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Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind

Full History - 2020 - 09 - 16 - ID#itx68k
371
A Trenta Sized Rant. No ice, please. (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by MariasGalactic
This is a long one, but I need to rant it out. I also work at a licensed store.

The closest full service Starbucks closed, so lately we’ve been getting all of their customers, which is fine, we just don’t carry as much as a full service store, and we only have 1-2 people working at a time.

On Sunday morning, I opened. My steam wand wasn’t working and had en error code, so I turned the machine off and on, then ran a cleaning cycle. By the time I opened, the wand was still not working, just sputtering and blowing out streams of water, not steam. So, a guy and his gf come in, im like “hey, how are y’all? Just so you know, I’m unable to steam anything, so most espresso drinks I have to make iced at the moment if that’s okay?” The guy says he wants a free drink then or “I’m calling corporate and causing a scene”

His gf was laughing, and he was too, so I just kind of laughed it off as well. So I ring them up, gf wants an iced latte, he asks for 3 shots. Easy enough. While I’m making his drink, he tells me he wants a Breve. I was like, oh, a breve latte? Or do you just want some breve with your 3 shots? He tells me idk what I’m talking about, and goes on this looooong lecture about how latte is just the American version of a breve. Breve is French, so he wants a breve. In the end, he got a grande breve latte, extra shot, vanilla bean added, and some other stuff. He didn’t say any of this when I rang them up and he paid, so he only paid for 3 shots. My store is pretty strict about how we ring people up, and how it has to be correct, but he was already so annoying that I just did not say anything so he’d leave faster. His attitude and arrogance the entire interaction really bothered me.

Fast forward to Tuesday. I’m working with a friend, J, and she’s on register, Im making drinks. The guy comes in again, this time alone. I let him know the steam wants back in business. He orders two drinks, then he starts to order his complicated drink again. He is doing the whole spiel again, so J is confused. I asked him if he wanted what he got yesterday, just hot now and he said yes. So I told her he essentially wants a grande breve latte, extra shot, and all the other additions. That’s not a cheap drink. He asks J “How did you ring me up?” So she tells him, latte, extra shot, breve, etc.

This man says no no no no, you ring me up as 3 shots and that’s it. I was like, I’m sorry, we can’t just charge you for 3 shots, you’re ordering a latte (He even told me breve was a French latte), and we will get in trouble for ringing up the wrong prices, and we will get in trouble for it. Other coworkers have been talked to about it before. He’s now mad. He’s going off about how he doesn’t want a latte (he wants a breve, the supposedly French latte with vanilla bean and a bunch of other stuff) so don’t charge him for a latte. He’s throwing a fit, so we’re like alright maybe we’re like really misunderstanding what he wants. I ask him “Do you want 3 shots with breve poured in like a creamer or do you want a breve latte, where I steam the breve and fill your cup up?”

He responds “I want you to quit arguing with me and ring me up how I tell you to, or I’m going to call corporate and cause a scene!”

......

Usually I can handle rude people, but this was the exact same thing he had said to me Sunday, threatening to call corporate and make a scene.

J told him we aren’t arguing, we’re trying to clarify what he wants exactly, and he goes off again. I’ve never in my 5 years at Starbucks have been demeaned and talked down to so badly. I finally took his two other drinks that were already finished, I dumped them out into the sink, J voided his order on the POS, and I told him “I’m sorry sir, we cannot help you. Have a nice day.”

He’s still going. I told him that if he wants to call corporate or get a manager that it’s fine, but we cannot help him if he’s going to talk to us that way. He finally left.

Thankfully my managers backed me up, and they said we can just deny him service if he ever comes in again.

Usually the rude people are older, this guy was my age, young 20s. I’ve never met somebody act that entitled over coffee.

To end it all, the food in my oven started catching on fire????
golden_pinky 186 points 2y ago
I'm so fucking glad it ended with you denying service.
MariasGalactic [OP] 114 points 2y ago
First time I’ve ever denied someone. I was proud 😂
alo-san 109 points 2y ago
So he wanted a latte but didn’t wanna be charged one? My goodness idk how HE wasn’t embarrassed... fuck that
bellash20 4 points 2y ago
this literally happened in my store today, guy paid for a tall and wanted a venti and ended up literally walking out cause he didn’t wanna pay for it lol
alo-san 3 points 2y ago
Like??? I don’t understand the logic lmao I hate it here
CriticalSheep 49 points 2y ago
This is precisely why we have the new third space policy. "Sir, we are doing our best to accommodate you without you making all of us feel uncomfortable, which violates the third space policy in our store. If you cannot contain your anger, then I'll have to ask you to leave."

And then file an incident report and tell your SM/DM.

​

Good on you for standing up for yourself and your partners!
MariasGalactic [OP] 25 points 2y ago
I work at a licensed store, So I’m not sure what the third space policy is. My manager is also a manager of another section of the store too, so he’s never at Starbucks :( I talked to HR and the security people about it, they said they’d see what he looked like on the cameras and then we could just continue denying him service when he comes back.
DraconidZinnia 12 points 2y ago
I love when these stories have happy endings like this. I hope he never shows his face again. Fuck that guy.
hopelovepeace33 7 points 2y ago
The whole third space is making feel like they are at home when at Starbucks & if someone wants to disrupt that then we have the right to refuse service.
PecanLake734 27 points 2y ago
What a douche canoe. I’m glad you made him leave
Assiqtaq 17 points 2y ago
"I'm going to call corporate!"

"Here is the number, sir."

Yeah, it is likely that they will try to explain things in a way that sounds totally negative towards you, but they are used to these calls. It isn't in your pay grade to continue once you have figured out his whole point is to get you to capitulate and do what he wants. If you can continue after giving the number, sure. But once he figures out you aren't going to collapse like a wet paper doll after that threat, it should remove a lot of his bluster. But you did good, don't let me take that away! Just want you to figure out that sharing you aren't afraid of his threat will go a long way in these situations. And you shouldn't be afraid, you did nothing wrong and even if they give him free stars or a gift card, he still didn't get what his goal was, which was you giving up and giving him what he wanted which he could then use in the future to continue to get what he wanted.
MariasGalactic [OP] 10 points 2y ago
I usually just do what I can do to fix the situation that goes in line with my store and Starbucks policy, call a manger to diffuse if I’m not able to, and we go about our day. This guy was just so unbelievably rude. My last straw was when he said he’d call corporate and make a scene. Like he said the same thing to me on Sunday, same hand motions, and everything. So, I’m sure he does it to a lot of people.
He could’ve just paid for the drink then called corporate on me, now he’ll never be served at our store again 😌
Assiqtaq 8 points 2y ago
Yes I think you handled it fabulously. As in, "please know this store won't cater to your demands for free things you know you shouldn't be getting" fabulously.
hopelovepeace33 3 points 2y ago
Well at licensed store they don’t have managers or shifts working there because the shifts and managers are target employees in other departments. Now if she was in a non-licensed store then she could have gotten a manager but it seems like this guy was beyond helping & not wanting to pay for his expensive drink.
4filth 16 points 2y ago
It’s incredible how many customers want lattes but don’t want to pay for it. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.
Beap92 12 points 2y ago
I know it’s not the point, but a breve is not a French drink. Breve is Italian. It is probably served in France now, but saying it’s French is like saying pho is Canadian
MariasGalactic [OP] 8 points 2y ago
I know, I was thinking the entire time, like, dude you have no clue what you’re talking about. I didn’t say anything to him at the time because he was sooo arrogant about it and I just wanted him to leave. Even if it was French, he said that latte is the American version. So, regardless of how he ordered it, according to him, he wanted a latte.
averyhawk 10 points 2y ago
Fantastic work. Theres nothing better then when management is finally on your side.

I work in a larger retail space and upper management finally called law enforcement on someone who harasses us 2-3 times a week... Unfortunatly the police went to the wrong store first so they were too late to trespass the person. I felt like Christmas was cancelled:(
MariasGalactic [OP] 3 points 2y ago
Oh no! I can only imagine the disappointment :( Our store security is very helpful, thankfully. They’ll at least come over and start talking to the person so they’ll leave us alone.

We have one older lady who comes in every day for hours. She’s obsessed with this one specific barista, and if she comes in he has to go hide in the back or she’ll stand at the counter literally all day trying to talk him, blocking the line, and preventing him from doing anything. Thankfully, they told her due to Covid she can’t stay and hang out so it’s been better
NkdNatty 10 points 2y ago
Proud of you for standing up for yourself and your coworker! Pouring those drinks out was a nice move.
HollowRibcage 7 points 2y ago
God I would’ve just been like « sir. Brève just means half and half. Which means Instead of 2% you’re getting half and half. » I for one love and *adore* all things French. But clearly this guy doesn’t even understand the background behind what makes something French.
MariasGalactic [OP] 6 points 2y ago
I told him breve means half and half, and he told me I was wrong, and that’s just how we do it at Starbucks. Like, I’ve been a barista for 5 years, worked at Starbucks and a European style cafe, and breve meant the same at both places.
HollowRibcage 6 points 2y ago
Yeah and I’ve worked at a cafe other than Starbucks as well that specialized in coffee/coffee styles from different areas and brève meant half and half.
JCaligirl420 7 points 2y ago
So I just looked it up because we’ve been getting a lot of people ask for a breve, it doesn’t mean a latte in France, breve is half and half just like we do. I hate people and I hate it here
MariasGalactic [OP] 4 points 2y ago
The only time I hear people use it is when they want a breve latte. If someone wants cream they’ll just say cream, or occasionally I’ll hear the heavy breve instead of heavy cream.
JCaligirl420 3 points 2y ago
We’ve gotten so many people the last few months come in and order a breve and when we ask a breve what they just say it over and over
MariasGalactic [OP] 5 points 2y ago
I like when people come in and just say the flavor.

“Cinnamon dolce”

Latte? Coffee? Hot? Iced? Tall? Venti?

I’m not a mind reader.
[deleted] 7 points 2y ago
If there’s any justice in the world, he tried to call Starbucks to complain about a Target location.

I hope.
MariasGalactic [OP] 7 points 2y ago
Even if he calls Starbucks corporate they’ll get in touch with the managers of the Tarbucks.

A lady called on another employee once because she wanted her refresher made with ice, but then the ice drained out. When he drained the ice out, obviously the cup wasn’t full, so she called 😂
hopelovepeace33 7 points 2y ago
OMG I had a girl today order an iced London fog tea in a grande with no ice and separate cup of ice on the side. I hand her the drink and she stared at me & says “do y’all not fill it up” I said no we fill up up to the fill line because you didn’t want any ice, she says ok and then drives away. Later on in the day my shift comes over & says this girl called and said her drink wasn’t filled all the way so I just gave her a free drink. I look at the receipt & say she got exactly what she ordered and I told her that without ice it gets filled to the fill line on the cup. I honestly just fucking hate customers sometimes because they want to always try to get something for free when they get EXACTLY what they ordered 🤦🏻‍♀️😳🙄
MariasGalactic [OP] 5 points 2y ago
I had a lady yesterday get a trenta strawberry açaí, no water, no ice, wanted it all the way filled. Like I should have just given her the carton. And how do I even ring someone up for that???
hopelovepeace33 6 points 2y ago
You can’t because even when you hit extra base it doesn’t charge for it like it should. I hate people like that, we’ve got a couple of them & I hate every single one of them 😂 it’s literally like 2 to 4 drinks in a cup & its sooooo infuriating that Starbucks has allowed ppl to throw tantrums when we fill the cups to the fill line & ppl whine & complain to corporate. That’s why certain customers are the way they are because they have been allowed to get away with this crap. I had a customer try to come through and get a cup of ice with matcha powder on the side & I rang him up for a custom tea & he wanted to tell me EVERY OTHER STARBUCKS ALLOWS ME TO DO IT I straight looked at him & said well those Starbucks were charging you incorrectly & will get in trouble, it’s a custom tea because are taking the time to make it.
Kaiser_Mech 4 points 2y ago
Damn that makes sense about what happened to me the other day! I had someone ask for a peach hibiscus tea lemonade with no ice and ice on the side.

I just filled it upto the top because i reckon I'd

A. Get in bother for not filling it up

B. Cba with them argueing about it not being filled up just for them to get a free drink anyway
hopelovepeace33 3 points 2y ago
Yea I personally don’t care, she got a hot tea latte that we brewed in a grande size cup and we poured it into the iced grande cup with her ice on the side so she got exactly what she asked for. Now if she wanted her tea latte to taste more like milk then the actual tea itself then she should have asked for extra milk but she didn’t so she got exactly what she ordered and I told her that’s how it comes if you ask for no ice. I don’t fuck with those type of people, you’re not going to try that & get away with it with me.
chloeputzke1352 6 points 2y ago
I had a person do something similar but they were a partner... they ordered a quad iced espresso in a venti cup and asked for breve to the top. Not knowing they were a partner I asked if they wanted a latte and they said “no I’m a partner you can ring me up as an iced espresso”, not that it mattered anyway because it was a free drink.
MariasGalactic [OP] 5 points 2y ago
I have a lot of people order like a 3 shot or quad in a venti iced cup with white mocha. Some people want breve all the way to the top, some just a splash. That’s hard to avoid, they pay and then will just ask for more cream if they want more than what I put. Plus, when the cream was out for them to pour themselves, they can do that.

That’s why we were trying to clarify, does he want it steamed like a latte or just poured in like some cream.
eat-reddit-tv 4 points 2y ago
That’s so fucking weird
drinkliquidclocks 5 points 2y ago
I'm so happy you refused and your manager supported you.

I have a regular who does this but she wants a a heavy whip latte, but insists we only charge her for 2 shots and put the steamed HWC to the top. She calls me names and the other day she was so mean to me I literally puked and went home with a panic attack 🙃

My manager told me to just ring her for the 2 shots next time 🙄
MariasGalactic [OP] 3 points 2y ago
I would still continue to charge her for the latte. I understand some battles aren’t worth fighting, but that’s exactly why people act entitled like they do. They know if they act that way they’ll get what they want. I don’t put up with it. If you can’t afford to pay for the drink you want, it’s not my problem. I’m not cutting corners for you, especially if you can’t treat me with respect.
I’ve only been rude to a customer service worker once, and it’s because she told every store owner in the mall I was trying to steal. (I’ve never stolen anything in my life, I had literally just bought some rain boots from her) but that’s another story lol! I can’t imagine treating people the way some people do on a regular basis.
The same day this happened, this sweet old lady came up and she was slooow, not in any hurry. She was talking so I was being nice but trying to end the conversation so she’d leave cause I had a line. A young guy behind her threw up his hands and said “Does my time not matter???” cause he didn’t want to wait any longer. Like, sir, she’s old and she’s out grocery shopping and enjoying her day. If you’re in a hurry maybe you shouldn’t come inside a grocery store to order your coffee, but find another drive thru.
drinkliquidclocks 3 points 2y ago
Ugh what kind of person says that to an old lady! Some people are so entitled and horrible. I don't know why so many people fail to realize that coffee, especially starbucks, is a luxury rather than a necessity. It's not cheap but if you can't afford it, or don't have time, don't get it. Not the underpaid workers faults 😬
Luv_1313 5 points 2y ago
Fuck ya you go.. my fellow barista you rock. We shouldn't have to deal with anyone's bullshit they always get away with it. That's the reason why they speak to us that way. Much love 😎❤️too all the baristas in the world
Lo11268 5 points 2y ago
I kind of want to understand what it’s like to have the audacity to walk into a retail establishment and tell the employee, “ok, here’s what I want and I’ll tell you how much I’ll pay for it”.

sir, that’s not how corporations work.
MariasGalactic [OP] 3 points 2y ago
At my old store, I worked Starbucks and the guest service desk. You would be surprised at what they try to do 😂
Lo11268 2 points 2y ago
I’ve only ever worked small town grocery store so I didn’t get any of that. I can’t even imagine the faces id have to try to hide.
MariasGalactic [OP] 2 points 2y ago
A good thing about the masks right now! As long as I scrunch my eyes, they think I’m smiling 😂
Critical50 3 points 2y ago
Sometimes I feel like people know that if they're annoying enough, we'll just give them their shit so they fuck off.

We had to close our cafe. I cant remember why. Staffing reasons I think?

But this guy shows up. Our doors werent locked yet. We tell him we're closed. He starts rambling about

"wow that sucks I like walked here and shit."

SSV repeats "Im sorry but we're closed."

He then goes onto just suddenly start telling us how there was a time he ordered a banana bread but never got it. But then tells us

"im like not trying to get anything for free I just like wanted to let yall know"

Right...Ive never seen this dude in my life btw.

His behaviour reminded me A LOOOT of how I talk and act when Im stoned off my ass. I just ramble about shit and jump from subject to subject.

But anyways, my SSV says over the headset

"please just give this guy what he wants so he just fucks off"

Im pretty sure some people know by now that they can get free shit if they just act a certain way.

That, or these people really think Starbucks still takes coffee seriously. Its like going to McDonalds and bitching at them for not being as good or knowledgable as an actual restaurant.
MariasGalactic [OP] 2 points 2y ago
On Mobile so can’t quote, but the Starbucks not taking coffee seriously is so accurate. I think that was one of my biggest issues with the dude on our legions encounter, like he was trying to act like he knew everything about coffee and I didn’t (even though he was wrong). Like dude, you’re at a Starbucks where 90% of our sales our frapps and refreshers.
kaitlyn_vargas 3 points 2y ago
I would of denied it the minute he started arguing over you guys helping him I’m sorry your having a rough time air hug through phone
humiddefy 3 points 2y ago
Hi Hannah!
MariasGalactic [OP] 3 points 2y ago
Hello! You better deny this guy service if he comes in, or I’ll be so mad 😂
humiddefy 3 points 2y ago
I was waiting for him all day
MariasGalactic [OP] 2 points 2y ago
Maybe he’ll come tomorrow and we can gloriously deny him together ❤️
G10vaC93 1 points 2y ago
Hi Matt. Its Gio 😂
humiddefy 1 points 2y ago
Eyyyyyyy!
lizeken 2 points 2y ago
Are you a Tarbucks or like Safeway, fred Meyer, cosco, etc. I can’t help but feel bad for the license stores because I’m a corporate store and we closed for a week. All of our customers went to the fred Meyer Starbucks across town and they were swamped the whole time. They’re not used to really high volumes of customers and grumpy ones that don’t understand the difference between license and corporate
MariasGalactic [OP] 3 points 2y ago
Tarbucks! I got screamed at Friday, and I mean screamed at by a lady because we did not have oatmeal, she paid then wanted to use her reward after I already gave her the receipt, then I could not tell her how many stars she has. I was like ma’am, this is target. I can only tell you how much is on your card. Download the app.
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