me call the store manager. The grocery store manager. These people are people pleasers. They don't give a crap. They say just make them happy so they can stfu. Give them the drink to get them out of here. Then she starts cussing us out in front of the store manager. Saying Im always rude every time she comes, I make her drink wrong all the time, all this BS. How pathetic is this woman shitting on minimum wage retail employees just for fun. Type 2 diabetes better catch up with her REAL quick.
It's just crazy because I want it to stop. Management has no Starbucks experience. They don't understand what's going on. To them we're just another department (the store's huge). I estimate this girl has lied and cheated her way out of $200 worth of drinks. Why does she get to not pay while others do? How should I approach situations with this devil women? How do I make her drink as expensive as possible? What should be my reaction when she asks for her refund?
Now that I'm done writing I realize you guys prob can't help much but holy crap. How did you guys deal with devil customers? Anyone have a similar situation?
GreenTourmaline13 18 points 3y ago
I would never make a deconstructed drink, ever. I'd straight up refuse. I say that here but I'm not sure what irl. But still. My blood pressure rose reading this shit. Im so mad..... im sorry she is such a bad-word-I-never-say. Boooo
NotMyElephants 12 points 3y ago
Oh no hun. I say it here, and irl will absolutely not sell it to you deconstructed.
Our problem customers, we make take a sip of it before they leave and try it. If they say its fine then, when they call/come back demanding a refund its a no bc they said it was fine earlier.
Unfortunately if your manager won't back you up, the things you can do are limited though. Im sorry
Our problem customers, we make take a sip of it before they leave and try it. If they say its fine then, when they call/come back demanding a refund its a no bc they said it was fine earlier.
Unfortunately if your manager won't back you up, the things you can do are limited though. Im sorry
_Pulltab_ 10 points 3y ago
Time to set some boundaries.
First of all. No more deconstructed drinks. Next time she comes in, tell her (politely) that unfortunately you’re no longer able to provide them to her like that but you’re happy to make her drink for her per standard, with her requested modifications (in a single cup).
Repeat back her order after she says it and then make it. Smile, smile, smile! Be pleasant but firm. Once you hand it off, ask her to try it to make sure it’s to her liking. If there’s something you can do that’s easy that will make her go away, like more caramel, go for it. If she completely throws a fit about it not being right, remind her that you made it exactly to her specifications and that you’re not sure how else you can help her. Perhaps she would have better luck at the Starbucks down the street?
It will probably suck the first couple of times but politely stand your ground. She’ll find someone else to torment. I would also speak with the store manager ahead of time to give him a heads-up so he knows the entire deal and can (hopefully) support you better when she plays that card.
First of all. No more deconstructed drinks. Next time she comes in, tell her (politely) that unfortunately you’re no longer able to provide them to her like that but you’re happy to make her drink for her per standard, with her requested modifications (in a single cup).
Repeat back her order after she says it and then make it. Smile, smile, smile! Be pleasant but firm. Once you hand it off, ask her to try it to make sure it’s to her liking. If there’s something you can do that’s easy that will make her go away, like more caramel, go for it. If she completely throws a fit about it not being right, remind her that you made it exactly to her specifications and that you’re not sure how else you can help her. Perhaps she would have better luck at the Starbucks down the street?
It will probably suck the first couple of times but politely stand your ground. She’ll find someone else to torment. I would also speak with the store manager ahead of time to give him a heads-up so he knows the entire deal and can (hopefully) support you better when she plays that card.
Pomitlicious [OP] 5 points 3y ago
Will try these strategies. Thx for all the advice and reading through my post :)
syntheticstrawbrry 3 points 3y ago
Honestly, out of curiosity, please update on how it goes down. It makes me so happy when baristas stand up for themselves and customers respond with shock.
Pomitlicious [OP] 3 points 3y ago
Ok heres the update. Yesterday, she messed with the wrong barista. She tried to pull this crap on one of the older ladies, but this particular woman takes crap from no one. She ordered her drink and said it was made wrong on the spot, which is quite rare. They said they would remake it but they would first refund her the drink then recharge her taking into account her additional requests. However, she would not give her drink back. Our baristas stood their ground. This woman starts saying "I can't give it back to you it has my DNA on it!" Our guys are like "DNA? wtf" so eventually the older barista got out of the kiosk and took it from her grocery cart and threw it in the garbage in front of her. This lady flipped! "You can't touch it! It has my DNA!". Store managers were called again and ofc they said "just remake her drink" (their signature line) but barista and crazy girl started screaming in front of them. The girl is like "they're terrible!!! blah blah blah they're so rude!" But baristas like "We KNOW who you are! you steal, youre a scammer! You are not getting away with this anymore!". Eventually the other barista remade her drink and she left. But after, the older barista chased down the grocery store's loss prevention manager. She said "This is unacceptable. She comes in and intimidates the girls, she steals, etc." She was really going off. He said "Yes, yes , I understand this is a legitimate concern. There have been enough complaints." What I heard him say is next time we see her, we can call store managers and they will ask her to leave, saying she is trespassing. If she doesn't leave they can call the police. So, this sounds great but next step is actually seeing if store managers are on board or if they are clueless as usual. I will hope this all goes according to plan and store managers are helpful. So grateful this lady actually got things moving. She's like our Momma Barista. But one thing's for sure, we are less helpless than we were two days ago so I am hopeful "justice will be served" soon🤣.
whenthenbloopdrops 1 points 3y ago
I love this advice. Our society these days (not saying this is OP, there's just a general trend) thinks there's a choice between being nasty and caving in. You can be polite/pleasant but firm!
I_prefer_naps 7 points 3y ago
Licensed store here, but not a kiosk/grocery store, so probably a little different still.
First, I'd let her know if she's getting two shots in a cup separately, that's really a whole drink in itself and charge for a dopio (since you said it started as one shot and evolved into two). And I would just do the same from there. So if she's asking for a cup of milk(or milk substitute) with sweet cream cold foam, I'd charge milk, add cold foam.
Then you could spin it to your manager that she's actually trying to order all these drinks for the price of the tall cm.
Or, if management is open to communicate with you, show them your recipes cards. Point out the modifications and how much product she's going thru with remakes. Or maybe that she's modified it so much that it comprises the starbucks standard of the drink, so your not really sure what coarse to take at that point.
I would start documenting her interactions with receipt. They're not there with you so show them the hard time she's giving you.
Lastly, as a licensed store, our corporate Starbucks DM was still in our store once a month. Before covid. So even if your grocery store manager has no guidance, you could try your corporate DM.
Sorry you're dealing with this type of person.
First, I'd let her know if she's getting two shots in a cup separately, that's really a whole drink in itself and charge for a dopio (since you said it started as one shot and evolved into two). And I would just do the same from there. So if she's asking for a cup of milk(or milk substitute) with sweet cream cold foam, I'd charge milk, add cold foam.
Then you could spin it to your manager that she's actually trying to order all these drinks for the price of the tall cm.
Or, if management is open to communicate with you, show them your recipes cards. Point out the modifications and how much product she's going thru with remakes. Or maybe that she's modified it so much that it comprises the starbucks standard of the drink, so your not really sure what coarse to take at that point.
I would start documenting her interactions with receipt. They're not there with you so show them the hard time she's giving you.
Lastly, as a licensed store, our corporate Starbucks DM was still in our store once a month. Before covid. So even if your grocery store manager has no guidance, you could try your corporate DM.
Sorry you're dealing with this type of person.
Pomitlicious [OP] 2 points 3y ago
Thank you so much for this advice. Thank you so much. Im working with my manager today. I can't wait to tell her! Because she also doesnt know what to do! THANK YOU! never realized we could charge her like this.
I_prefer_naps 2 points 3y ago
I'm glad I could give you guys some new ideas. And I hope it helps!
I would say something along the lines of "unfortunately, per management (I'd only add these two words if you've cleared this with them first,) these components will have to be rung up separately, as we're preparing them as separate items. So that will be (however many shots) espresso, one whatever size cup of milk products, one cup for ice and sauce, etc. Did you still want those separate or did you want that as one drink?"
In my experience, I'd make sure all partners and managers were on the same page. Otherwise it will turn into "well the other person/Starbucks/barista doesn't do it this way"
I would say something along the lines of "unfortunately, per management (I'd only add these two words if you've cleared this with them first,) these components will have to be rung up separately, as we're preparing them as separate items. So that will be (however many shots) espresso, one whatever size cup of milk products, one cup for ice and sauce, etc. Did you still want those separate or did you want that as one drink?"
In my experience, I'd make sure all partners and managers were on the same page. Otherwise it will turn into "well the other person/Starbucks/barista doesn't do it this way"
ehrle100 3 points 3y ago
Maybe email the person that is above the store manager and email them how this customer has been treating you. May not work, but this person has gone way beyond what is acceptable and she way lying to the manager.
_retail_bitch_ 2 points 3y ago
I totally feel you. The absolute worst thing about licensed stores is that most of management has NO experience in Starbucks, so they won’t be of any help. If you have a higher up in your starbucks, talk to them about contacting a district manager specifically for starbucks.
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