Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Is just my location, or have we been getting more confused customers as of late? (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by mcsalts99
For some reason, I’ve been encountering more and more customers who don’t seem to know what they want or have no idea what they are even ordering. When I first started working around half a year ago, most people knew exactly what they wanted and went on their way. Now, I’m hearing a lot of “what’s that X drink like?” “What do you guys have that’s like an ice cap from Tim Hortons?” and even some customers who can barely read the menu sounding like “I want that uh Mango dragonfly tea drink thing” “Gimme that caramel uh machi-machichato? Or whatever.”
On top of this, people are getting real overzealous with the fact that you can customize drinks. Many of those people don’t seem to know the exact recipe that they’re borrowing from whatever site or article from the web and up confusing themselves further when we try to help.
Don’t even get me started on the confused boyfriends/husbands who never go to Starbucks who order for their girlfriends/wives.
On top of this, people are getting real overzealous with the fact that you can customize drinks. Many of those people don’t seem to know the exact recipe that they’re borrowing from whatever site or article from the web and up confusing themselves further when we try to help.
Don’t even get me started on the confused boyfriends/husbands who never go to Starbucks who order for their girlfriends/wives.
FoolishGander 38 points 2y ago
Right! We've been getting a lot of "you pick" or "surprise me". We don't know you, just tell us what you want and leave.
LittleEagle15 30 points 2y ago
Everyone who asks me for a "surprise me" drink gets the most expensive frappucino possible. Because labor, and also you're annoying.
junglejims4322 17 points 2y ago
I love this. Except every time someone asks for a “surprise me” drink I give them a grande cup of water. They stare in shock then leave without hesitation
Khamilto48 18 points 2y ago
Yeah I end up asking enough questions about it to the point where they could just say what they wanted. If I’m busy on both drives I’m just clicking iced caramel macchiato 🤣
thelonelycheesestick 9 points 2y ago
Ice caramel macchiato??? No....iced chai. Lol.
[deleted] 5 points 2y ago
It was fun the first couple times bc I liked giving people something relatively unique that I liked but now I just give them iced chais. Maybe with vanilla to spice things up a bit.
MajorIsland3 3 points 2y ago
Here you go! One salted honey cold foam cold brew!
mr-potatohead_ 3 points 2y ago
If we're not slammed I like to ring a drink as expensive as I can 😂 sauce, syrup, toppings, mocha and caramel drizzle. Its like a little game I play to see how expensive I can make something and have it still taste drinkable. Is that terrible? Probably 🤷🏼♀️
Gorbon11 2 points 2y ago
🎂
wtchtrsh 14 points 2y ago
This is an on going problem. Little by little our actual menu is expanding and what offerings the menu boards share with customers is shrinking. Also, the customer base is growing.
420girl__ 12 points 2y ago
Customers at my location act like they’ve never been to the outside world before and takes them 4-5 minutes to order something as simple as a refresher.
Ashesremindme 10 points 2y ago
Yes! A couple days ago, a lady came through drive thru and said, "I want a grande, with vanilla." So I asked what drink she wanted. She repeated, "a grande, with vanilla." I was like, "...a grande latte? A Frappuccino?" She got frustrated and got a refresher instead.
Then today, some lady came through and told the girl on DTO that she'd come through earlier and ordered a cappuccino, and there was TOO MUCH FOAM. She wanted mostly milk with a little foam. The girl apologized and said that we'd remake it, and that next time if she orders a latte, she'll get what she's looking for. The lady replied with, "NO! It's a CAPPUCCINO!!!" She was just like ok, see you at the window 🙄.
I swear, people have no idea what they want, and then they get pissed at us for not reading their minds.
Then today, some lady came through and told the girl on DTO that she'd come through earlier and ordered a cappuccino, and there was TOO MUCH FOAM. She wanted mostly milk with a little foam. The girl apologized and said that we'd remake it, and that next time if she orders a latte, she'll get what she's looking for. The lady replied with, "NO! It's a CAPPUCCINO!!!" She was just like ok, see you at the window 🙄.
I swear, people have no idea what they want, and then they get pissed at us for not reading their minds.
[deleted] 7 points 2y ago
I had a customer on drive order a latte and a dark roast. I have her her dark roast and was waiting on her latte and when I gave it to her she was just so confused. Apparently she only wanted the latte and then proceeded to ask me what a latte was. I don’t know why she was still sitting there if she thought she only ordered one drink/she didn’t even know what she was ordering. She was clearly very confused all around.
lrdz2124 6 points 2y ago
Yesssss same at my store
stinkersmell 5 points 2y ago
man I had a guy order an iced quad shot for his mom and when i gave it to him he was like "this... isn't right... but i don't know what to order to get it right so she gets this" Ok
BunnyKerfluffle 5 points 2y ago
For a surprise me drink... Make a venti mocha frap, add toffee nut. add frap chips, add vanilla bean, add caramel drizzle. Add 4 shots. Add CDT, add caramel sugar topping, and cookie crumble topping. Add vanilla sweet cream and add berries to top it off. When the fall line up hits, you can add even more toppings. Make it special. Make it expensive.
mcsalts99 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
“Make it expensive”
Good thinking. Their money goes to our paycheques hahaha
Good thinking. Their money goes to our paycheques hahaha
julieCivil 4 points 2y ago
Groups of people wander in and stare at the menu for ten minutes and then can't figure out what to order. It's the wildest thing.
JeromeBaritone 4 points 2y ago
It’s from word of mouth, which is a good thing to grow our business and get new people in the door. But it’s really hard to control the experience and make it good if we don’t know what the tik-tok drink is or “that drink my friend had that looked brown.” Just concentrate on making good recommendations and guiding the experience at your location. “Do you like fruit flavors or chocolate flavors, do you want coffee, tea, or juice, do you want a lot or a little caffeine.” Questions and personal recommendations show you care about their experience and generate more return visits than suggestions their friends make.
mcsalts99 [OP] 5 points 2y ago
I actually do agree with this and do my best to narrow down the choices for them; makes for efficient time. However, it seems that almost every time I do so, they either order something wildly different or dismiss me entirely and mull it over a bit more. Even breaking down the drink into the simpler terms sometimes still confounds them. I don’t know, I just do my best to provide good service and present the product as best I can. Their behaviour towards me and other staff is up to them.
JeromeBaritone 2 points 2y ago
Just keep fighting the good fight. Even a recommendation they don’t take is better than leaving them for the wolves.
SpikedBubbles 2 points 2y ago
We had a group of customers come through our drive through and thought it was a touch screen. They still tried after telling them it wasn’t a touch screen and just left. It was bizarre.
mcsalts99 [OP] 2 points 2y ago
It’s not my favourite part of the job, I mostly see it as an inevitable. I actually don’t really mind recommending things to people, it’s just that most of the time, I have re-explain everything to them (which I have already in simpler terms) and they end up getting something wildly different or dismiss me entirely. Personally, it’s become bothersome. I only get the rare customer who’s actually up for some new stuff and maybe even discuss a type of flavour they’re into to narrow down choices. Different experience for me I guess haha
Siren_Song252 1 points 2y ago
I thought it was just me
OneRoseDark -1 points 2y ago
Do you not enjoy helping people find things they like? I enjoy helping people find things they like. That's why I have this job.
The surprise-mes are my favorite. "Absolutely, but we're gonna have to play a bit of 20Qs first so I make something you like. Hot or iced? Caffeinated or no? Coffee or no? Chocolate or fruit? And what size? And your name is? Aight, we'll have it out in just a second." (These are example questions obvs)
I tend to walk a fine line between getting every detail of the recipe and making my best guesses. If they just give me a drink name ("yeah can I have a Captain Crunch Frap?") they're gonna have to look that one up for me. If they know some but not all of it, I can fill in some of the gaps as best I can and it'll probably be close.
Recommendations are my favorite part of this job. I can steer people away from things they won't like, and towards new things they haven't tried.
The surprise-mes are my favorite. "Absolutely, but we're gonna have to play a bit of 20Qs first so I make something you like. Hot or iced? Caffeinated or no? Coffee or no? Chocolate or fruit? And what size? And your name is? Aight, we'll have it out in just a second." (These are example questions obvs)
I tend to walk a fine line between getting every detail of the recipe and making my best guesses. If they just give me a drink name ("yeah can I have a Captain Crunch Frap?") they're gonna have to look that one up for me. If they know some but not all of it, I can fill in some of the gaps as best I can and it'll probably be close.
Recommendations are my favorite part of this job. I can steer people away from things they won't like, and towards new things they haven't tried.
dodofishman 1 points 2y ago
I enjoy it but not when we're shortstaffed bc theres a pandemic and so it's solo DTO/DTR and people have no idea what they're ordering. Mcdonalds and some other places did a limited menu for their staff, idk why no one tried to implement this with starbucks
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