when in doubt give them a compliment! Generally people like to talk about themselves and it’s something positive.

we actually started doing would you rathers! “would you rather be able to fly, or be invisible?” “live in the mountains, or by the beach?” for example. we even do it as a poll, with two cups, one marked option a, the other option b, whatever the question may be, and put a bean in whatever option they choose. can be awkward to just ask outright, so i’ll go, “so, let me ask you a question,” as though i know them and really want their opinion, lol

Compliments work well you just gotta be careful with them lol. I frequently ask “any special plans today” not much different from asking any plans but idk I feel that it is received better. Often people respond with work and I just ask what they do and I try to hold a conversation about that line of work.

If they're a regular and you're a little closer, you can ask about their family/friends/work. I know this one married couple and I always check in on his wife / her husband (depending on which is in my line) and I've talked to them about their friends wedding before.
If it's not someone you know, just compliment them. If it's a guy mention how nice his truck/car is or his hair or smth. Girls, nails, hair, clothes, purses. Whatever. Whatever you think looks nice.
Talk about their weekend/favorite drinks. Plans for holidays.
Suggest drinks based off the ones they got. Venti iced white mocha with vsscf and cd? Venti iced chai with vanilla. Americano? Nitro or regular cold brew. Don't be afraid to talk about yourself! Say oh, I really like dogs! What type of dog is your favorite? Being personal will typically make them happier and you'll get a better score.
Hope this helps!

We integrated colored popsicle sticks, ask a customer to pick a color, we choose one of them and ask them the question that is written on it. It helps for the partners who aren't sure how to start a conversation either :)

Although personal comments are great, you’re on the right track by looking for general conversation pieces. I think you should take it like a science experiment, where you gather a list of ideas like those mentioned here (hypotheses) and test them out to see which leads to your desired outcome. I always found that my intonation and body language helped more with the connection than the words so I practiced that a lot.

It doesn’t work as well if it’s just a coffee or something, but I like to talk about their drink especially if it’s new or something with a lot of customizations. I’ll say it looks good or I love oatmilk or whatever and most of the time it sparks a pretty easy conversation.

I have a partner who asks “hey, do you have any good jokes” some people have fun and give a joke, and others say no. But then keep an arsenal of jokes in your back pocket and tell them a joke. It’s a lot different then a normal transaction and it gives people a good laugh.

Come up with questions like “have you been watching anything recently?”

I like asking them about their favorite drink, if they use the app or give them drink recommendations

Ever *meow* seen super *meow* troopers.....


*meow*

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I give compliments and ask them how their morning is. I have a real convo if they are a regular sometimes but the regular has to start that for me mostly. If they have a dog in the car it really helps cuz people love talking about their dogs