Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Entitlement (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by philosopher_cat_lady
So I'm trying not to use the Starbucks subreddits to complain all the time about my job, but this one was so astonishing I thought I'd share.
We've been experiencing some short-staffing at my store when it got closer to Christmas. We started converting from walk-in to drive-thru just so we could get a handle on the store. We did that today--locked the front door and put a 'drive-thru only' sign on the front door. We close at 7 p.m. and we had a team of three and were way behind on essential tasks let alone all of the daily tasks. So at 6:49 my shift supervisor asked me to put a cone in the drive-thru to close it. That way no vehicle could enter to place an order since we were trying to complete our current orders in a timely manner and start working on cleaning and whatnot. Also, any vehicle would see the cones, realize we could not take any drive-thru orders, and not enter the drive-thru unaware and get disappointed when they reached the speakerbox.
Well, I place two cones in the drive-thru entrance. There aren't any cars nearby at the time. Right after I come back inside the store, our headsets ding. We're all confused. A man has approached the drive-thru in his vehicle, gotten out of his vehicle, moved my cones to the side, and driven up to the speakerbox. It's about 6:51.
Barista: I'm sorry, we're closed.
Man: Uh-uh, you close at 7:00, thank you very much.
Barista: ... What can we get for you?
I don't think I've ever been so irate at a customer before, and of course that's saying something.
We've been experiencing some short-staffing at my store when it got closer to Christmas. We started converting from walk-in to drive-thru just so we could get a handle on the store. We did that today--locked the front door and put a 'drive-thru only' sign on the front door. We close at 7 p.m. and we had a team of three and were way behind on essential tasks let alone all of the daily tasks. So at 6:49 my shift supervisor asked me to put a cone in the drive-thru to close it. That way no vehicle could enter to place an order since we were trying to complete our current orders in a timely manner and start working on cleaning and whatnot. Also, any vehicle would see the cones, realize we could not take any drive-thru orders, and not enter the drive-thru unaware and get disappointed when they reached the speakerbox.
Well, I place two cones in the drive-thru entrance. There aren't any cars nearby at the time. Right after I come back inside the store, our headsets ding. We're all confused. A man has approached the drive-thru in his vehicle, gotten out of his vehicle, moved my cones to the side, and driven up to the speakerbox. It's about 6:51.
Barista: I'm sorry, we're closed.
Man: Uh-uh, you close at 7:00, thank you very much.
Barista: ... What can we get for you?
I don't think I've ever been so irate at a customer before, and of course that's saying something.
yukhentai 10 points 2y ago
that type of strong entitlement over beverages. a place that serves beverages....DRINKS that you could definitely survive without. in a pandemic. it really blows my mind.
philosopher_cat_lady [OP] 2 points 2y ago
I know, my mind continued to be blown the rest of the night.
Flappadingo 5 points 2y ago
Don’t fucking answer the call.
If you do, dont start with apologizing. SAY THIS- We are closed. good night.
Don’t answer the ding.
If you do, dont start with apologizing. SAY THIS- We are closed. good night.
Don’t answer the ding.
philosopher_cat_lady [OP] 3 points 2y ago
Yeah, we've started not answering drive-thru calls or phone calls after close because people were so insanely mean to us. We don't have a sign at the speaker box saying our hours of operation for some reason (I had printed one out, my shift supervisor had posted it near the speaker box but it got taken down at some point). We do have one at the drive-thru window. I usually don't answer drive-thru calls after close, but this particular barista who was on drive-thru is very polite to customers. Just let it be known that I would not have been that polite to a person who had shown that type of behavior. His order should not have been taken. He literally vandalized store property and trespassed.
NervosaNervous 3 points 2y ago
I’m polite to customers, but I would not have answered the ding. I wouldn’t have even acknowledged it. I would have locked the drive thru window, taken off the headset, and ignored him when he inevitably came to the window. Had he begun knocking on the window, I would have ignored him. Maybe then he would have gotten it through his thick skull that the store was closed. I’m patient with people until they do shit like that. The cones are there for a reason. That reason is to prevent cars from entering the drive thru. The entitlement of some people, I swear to god...
philosopher_cat_lady [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Agreed. He was acting in a violating manner and shouldn't have been rewarded for it. After he moved my cones, I just went back outside and put them back. We get to dictate when we close our drive-thru because we operate the store, not him.
That same night a young woman honked at us in the parking lot after we closed, and we had a man recently bang on our front door after close (we have our hours posted next to the front door). I don't know if this is pandemic-related tension customers are taking out on us, but these people act like scary, crazed drug addicts.
But I agree with you, I don't indulge ridiculous behavior like that. We are not supposed to unlock our windows and doors after close to talk to idiots who don't realize we're closed. It's a safety issue. One time I opened my window to grab the napkin dispenser and hand sanitizer I'd forgotten on the drive-thru ledge and a woman was unexpectedly there and started ordering and I was like, "No, ma'am, we're closed," and slammed the window on her.
That same night a young woman honked at us in the parking lot after we closed, and we had a man recently bang on our front door after close (we have our hours posted next to the front door). I don't know if this is pandemic-related tension customers are taking out on us, but these people act like scary, crazed drug addicts.
But I agree with you, I don't indulge ridiculous behavior like that. We are not supposed to unlock our windows and doors after close to talk to idiots who don't realize we're closed. It's a safety issue. One time I opened my window to grab the napkin dispenser and hand sanitizer I'd forgotten on the drive-thru ledge and a woman was unexpectedly there and started ordering and I was like, "No, ma'am, we're closed," and slammed the window on her.
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