I Hate Starbucks

1. Allison
   

   Member
   

   Internets:579

    

   there's a woman at my store who comes in once a week and tries to steal a latte. she has a few tactics.

   a) she'll hover near the handoff and say something like, "oh, did she mark my cup? i ordered a grande non-fat latte. she might have missed it."
   b) she'll walk up to the handoff and claim she was in the bathroom and someone stole her drink.
   c) she'll walk up to the handoff and claim her drink was wrong and she wants another one. she doesn't have the drink with her.

   ONE TIME, it was me and a seasoned partner on register on the floor, and i forced the woman to pay. i said something like, "okay, well, i'll start your drink for you, and Amanda over there will ring you up. can we get anything else for you today?" and i basically held the drink hostage.

   but the last time, she showed up during a rush. i was floating, but i couldn't run over and be like, "wench, you need to PAY for your latte!" i 100% did not take her order, nor did i mark a cup for her.
   the worst was when it was a BRAND NEW partner on till, and they were too intimidated to ask her to pay.

   my question is: am i allowed to confront the customer and make her pay the next time she tries this? i don't want to get written up, but there's clearly a pattern. i'm not concerned about the $4.30; i just hate that she is playing all of us like idiots. i identified her to at least two of our four shifts, but i'm wondering if this woman has come in during other parts of the day.

   p.s: i obviously decaffinated that one latte i made her.

   Posted 11 months ago #

2. Dry Sharpie
   

   Moderator
   

   Internets:82

    

   Allison, that would have been clearly unacceptable at my store. I once confronted a guy who grabbed dozens of each Starbucks card and said "EXCUSE ME SIR, ARE YOU STEALING OUR CARDS?" in a booming voice. The entire store was staring at him, and my shift supervisor had to shoulder me aside to apologize to him.

   Stealing drinks is considered theft. You can justifiably demand that she show a printed receipt for her purchase, based on your store's past experiences with her. If she attempts this tomfoolery again, kick her out of the store and threaten to call the police.

   Your local police precinct is the 6 PCT, and their phone number is (212) 741-4811. You can report that there's a disorderly female who is habitually stealing drinks and is currently in your store harassing your employees. The response time would be about 4 minutes.

   Posted 11 months ago #
   Register

3. Allison
   

   Member
   

   Internets:579

    

   Why did your shift supervisor make you apologize to him? It sounds as if the guy was actually caught in the middle of taking the cards.

   I figured as such. My previous job before this was at Target, and they had specific guidelines about confronting shoplifters, so I kept hesitating on demanding a receipt from her. I won't hesitate any more.

   Posted 11 months ago #
   Admin

4. Dry Sharpie
   

   Moderator
   

   Internets:82

    

   The shift supervisor apologized to him. Starbucks cards have no monetary value on them (worthless) until they have been activated with cash. However, this man was taking all of the cards off our impulse stand.

   If you're not a shift supervisor, you can basically say and do whatever you want to unruly customers. "Just Say Yes" only applies to the supervisors and managers. It's not your job to give into the customers' demands, it's your job to enforce the rules. And it's the managers' responsibility to do damage control and keep you in check.

   Posted 11 months ago #

5. Anonymous
   

   Unregistered
   

   Internets:457

    

   The best way to deter theft is to focus on whats being stolen rather than accusing the person and discreetly call the police if they still leave with the stolen item. The woman sounds like thats what she'd do. You were right in making her pay the way you did, keep doing than and keep all eyes on her when she enters the store. If she leaves without paying call the number dry sharpie provided.

   We had an older gentleman who would steal a biscotti every day and get away with it cause no one ever actually saw him remove the biscotti from the impulse stand. If someone was watching he'd pay for it and say "im treating myself today". One particularly slow day he came in an we dispersed everyone on the floor to vantage points, one to watch the cameras in the back, one directly in front and behind pos, and one at bar who made his drink. Needless to say he buys a biscotti every day now.

   Posted 11 months ago #

6. Hot ice cream
   

   Member
   

   Internets:189

    

   You might want to inform your manager before you take any hasty actions. Though morally Dry Sharpie is right the last thing you want to do is risk losing your job over a confrontation with a " customer". Bring it to your managers attention and see how they want you to handle that situation. You don't know what kind a reaction this lady will make if you accuse her of stealing. I dont think you want hot coffee thrown in your face or something worse. Leave it to the management. That's what they get paid to do. Just continue to make her drink the worst drink you can make.

   Posted 11 months ago #
   Secret

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