Yeah, I'm gonna give some examples. I will tell you this, you find plenty of rude/difficult customers in any retail/food service job, and plenty of demanding management and bad coworkers/managers.
But I have never seen worse customers and in larger numbers than at SBux and I have worked a lot of retail/food service.
Some reasons why.
Selective hearing.
At Wendys where I worked a DRIVE-THRU which is hard to hear to begin with, I only had to ask once what size they wanted.
At a Starbucks cafe store, I have to ask about 50 thousand times.
I will just copy and paste because this will be a lot of typing, example:
Me: "Hi how are you?!"
Customer: "Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte!"
Me: "What size?
This is where it gets extremely repetitive, I have literally had to ask people five times before I got the size, even raising my voice and trying to speak clearer each time.
Customer: "Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte!"
Me: "What size?
Customer: "Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte!"
Me: "What size?
Customer: "Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte!"
Me: "What size?
Customer: "Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte!"
Me: "What size?
Customer: "Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte!"
Me: "What size?
Customer: "Oh! Grande..."
Me: Have a great day!
Customer: "..."
Their own little world.
Many customers are in their own little world. They are also rude, demanding and self entitled. Another example:
Customer walks over and grabs someone elses drink from the handoff plane, that does not look anything like their drink, and was called as something entirely different, their were several people in front of them in line, and by all rights it would not make sense to be theirs even if it had been called out as what they ordered, which would mean someone else in line probably had the same thing and this person didn't even consider that because they care solely about themselves.
Half the store calls after this wayward customer who is living in lala land somewhere between the pink unicorns and the magically wing-footed purple elephants. They get in their car and drive off without realizing that about 7-8 people were calling after them, some even running after them.
Ten minutes later, they show up, scream that we are incompetent and got their drink wrong and DEMAND a recovery coupon.
In the meantime, five minutes ago, the customer who's drink was taken just left with a recovery coupon that THEY demanded because they had to wait an extra five minutes for their drink.
Meanwhile, several people watch us on bar like hawks just in case the drink is slightly messed up and get **** if we put foam on someone elses drink who was their first and scream that they wanted no foam.
As all this is going on the line is backed up because someone at the register is arguing that by calling a venti bone dry cap a double espresso macchiato in a venti cup with foam all the way to the top they should only have to be charged a couple dollars for it instead of over four.
People are holding up the line because their are a few air bubbles on their drinks and somehow this constitutes as foam. Two more forget that they said no foam at the counter and straight up ask for their drinks to be remade "because they forget". A third person does that immediately after them. Then two people in a row forget they wanted decaf until after their drink is made and go "decaf right?" I go "NO." They go, "oh... it has to be decaf", they don't say they asked for it... I know they didn't, because the people who go to my store always so so if they asked for something and didn't get it... well scream is more like it, say isn't really the norm their. The normal volume is somewhere between venomous and total ****. Also because they didn't say decaf at the register, it wasn't called, it wasn't written on the cup, and you can see the shame on their face... do they even apologize? NO! They act like it was your fault and go "it has to be decaf". And pretend to be angry so they aren't embarrassed.
In the meantime, our pastries are apparently stale, our coffee isn't fresh because it is a whole 21 minutes old and they will pay but they want to hold up the line while we brew a fresh pot and probably make brewed coffee customers behind them wait. Meanwhile at the bar their "drinks just... don't taste right somehow" and "they know because they get it everyday".
They want a cold white mocha and somehow we were supposed to realize that that means blended and not iced, a tall iced coffee becomes a grande and instead of owning up to their mistake they insist they said grande even though they actually repeated tall 3 times, heard it called twice and somehow didn't realize that they actually wanted grande until it hit the handoff plane.
Customers who I know full well only drink soy ask if it can be made soy halfway through making their drink because they are cheap and don't want to pay for it. Meanwhile I am being yelled at because Barnes and Nobles made a drink wrong and we are somehow responsible. And their is a half a splenda in the next complaining customers latte their was only supposed to be a quarter.
Oh, did I mention that the mistake is too loud, not loud enough, several customers who act rude, and talk behind other customers backs have had a meltdown and thrown paper towels all over the bathroom for the third time that week, a homeless lady is scaring the nicer customers because she hasn't had her meds, and left her cane, her tea, her bag and a bunch of honey all over the table along with a newspaper that she probably can't even read while she went outside to scream at the people coming inside instead of the people already inside, and the police don't do a thing about her because she is harmless... just crazy and really annoying. Oh, did I mention that ghetto hot chocolate is here asking for free hot waters and a decaf? That means she is going to spill chocolate powder and sugar and god knows what else all over the condiment bar about 3 times in the next 2 hours, maybe more just to spite us, and she is here almost every night.
Oh, and I just had three customers arguing with me that they could pair the latte pairing with any pastry for the promotional price, and another customer trying twice to tell me that she shouldn't have to pay for the syrup in her latte... why? Just "because".
Oh and that hot chocolate? It was supposed to be a signature hot chocolate "cue yelling" "You should have known!" Why? Because we have never seen you before in our lives? Sorry... I may be very good at acting and pretending not to hate you, which is quite a feat but for gods sake I am not telepathic, get off my ****.
Oh, and I know you see the iced coffee with milk promotion... but for gods sake don't just assume I am going to put milk in. Many people like their coffee black... and I am not going to waste coffee, if you don't ask for milk, I am not going to give it to you. Don't act like I am stupid or I am being rude/thick or it is at all MY fault that their isn't milk in your coffee. Instead of being a ****, just say "i forgot to ask for milk" I will probably be extra polite because you decided to treat me like I am an actual human being instead of a badly behaved dog and very nicely and genuinely ask you if you have a milk preference and put in w/e ing milk you want.
Oh, and that's another thing, I am human and I do make mistakes, maybe you think I am a robot behind the counter. Or maybe I act well enough and play the stupid role well enough (which is my job) that sometimes you forget I am not a machine with nice emotions that make you feel good. Being a human means I might not always ever second be able to mask the fact that I feel a little stressed/hassled/weary/angry or whatever. I don't act like a jerk to people, I smile and wish them a good day anyway. But don't act like I should some kind of barista God that is never in a bad or not so great mood. I will not be rude to you because I am in a bad mood, but I might not always be perky. Get.The..Over.It.
On the subject of mistakes, as a human I certainly make them, it's part of being human. When I forget something and it actually is my fault, do NOT act like I am a badly behaved dog... I try not be evil but hell... if you treat me like a canine who needs to be hit on the nose with a rolled up newspaper you will get either decaf or extra shots... depending on whether I want to get you jittery or give you a headache. If you want non, I will do my damndest to give you heavy cream. OFF.
Seriously, even when I tell I customer they are wrong which I try not to do because it really is something as a CS rep that you are supposed to avoid (not that Sbux has a customer is always right policy) it is just that arguing with a customer drives them away and even if you want that person gone, it jars the experience for OTHER customers who might even actually be polite human beings and may even feel they are right, but if the environment is hostile, it might bother them. I am always polite though, when I argue with a customer and try to use "I" messages but how I do I don't even know. They are completely insufferable, most of the time.
Oh but I haven't gotten to the people who demand that you get your pen out "because this is going to be a long one", ****, shut the up. You may think you have your order down but don't think you are ing clever because you can fill all the boxes and have 6-10 modifiers. I will not be condescending to you... so don't be condescending to me and act like I am not smart enough to call back your amazing drink and write it without a pen in my hand and you talking real slow.
If you say medium, I will give you a grande... I don't give a **** what the you call it, so don't ing insult me.
Here is an example, a guy came in and he told me that all my computer system needed to know was that it was a grande hazelnut latte and that he would "tell the guy over there" I was annoyed. I acted very nice, but simply said "try me" and called back his whole drink with no effort at all. Turns out my system DID need more, which is usually the case, they were nc, but we need that for labor and inventory ****. Anyway, he hasn't tried to pull that crap since, and always seems surprised that I still remember his drink. Hey, this is my job, I do it well... and I will not be arrogant, but please, don't condescend me. Grande 5 pump hazelnut, nonfat, no foam, with whip extra hot latte is not even slightly hard to remember.
Neither is venti caramel sub vanilla, nonfat, no foam, 2 sweet n low extra hot with whip caramel macchiato.
Anyway, sorry but I just had to vent. I will be honest, all retail/food service blows. But I have found a higher concentration and of a higher caliber of sucky customers at the bux than anywhere else, maybe it's something in wate- I mean coffee.
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