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Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind

Full History - 2022 - 06 - 10 - ID#v9j6e7
36
A Trenta Rant (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by Psychoegorl
Had a customer come in today for a mobile order through the drive-thru, and thankfully it was right after a rush so we were fairly dead. However she placed her mobile order not even a full minute before she pulled up to the box. Our dto was admittedly being a bit sarcastic and told her “Usually mobile orders take 10 minutes to process and make. Also I see you placed this order 30 seconds ago, but we will try to have your order ready for you at the window.” the woman didn’t say anything, just drove off. I am on hotbar at the time and I didn’t have any other drinks so I finished making her mobile order and it was done before she even got to the window. Apparently she drove right past the window without saying anything to our DTR and proceeds to come into cafe and stand right at handoff. I asked if she had a mobile order (I didn’t see it was her from the drive-thru but I had a suspicion) and she starts mumbling about how it shouldn’t take 10 minutes to get her drink and she would have been happy to wait in line. As politely as I could I said, “Ma’am you could have pulled up to the window and asked if you needed to pull around. I had your drink done before you even got to the window.” and in turn she asked, “Then why did they tell me it would be a 10 minute wait?”, which in my mind was pretty reasonable to ask. So I told her, “Because if someone mobile orders during a rush and places it in the drive-thru we can’t guarantee your drink will be waiting for you depending on how complicated the drink is. That’s why we ask people to wait at least 5 to 10 minutes before trying to come pick up their mobile order because it does reflect badly on us if you have to wait on a mobile. It’s actually lucky you only had one drink so we could get it to you quickly because normally this isn’t the case.”. She just took her drink, took a sip, and walked out without saying a word to me. As soon as she walks out, she walks back in to ask me to fill her latte up with more milk. She said, “I paid $7 for this drink I want it filled all the way up”, but I did fill it all the way up (1/4 inch from the top and topped with whip cream) so I know the missing portion she’s referring to is the sip she took from it earlier. I just didn’t want to cause anymore issues so I steamed more milk, made sure there wasn’t any foam because her drink asked for no foam, and put it in a short cup with a lid. She got upset with me for putting the steamed milk in a short cup saying that it doesn’t taste strong enough when she adds the milk to it…. I just couldn’t with her anymore. I told her I’m sorry for the inconvenience, I can remake it if you’d like” she just stirred it and walked away. Am I wrong for how I handled this?

Also turns out this customer was banned over a year ago for continually having issues with her drink saying no one could make her drink right every time she came in (even if it was our sm) but I guess she’s allowed back now?
SportsChick79 23 points 1y ago
Every single day, during peak come the customers with 3-4 drinks who place their order 45 seconds before they get to the window. EVERY SINGLE DAY.


I blame the lack of consistency in how places handle online ordering. I order at McDonand's - they don't start it until I get there (which during lunch makes ZERO sense. I online order to NOT have to stand in line). I order at Tijuana Flats, it's like Starbucks, it gets started when you order with an approximate time to pick up. There needs to be one way or the other for everyone.
Psychoegorl [OP] 10 points 1y ago
Yes exactly! Everywhere is so different with their mobiles. I just don’t get why a customer that use to be a regular is still confused about it though
Responsible_Snow7109 6 points 1y ago
Lol she didnt want or agree to a remake cuz then she wont be able to get her extra sips worth of milk if u remade it for her in the same exact way lmao she likes it better wen she takes a sip from it and asks for more milk cuz then shes getting extra milkyy for her wittle latte lol people amaze me.
Psychoegorl [OP] 7 points 1y ago
It was just weird that she asked for more steamed milk then was upset the espresso taste wasn’t as strong. Like first of all ma’am you got a white mocha 😂
Responsible_Snow7109 3 points 1y ago
Lol yea she seems like the lady who left a review for my store lol this lady i guess had gotten a few shots of espresso over ice and she had left the reviews saying that there wasn't a lot of espresso in the cup and that she wanted more espresso. Well then order it! Like it doesn't make sense to me how these people got to where they're at right now in society
Psychoegorl [OP] 2 points 1y ago
It actually amazes me how their brains work. If only they could just hear it through our perspective 😂
Responsible_Snow7109 2 points 1y ago
Lol what possesses someone to leave a review like that? Lol she obviously had to be thinkin about it for some time before posting it lol i dont understand and almost dont wana understand
trbpanda 3 points 1y ago
part of me wants to just refill the drink to get the customer to stfu and leave but ive also had a nasty ass old lady order strawberry acai, drink half of it in front of me at the handoff bar, leave, and come back 30 minutes later asking me to fill it back up to the top because she apparently spilled it in her car. so now, being fed up, (as well as being given permission to say these things from my sm and shifts) straight up tell these people no i watched you drink it in front of me i am not filling it up. they can pay for another drink or they can leave lol
aspiringgrandpa 3 points 1y ago
we literally have this woman who is NOTORIOUS at our store because she will order 5-6 drinks, take them, drink them ALL, come back 20 minutes later, then complain she/“her sons” didn’t like them. she will hand back an empty drink expecting us to make her a new one. our manager says to get him every time she comes in so he can rip her a new one 💕
Psychoegorl [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Oh absolutely I would not refill that. Plus we aren’t allowed to do refills on anything but brewed teas and brewed coffee. Especially if you came back 30 minutes later? Nope 🥰
MasterMischievous 1 points 1y ago
Just saying: in almost everything you said I agree. BUT I may not necessarily tell people to wait 10 minutes before coming to pick the order up. I realize there isn’t a perfect answer to this really, but I judge it as; is there a reasonable amount of time to make this order in time. Ie putting in an order immediately before coming through the drive through isn’t enough time to make anything that isn’t super basic. However say someone put in an order for 1 drink, waits ten minutes before heading out then spends another 5-10 minutes in line. Now their drink is cold and you just mad either an unhappy customer, or someone who will pitch a fit and you make the drink all over again.
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
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