Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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“I could die” (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by zosterthetoaster24
Had a customer today insist that her iced tea be made in “sterile” conditions. She wanted the tea poured directly into the cup, ice added from the back, made by a partner who had just washed their hands. She tells me, as I’m waiting at handoff to give it to her, “I have severe allergies to coconut, soy, and almond, so I need to be super careful about these things. I could die from exposure to any of them.”
……….why. Why would you come here and risk your life for (arguably lousy) iced tea. I know I probably should have said something, but I was just so dumbfounded. Also so tired of dealing with her, since she’d been yelling and harassing me about where her drink was and why it was taking so long. But like, is our iced tea really worth possibly dying? Really?
Edit:
Weird update to this: today one of our partners insisted that whoever made her drink (it was me, surprise) was trying to poison her, because they used almond milk (I didn’t) and she got sick after one sip. Then she says, “I’m severely allergic to all our non-dairies - almond, soy, and coconut.” So apparently the stupidity is not limited to customers.
……….why. Why would you come here and risk your life for (arguably lousy) iced tea. I know I probably should have said something, but I was just so dumbfounded. Also so tired of dealing with her, since she’d been yelling and harassing me about where her drink was and why it was taking so long. But like, is our iced tea really worth possibly dying? Really?
Edit:
Weird update to this: today one of our partners insisted that whoever made her drink (it was me, surprise) was trying to poison her, because they used almond milk (I didn’t) and she got sick after one sip. Then she says, “I’m severely allergic to all our non-dairies - almond, soy, and coconut.” So apparently the stupidity is not limited to customers.
accountedthrowaway5 98 points 1y ago
yeah sometimes customers tell us about their severe allergies and like sure, I understand, but if you have a nut allergy then ask if the pistachio latte has nuts in it, then *order it* anyway…?? why risk your life/allergies for a $5+ drink?
snugintthevoid 56 points 1y ago
"Yoooo, would your pistachio latte contain nut products if I added almond milk? Asking because **I WILL FUCKING DIE** if it does! Actually, I'm going to order it anyway. If I **FUCKING DIE** it will be your fault." 🤗
Cool-Condition-9736 93 points 1y ago
“I have a dairy allergy!!!!!!”. Someone who also orders VSCCF, fuck my life.
caitlin_marie_gg 31 points 1y ago
or when they order an iced white mocha with a dairy alternative and says no whip because i’m lactose intolerant
dicksoutforpoppunk 6 points 1y ago
I def do that tbh but some days the pain is worth the white mocha so 🤷♀️
burntshakes 1 points 1y ago
Sometimes it just depends on how lactose intolerant they are. I know when I was younger, white mocha sauce with non dairy milk and no whip was no problem for me. Getting 2% in that and I’d be down for the count. It’s kinda like a spectrum. You can be kinda lactose intolerant or hella lactose intolerant
snugintthevoid 30 points 1y ago
I have food allergies that are getting worse as time goes on, but I will never understand the behavior of customers like that. If there is a place that I am genuinely worried will expose me to my allergens, I will not go there. Simple as.
Also, some people who say stuff like that in restaurants and cafés are lying. There are a surprising amount of people who just enjoy making things difficult, or they think that by giving you a list of steps you must take, **to avoid killing them,** they are ensuring that their drink is perfect or more fresh.
Also, some people who say stuff like that in restaurants and cafés are lying. There are a surprising amount of people who just enjoy making things difficult, or they think that by giving you a list of steps you must take, **to avoid killing them,** they are ensuring that their drink is perfect or more fresh.
Assiqtaq 28 points 1y ago
Ideally you should be telling her you refuse to serve her since she has told you how deadly it is and you can't promise anything at all in the store to be completely free of allergens. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen, to be frank. You could refuse to serve her and make a supervisor deal with her instead. Tell them you don't make enough money to be held liable for her health.
sexuallybrokenloser 20 points 1y ago
Half of our customer base is certifiable I stg
chrichri33333 17 points 1y ago
I had a lady who would order an iced caramel macchiato with almond milk and extra extra caramel drizzle, and she would frequently complain that we must've made it with dairy milk instead because she was severely lactose intolerant and would have to run to the bathroom after drinking it. I explained to her that there was dairy in the caramel drizzle and she told me "that's ok, I can handle a little dairy in my drink"...
Necessary_Low939 2 points 1y ago
🥴
rnaggie53 15 points 1y ago
Yes if people have allergies that severe honestly I wouldn’t recommend going to Starbucks or any food establishment for that matter. Even if you modify your foods, cross contamination is very very likely. Think about if someone has a nut allergy & we just put an almond croissant not only in the oven but also used the same tongs. It’s really so irresponsible on their part. No food establishment will guarantee no cross contamination.
mini-maggit 11 points 1y ago
“I’m extremely allergic to lactose so make sure my white mocha is made with almond milk” Ma’am …
J-cat_loves_dogs14 9 points 1y ago
We had a couple come through drive ask if the banana nut bread has nuts it he’s “allergic” we say yes wants it anyway.
Gh0st_W6lker 7 points 1y ago
If there's one take away I got from this job it's that the general public is really fuckn stupid
Jena876543 6 points 1y ago
“I’m sorry but we can not provide any guarantee that it will be allergen free for you let me check with my supervisor one minute please” and it is no longer your problem
PiscesQueen24 5 points 1y ago
Worms for brains , reminds me when a lady bitched my ear off and claimed to have a deathly dairy allergy and that we used %2 milk instead of the almond she asked for (I made the drinks and I used almond) and demanded a remake but wouldn’t give us the other drinks back and my shift let her get away with it
iamnotabarbie 4 points 1y ago
Someone said they were severely allergic to all nuts and asked how safe it was I explained to them the usual thing we’re supposed to say and then they proceeded to order something with almond milk I told them that it has almonds which are nuts they them got upset and said it’s only peanuts….
Responsible_Snow7109 3 points 1y ago
The customer has all those demands and then gets angry/irritated wondering where their drink is. They asked for a partner to wash their hands first...then they want it poured directly in the cup...then they want ice from the back...😑. Just cuz u order at the register at the specific time that ur ordering, it doesnt mean ur drink should be the next drink out...especiaaaally if u have those demands on top of it
Pyrexiana 3 points 1y ago
These customers never make sense to me- like if you’re THAT allergic, maybe you know better than to order from Starbucks? Which leads to the follow-up question: assuming you do know better and realize a $7 coffee is not worth life and death, you expect me to believe you actually have life-threatening allergies and lived this long ordering from Starbucks every other day?
sero5074 2 points 1y ago
^^^ people be absolutely remarkably stupid.
nerdyoats 2 points 1y ago
I've had this before.
Honestly, in these cases i will usually say "we can't guarantee that anything will be truly nut free or soy free because we wash everything in the same sink and use the same tools for every drink." And if they continue to insist i recommend that they get a tall black tea two tea bags with a side of lemonade over ice in a venti with extra ice if they really want our black tea lemonade.
Most of the time though i just tell them that they may be better off just asking for some tea bags and making the rest at home with fresh lemonade. It'd taste better anyway.
Honestly, in these cases i will usually say "we can't guarantee that anything will be truly nut free or soy free because we wash everything in the same sink and use the same tools for every drink." And if they continue to insist i recommend that they get a tall black tea two tea bags with a side of lemonade over ice in a venti with extra ice if they really want our black tea lemonade.
Most of the time though i just tell them that they may be better off just asking for some tea bags and making the rest at home with fresh lemonade. It'd taste better anyway.
[deleted] 2 points 1y ago
The amount of customers who tells me they have allergies and then when I warn them we don’t give any allergy guarantees and they’ll be like “oh it’s fine.”
Literally had a diabetic customer ask me for sugar free Frappuccino’s and when I told her it wasn’t possible to remove the base because it wouldn’t blend right she said “oh I can have some sugar” “ma’am base is literally sugar water fuck do you mean “little” it’s a lot
Literally had a diabetic customer ask me for sugar free Frappuccino’s and when I told her it wasn’t possible to remove the base because it wouldn’t blend right she said “oh I can have some sugar” “ma’am base is literally sugar water fuck do you mean “little” it’s a lot
Necessary_Low939 1 points 1y ago
This bitch just wants a lawsuit
Honest-Bee-1508 1 points 1y ago
I totally get it as a barista with severe allergies (tree nuts, shellfish, I’m also lactose) there’s NO WAY I’m eating anything at work 🤣😳 I also bring an epi pen to work with me every single shift. One thing I learned a long time ago…common sense isn’t common anymore.
hungry_quadricorn 1 points 1y ago
I had a lady today order a pistachio latte and asked if she could get it made with coconut milk due to a dairy allergy. The partner taking her order wasn’t aware of the ingredients in pistachio and we let her know at the window. She got a CM without the drizzle after we told her the drizzle has dairy in it as well. Not sure why they didn’t recommend a vanilla latte instead 🤔
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
[deleted]
thatactorjoe 1 points 1y ago
Not exactly the same, but I always laughed at parents buying their kids the Refreshers b/c they thought it was just juice...like, your kid is going to be bouncing off the walls pretty soon here.
I used to tell people that the white mocha had dairy, or the refreshers had caffeine, but people would just get pissed off and order it anyway. Like, I'm just trying to help you not get sick or not deal with out of control kids, don't get pissed at me that you don't know this shit.
the best is when they were lactose intolerant, told me no whip and with soy on a white mocha, or something like that, and then when I tell them there is dairy in it anyway, they just go ahead and order it, acting all indignant...
I used to tell people that the white mocha had dairy, or the refreshers had caffeine, but people would just get pissed off and order it anyway. Like, I'm just trying to help you not get sick or not deal with out of control kids, don't get pissed at me that you don't know this shit.
the best is when they were lactose intolerant, told me no whip and with soy on a white mocha, or something like that, and then when I tell them there is dairy in it anyway, they just go ahead and order it, acting all indignant...
xCherryBombshell 1 points 1y ago
"We can't guarantee that our items do not come into contact with allergins" we literally have a sticker that says something to this affect in three different spots.
If they have severe allergies, they should look up recipes and definitely make them at home for their own safety.
If they have severe allergies, they should look up recipes and definitely make them at home for their own safety.
BabySlitherking 0 points 1y ago
It’s not just customers. I know a partner allergic to cinnamon who still loves the chai with extra cinnamon despite it giving them an allergic reaction. Not to mention plenty of lactose intolerant partners who will still get VSC cold foam and just deal with the consequences. Y’all wild 😂
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