I went to three of my neighborhood Starbucks and asked my favorite baristas, ‘What are the things they want customers to do when they visit Starbucks?’ I heard the same themes over and over again. So here it is. Follow these ten rules to be a great Starbucks customer.
Your barista is the professional barista. The customer is not a professional customer: 99% of all customers visit Starbucks opening their wallet hoping for a great drink and experience. Hope you can adopt a few of these to make your Starbucks visit better for both you and your barista:
- Start your order with the size of the drink and whether you want it hot or iced, every single time.
- Stop your phone conversation when you get up to the register.
- Don’t scan your phone on the app until the barista says the app is ready to go.
- Ask for iced water at the register, with your order.
- Ask for all modifications at the register.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
- Control your children.
- Clean out your reusable cup before handing it to your barista.
- Be respectful and be nice.
- After ordering at the register, move towards the bar area, and be patient. It will take a few minutes to make your drink.
A few years ago, I wrote an article on where to stand at Starbucks. My two cents is that make sure you’re lining up along the pastry case. The vast majority of Starbucks are designed to have the line form along the pastry case.
What would you add to this list? 😉
I know I’m publishing this on April Fool’s Day but that’s just a coincidence – I still think you should follow the above ten rules for a great experience when visiting Starbucks!
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LOL, the perfect guest! xD
In spite of agreeing w/ all of these gestures of how not to be a ‘bad customer’, personally (just my opinion & not trying to go against any body-I swear!), I feel as if guests will often behave the way that they’re meant to be, whether that is who they are OR that’s whom they’ve been molded to BE by their own customer svc exp’s in an SBUX &/or any shopping/dept. store exp, collectively-some are very sweet, some lost in their cell phone conv & not paying attn, some are just constantly on the go & in a hurry, some expecting mistakes on their order every single time (b/c that’s what happens every where they go) &, therefore, appearing angry most of the time-we get alll walks of life, I think. Generally, the cell phone person, the in-a-rush-person, the angry person, they’re characters are all likely to result in not acknowledging nor praising the barista’s efforts in working extremely hard to be efficient & swift, while smiling, all in order to provide each guest a spectacular exp. THAT kind of treatment from guests to SBUX partners can feel insulting @ times!
I had an epiphany a great while ago on guests who don’t appear to be listening to their barista-you know, the kind where the barista goes,
Barista: “Hi! Good morning! How are you today?”
Guest: “Latte. That’s it.”
Barista: “Oh, alright~ & what size latte would you like?”
Guest: “No, just the coffee & that’s it – oh, I want grande.”
Barista: “Thank you. May I have your name for the cup?”
Guest: “No, nothing to eat. How much is it?”
This guest appears as rude. My epiphany was that I started to believe, “Waait a sec… what if this guest wasn’t trying to be rude? What if this was how rudely this guest was being treated @ their local coffee place(s)?”
No friendly greeting, while this guest walks up to the register:
Barista: “What can I get ya?”
Guest: “Latte.”
Barista: “$3.50.”
Guest: (pays & walks away-no chit-chat or a ‘thank you’ provided)
I’m not saying that’s the case for all guests, of course-some can be just down-right mean lol! Since then, I’ve made it my personal mission to, not only provide them the best cust svc exp I possibly can give them but, also, providing the most significant experience in favor of each of them, whether he/she was in a rush & expected to zip in/zip out, was on the phone & didn’t want the barista asking many questions, or didn’t know what to get & wished for suggestions. In any case, I want to provide them the exp’s that guests deserve & it’s really rewarding for me when they show some kinda acknowledgement, silly-subtle things like the cell phone guy smirks & signals a thumbs-up while still on the phone between ear & shoulder or latte-that’s-it-guy, whom @ the end of transaction, takes time to say ‘thanx’, while looking @ your name tag & actually calls you by your name when they normally don’t do that. When guests contribute an extra gesture out of their normal character like that, it hints to me as their own way of saying, “Thanx for the exp I was hoping for but didn’t expect to get, & I got it!”
Thank you for allowing me to ramble about my passion & why I love this company so much!
Melody I think you covered some great points. On the other side of the coin I would like to add- I get frustrated when partners are behind the counter so busy chatting with each other that one you have to wait for them and two sometimes they forget to put in your food order or line up your drink. I also do not like being behind a customer that refuses to get off their phone when it is their turn at the register.
If you’re going to order from the secret menu, know the recipe. Don’t arrive and say, “I’ll have a butterfingers frappuccino” or something, because the barista won’t know how to make it. Partners will be happy to make any combination of coffee/syrups/etc but when it’s not a standard drink you need to be specific.
i agree with most of the above, but when it comes right down to it it’s not there job. My job is to interpret what they want and get it to them in a polite and quick way.
The only thing I would add is trust that if you ordered it I will do it. I don’t love when someone orders a drink Non fat and extra hot and then comes down to the bar and says “is it non fat…and you won’t forget to make it extra hot?” I want to respond with “I’ve been doing this for a long time and I will do everything to standard including what you asked for so please wait patiently” I actually say “yes. No problem.” I know that somewhere down the line someone must have messed up their order either in the marking or the making and they just want to confirm but it’s the worst.
Their* oops
After ordering, don’t stand at the bar when others have ordered ahead of you and are still awaiting their drink. Allow others to get their drink without climbing over you.
“Don’t scan your phone on the app until the barista says the app is ready to go.”
Necessary, but better if Starbucks would just fix this! “That will be $3.22… -mbeep!- … oops, hold on… OK now… -mbeep!-“.
In frustration, the baristas have angled 90% of the bar code readers down so that it is difficult to get your phone under it, giving them time to push the extra unnecessary button I guess.
Hey Starbucks. If the barista knows it’s $3.22 and the vintage cash register display says $3.22 and the red light is coming out of the barcode scanner and it can read my barcode and say -mbeep!- why not just have the app ready to take my money?
I know you said this but really, GET OF YOUR PHONE. It’s rude. Take it away from your ear, focus on what I’m saying to you, get off your phone. Honestly it’s been a long time since I was a barista but when I see this it makes me want to slap people. I often come in needing coffee and sounding a bit delirious (like this morning for example – I’m on my way there now) and sometimes I’m not the best conversationalist but I always smile and apologize if I’m a bit out of it. It’s just not that hard to be a nice human.
And to Riki, you definitely have a great attitude but don’t forget, rude people shouldn’t be rewarded for bad behavior.
I think this is the first accurate one I’ve seen!
I respect your opinions as ever Melody however I would like to say that I am in a Starbucks at least once a day everyday and I do not feel that I receive professional service all the time from the baristas.
I recently had a problem with a barista who over charged me and refused to refund me the money. I reported the barista to the District Manager who was polite, courteous and offered me some free drinks coupons. Since the incident I have been back to the same store and the barista has been unpleasant and unwilling to serve me (she walks away when I come in, even if there is no one else at the register). The result is that I now avoid the store. Is that fair? No. I could report the person again but they could lose their job and I don’t want to do that.
Baristas are human and that means holding grudges unfortunately.
I’ll add two I’ve experienced in the past two days that would help out soooooooo much.
11. If you’re sending someone to get a medium-to-large size order for the whole office, please send someone or multiple someones who have been to Starbucks before and can easily answer questions like “do they want it sweet or unsweet, cream in the Americano?, etc”. Trying to order 5 teas for your office and not knowing who wants what sweetened is not fun. Also, someone who can’t pronounce Macchiato probably won’t know what it is either and will probably get your order wrong. Send Starbucks-intelligent people.
12. If making a giant trip for the office, please do everyone a favor and agree on one size for everyone. Trying to balance three trenta teas, two tall mochas, and 4 grande Frappuccinos is not easy for the poor sap who now has to risk his apolstery to carry out several trenta passion teas. Plus, it’s super easy to walk up to the register and say “These are all grandes” so the register barista doesn’t have to ask size every time.
Claire surely if there are orders being given to partners that person hopefully would know if the person wants it sweet or not, etc. but to ask someone to have the same size drinks for everyone in the office is not fair. Also, making sure someone is familiar with the SB ordering and particular drinks would be nice but also I would not think a requirement. I would hope the partners behind the counter would help the customer with any questions or concerns.
What a can of worms!!! All good points, however o would add that we’re all human, baristas and customers alaike, and as long as we remain patient and courteous, the experience will be great for all involved. I’m reminding myself daily that as long as my customers receive the best experience that I can provide with their correct drink, That’s all that matters 🙂
Melody, valid points in this blog post. However, I will take issue with one point, that is “The customer is not a professional customer:… .” Yes, far too many customers at Starbucks and other businesses are not professional, i.e. discourteous, entitled, inconsiderate, ad infinitum.
I consider myself a professional customer and I get good service except when I run into an unprofessional employee of a business. Unfortunately I am seeing a trend in today’s service businesses where there is not enough training in people skills.
I recommend a little self examination here. If you see all customers as a problem or you see all employees as a problem, then the problem might just be you.
On both sides of the counter are the incorrigible types. Unfortunately I no longer feel that these types have any hope of changing. So, you just be the nicest you you can be and for those folks that just must be a dark cloud in everyone’s day, bless their heart (old school Southern folks will understand).
ha! I know this gets very old by now but I have to say: totally agree with DadC…and, having had parents who were originally from the south…… also the “bless your heart” phrase. I say it myself all the time and I’m born and raised in the city of Chicago.
@becca: I bet you are an AMAZING & legendary partner-no doubt!
@sera: I hear ya & thank you for the kind words. You know what’s funny some times? Ok, for instance, I’m helping a guest who ends up taking a long time (chg’g order, adding items, etc.) Meanwhile, the guy behind, I can tell, is gradually getting irritated by his glaring @ the back of the guest’s head I’m helping. Guy behind is inching & nudging closer, as he knows he’s next. Then, my guest chg’s something & guy behind’s eyes roll up & in to the back of his neck. (Wow, sorry, here I go ramblin’)
Ok, so basically, now it’s this guy’s turn & he is flustered-he just wants to get the buck fout of here!
Me: Hey, mornin’! Thanx for your patience-appreciate it! What are you having there?
(I can already tell that he just wants to get served & get out ASAP by his solid, determined, non-blinking eyes & his rapid side-to-side mini-pacing – so that’s what he’s gonna get!)
Guy: Large coffee & nothing else!
Me: (I go for the venti cup & sleeve it, immediately) You got it! Dark, a mild, a medium roast? [[Dark]] Alrighty! (abt 1/2″ from the rim of cup, while pouring) & no room up top? [[No thank you]] Here you go, sir!
(He had exact chg on the counter for his coffee so I skipped asking him of something to eat)
(I slide the money into my cash drawer & close it immediately while looking up @ him)
Me: Receipt for you? Thank you very much!
Some times I do this so fast that the guest has a puzzled look for a quick second before leaving the register, as if he was waiting to finally unload his frustrations but, was abruptly cutoff by smiley, speedy svc that saturated his anger throughout the process. This is, personally, very satisfying & fulfilling for me too. (I know, I must be sick xD) I over-killed ’em w/ kindness, I suppose? bahahahaha
ok, i better go 0_0
I’m thinking that maybe #9 should be #1…
@DadCooks: I think I like this version better: “I hope your day is as pleasant as you are!” 🙂
Oh the list wasn’t in any particular order! Should’ve clarified that!
Becca – I’m guilty of sometimes asking “is it non-fat” at the pick up counter. However in my defense, I only ask when the barista doesn’t specify.
So the question I have is, are barista’s suppose to call out the full drink w/modifers everytime? For example if I order a venti non-fat latte, and the barista only calls out “venti latte”, I will ask “is it non-fat”.
I notice this seems to happen more often when the store is not super packed. I suppose they figure there is only one venti latte of any kind, so they don’t need to call out the modifiers?
@purple1 I agree that my stance on all size drinks being the same might be too harsh. But I always feel bad when someone comes in with a list of 10 or 12 drinks and they’ve got to manage it by themselves. I’ll always volunteer to help carry stuff out but no one’s car is built to securely hold Trenta teas in a drink carrier. If things are all one size, it’s easier to physically manage.
And you’d be surprised how many customers come in with a list of drinks a mile long. Often times, these are handwritten lists that are hastily written and can be hard to decipher and contain words crossed out. Often, they miss key points: “Susie- raspberry passionfruit tea.” No size, no indication of whether the customer wants classic sweetner AND raspberry or just raspberry. The person ordering the drink now has to guess what their friend wants. I said that about sending someone who has been to Starbucks before just so someone familiar with how we work can ask the right questions. I had a lady come in yesterday who treated her entire office to Starbucks but she didn’t know what a Frappuccino was. In that instant, it’s better to be able to converse with someone if we can both speak the same language. Does that make more sense?
This is on point. Also, we ask for names not only to help identify your drink but to get to know you, too!!
Thanks for posting this, Melody!
GREAT points Melody!!! I agree with the statement of allowing the barista to ask your name; it’s their way f getting to know you by name rather than my drink!!!
I think what I said might not have been clear I didn’t mean not to ask me questions 🙂 I promise I’m not a dragon.
There’s a certain way that people remind you about their drink while I’m still making it. It’s like they are saying I’m not capable of reading the cup or they don’t trust I will follow the instructions. I know that it’s probably that they have been let down in the past. I try to make beautiful how you like it drinks all the time.
After doing this, I think that I could write the flip side of the coin too. “10 ways your barista could make the Starbucks experience better” or I could do – just for fun – “10 burning questions about Starbucks answered by StarbucksMelody.”
🙂
It honestly never occurred to me that is my job to be a better customer. I’m a nice human. Generally speaking. I don’t think I’ve ever been on my phone when at Starbucks, but if I’m busy, and I stop in to spend $5-$10 at your business, why would anyone be upset about that? Most salespeople are on their phones working constantly. It’s our lifeline. “Commission Only” is real. No commission = no Starbucks. Truly, to be told where to line up? It’s just so bizzarro. Everyone needs to be courteous and respectful, but I’ll stand where I please. Which won’t be in anyone’s way, but it may not be per your schematic. Why would anyone even think of such a thing?
@Jennie –
Trust me, it’s not lost on me that customers keep Starbucks successful and at the end of the day, if a tiny thing like, “Can I get an ice water?” at the register is enough to throw someone into rage, then that person should re-consider the old expression, “Don’t sweat the small stuff…” as well as remember that the person asking for whatever thing has no knowledge of what the 400 people before him said to the barista.
One idea -which I may very well do – is 10 ways your barista could be better. I can easily think of ten. There should be close to zero arguments at the registers. It’s not a power trip, and if one inch of whipped cream becomes enough for a power trip for anyone, again … something’s amiss.
As to standing in the right place, that really does make sense. It truly does help the line run smoother if it forms in the direction intended by store design. If you tried to stand wherever in a Subway or Chipotle to order your lunch, you’d have problems. You really do have to follow their natural flow too.
It’s only a shame that Starbucks store design often makes it ambiguous where to stand – though some stores are more clear than others.
I’m game to hear suggestions on 10 ways baristas can improve the customer experience! Lay it on me.
Know the refill policy, the photo policy, and just say yes would all go a very long way. Your customers will keep coming back when they’re treated well, and fighting over what’s extra caramel sauce or a cup of Pike Place Roast is never in keeping with creating inspired moments.
This is a great post for opening a dialogue, Melody. I used to pick up Sbux for about half a dozen people from my office. I’m a savvy Sbux person, so I made sure to have all the orders clearly specified, but they were on my phone. I had my phone out one day, and I was pulling up the order list, when the barista made a snide comment to the person behind me about people texting on phones. I was actually pretty pissed because I’m a regular customer of that store, so I said, coldly, “I’m not texting, this is my list of beverages,” and then I rattled them off as quickly as I could read them. She was none too pleased, and neither was I. That barista also consistently messed up my drink or food order to the point I’d have to make sure my order was right every time. So, I do believe that there are SOME baristas who are NOT professional. That doesn’t mean I believe that about ALL baristas. I also believe that there are SOME professional customers. I guess my point is that the onus should not be on the customer, who’s spending money, to make it a great experience.
depending on where you form the line, in my local cafe, you either have a useful logical line, or no one can get in or out the door.
it’s that narrow 😛
Alot of you comment on her.. but actually get behind the counter. Get behind the bar. Listen to how we are talked to and treated.. like we dont know what we are doing and we are stupid.. that we make things wrong.. no we make exactally what you said! People treat us like we have no educations.. umm we all have degrees.. people treat us like we make no money.. umm we all get free stocks.. tons of benefits .. blue cross insurrance.. we make 30k to 100k per year.. so understand its not us… nor is it you.. but understand we are very qualified people.. and some time being treated like we are less then gets to people some day.. we dont just pour coffe.. and we dont have machines like gasstations that make drinks or mcdonalds. We actually take the time and craft your drink from scratch.. and we make it how you asked for it.. so when we hand it to you and its not what you were thinking dont get mad at us.. order right.. or ask questions.. so we can make what you are thinking.. thats all
I agree with much of what has been written already. I would add one thing. I love Starbucks but I don’t drink coffee. I order tea, hot chocolate, or a vanilla steamer. I can’t tell you how many times 1) the barista acts like he/she has never heard of a vanilla steamer and 2) when I order a salted caramel or peppermint hot chocolate at those special times of the year, at least TEN times I have gotten a mocha instead. Truly, I don’t like coffee. And after being in a hurry, driving off before tasting, and discovering it’s a mocha and I’ve wasted $4.00, I usually check when I am handed my drink. I’m not doubting your intelligence; I’m making sure I got the right drink.
So the one thing I would ask of the baristas is to LISTEN TO THE CUSTOMER. Because you hear “salted caramel” doesn’t mean it’s followed by mocha. Please. It has gotten so frustrating that I have written to Starbucks. While they always refund my money, I’d rather have the drink so I can get on with my day. 🙂 I actually am one of the pleasant customers who just wants the right drink!
My three biggest complaints about baristas: 1) when they’re ignoring their customers 2) when they’re impatient when I inquire about ingredients (I have food sensitivities) 3) when they argue with me after I taste my drink/food and politely let them know something isn’t right.
On the other hand, these things can apply to annoying customers too: 1) when they’re ignoring the dialogue with the barista 2) when they’re impatient because it’s busy or there is a new barista who is learning or other customers are being stupid 3) when they argue with a barista over how something is made, thinking it tastes wrong because the barista is incompetent rather than that a mistake (or bad product) caused the issue.
Also a story related to the person who mentioned that baristas have degrees, but are treated like idiots. I was working in a Starbucks one day when a regular customer complained her drink tasted bad sometimes, and obviously it was the barista’s fault. She was telling me this while I was making the drink. The issue was that she ordered it at 200 degrees. She doesn’t always order it extra hot, but sometimes she does. While I was making the drink, I tried to start a conversation with her to figure out if it was when she ordered it extra hot. She gave me a what-the-hell-do-you-know kind of a response. So, I started explaining the science behind extra hot drinks tasting different because when the milk is heated to above the scald temperature, the proteins denature, enzymes are destroyed, and the flavor changes. I also mentioned that I hold an MS in Chemistry. The customer was shocked to hear that I had an advanced degree and was “just a barista.” She didn’t say much else, but she stopped arguing me over her drinks.
@Chris: re: “get behind the counter”? I find a lot of exactly what might cause an unpleasant Sbux experience (on both sides of the bar) in what you’re saying and even more importantly, what comes across as ‘tone’. to me.
I won’t even begin to go into detail about your every issue but what I will say is: I’ve never been in any job in my 60+yrs that all of what you ‘complained’ ? about didn’t happen. In every weird job I had, there was always…and I’m sure still is….some of everything you said. I worked, after my post Bachelor’s floundering years, most of my life as a clinical microbiologist. I can assure you every single thing you listed occurred probably every day in dealing with someone….. physicians, nurses, each other, patients….you name it. it is not something unique to Sbux and its employees.
I gotta say tho: you SOUNDED like one barista who is more angry than happy with your job, and certainly with your customers.
As a barista, I have extremely low expectations of my customers. That being said, I also have extremely low standards for what makes a “good customer”. I only have one rule.
1. Don’t be an a$$hole.
You don’t have to be “nice”. You don’t have to tip. You just have to not be rude.
The number 2 should be the first and third and fifth
@denise r: dont get it twisted. I love my job. Ive been doing it for over 9 years.and its not a job its a family.
As a former barista, I agree with most of your tips, Melody. I always tried, every single day, to follow the five ways of being from the Green Apron Book. I think the general rule of being a customer is simply this: don’t treat the person making your coffee/washing your car/selling you shoes like they are less important than you just because they work in a retail setting. Even if you are busy/in a rush/on an important phone call, being kind goes a long way.
I agree with all of these, but I think the only rule I would like customers and partners alike to follow is, in the words of Ms Franklin, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T!”
My team and I try to respect the fact that everyone in line is looking for a different experience (fast, thorough, friendly, knowledgable etc.), everyone in line is coming from different life experiences/circumstances, and there is no guarantee that *anyone* understands how Starbucks works or how *my* particular store works. We do this by reading body language, facial cues, and having standard responses to some of the common questions.
“Absolutely you can have a water – I just have a couple of drinks to make – would you like ice in that? I’ll put it in line with your other drink here.”
“No, you don’t need a key for the bathroom – if it’s locked, there’s someone in there.”
“If I could get everyone lined up along the pastry case this way it’ll be sooooo much easier for me to get orders started.”
“Hold on a sec – I need to press a magic button first, or that beep you hear will mean nothing.”
When we show the customer respect, 99% of the time, they follow suit. And the 1% that don’t – well, I can just shrug, smile, and be glad that my life is not in such a dire situation that coffee could ruin my day.
As to customers judging us for being ‘just’ baristas, I couldn’t care less. I’m not *just* a barista – I’m a partner, store manager, sister, friend, world’s best aunt :), singer, microbiologist, wine enthusiast, food-snob-who-still-occasionally-indulges-in-fast-food-cheeseburgers-for-nostalgia’s-sake. If someone doesn’t take the time to see that, it is not worth my time to enlighten them – I know I’m all those things, and the important people in my life do too.
No one can make me feel inferior without my consent – Eleanor Roosevelt was a very smart lady:)
As a former partner, and LONG time Starbucks addict I just want to say that the attitude I get from MANY partners after they get mad/angry when I ask for lite ice is simply unacceptable and makes it SO hard to keep the peace! Since moving from WA(west coast in general) and to IN(mid west) I have received such horrendous service and wrongly made drinks that I have turned into “that customer” that watches the partners at the bar like a hawk, and asks if all of my requests have been met when handed the drink and still getting awful drinks time and time again. And being afraid that they are giving me decaf for being so “high maintenance” because that is totally something they do around here to spite the customers they don’t like! Its hard to find a CORRECTLY made latte here. I can’t tell you the last time I received a good Latte with non expired shots.These stores and partners here need to get their crap together, I can’t be the only person experiencing this…
@Rebecca B good said.. for real amazing. Thats how it really is.. same way at my store too..
Please don’t ask the barista for an extra shot (wink, wink) when you’ve already paid for your drink. Don’t get upset with me when I ask you if you would like your drink hot or iced when it’s 95 degrees out. It saves a lot of redo’s.
@Chris: nothing got twisted. and yes, it’s a family, one that I’ve been a part of for over 20+ years. There wouldn’t be Sbux without the customer part of the family, obviously.
@Sam – that scanner is used to read any and all barcodes – not just the one on the phone app. The red light indicates it is on and able to scan codes – *not* the barista has indicated what tender the customer has chosen. That is the ‘extra’ button we’re pushing. And like *all* retailers, this is not an optional step. Plus it saves interactions like this
“Oh, that’ll be $3.22” “Is that on your app?” mbeep “Yes, I want to use a reward.” <–since I haven't pressed the magic button, I have saved the unnecessary refund/re-ringing process.
"Oh that'll be $3…." *mbeep* "I need to reload my card first." *mbeep* "How much would you like to reload it for?" "That'll be on debit."
If you’d like the process to be faster, make sure you indicate you’ll be paying with the app. When a customer tells me that, then as soon as I get to the tender screen, I hit the button, usually faster than the customer even knows the transaction has finished – cuz I’ve been doing this a long time – I’m pretty fast 🙂
I consider myself a professional Starbucks patron. I really hate when I walk into a store and there are six people behind the counter and only one making drinks for both the drive-through and counter. The others may be cleaning or stocking but there should be a 3 drink rule. 3 drinks waiting to be made, someone helps.
I would add one thing to the list of being a good patron, if you are sent on a run for the office please don’t go at peak times such as 730 to 8 in the morning or 12 noon. be considerate of people who have to get back to work. And there should be a limit of drinks each car can order. Such as the number of people in the car plus one. Doing a massive office run thru the drive thru compounds everything Melody was saying by 10! Thanks and I’ll be sure to smile back next time. B
Peggy-unfortunately what a lot of customers don’t understand is the Starbucks floor deployment. Our new iteration has a person for just cleaning and stocking which means for the store deployment should be a DT window person, a DT order person, the “stocking and cleaning” person, a bar God or goddess, a front register, and someone who grabs pastry and sandwiches and makes the coffee every 10 minutes. I think it’s a 6-8 drink line in our store before the runner helps. As frustrating as it is for our customers, for those of us behind the counter, it is more so. We would like nothing more than to have a second bar person during rush but our managers and DM are always lectured on work hours. When I was managing if I had 3 hours over scheduled labor hours during the week, I could expect a call from my DM. You may see one thing on your side but on ours, it’s a tug-of-war between great customer service, having your manager talk to you about not moving the line because you’re talking, trying to stay in position and not help because “that’s not your position assignment”, and keep our customers from thinking we don’t care.
Be mindful that your batista has your best interest in mind. At least the competent and worthy ones do. If you interpret their behavior to be careless or rude, it’s not the reality. Here is what I have had to do that are unnoticed by customers 1. Clean heavy rubber floor mats on a peaceful Sunday morning while customers head out to enjoy their day. 2. Come into work with a 5 hour turnover, having closed the store prior. 3. Work severely understaffed, pushing my body and mind to the limit. 4. Go told off by my drugged out or mentally unstable people. 5. Have to work and put on an appropriate demeanor despite experiencing great emotional disturbance such as a lives one’s death. There, now be nice PLEASE.
@Marc : (first, that 5h turn-over thing is NOT supposed to be happening in Sbux. No close and then open.)
You, like everyone else, need to realize all the things you’re all referring to occur in every job on some level. There’s too much work, we work way short, get routinely disrespected, no one sees what we do at times, much of the time….every single thing you mentioned occurs, in some form or other in every job.
Ha! This is funny! I’d like to add: 11) flush the toilet if you use the restroom! 12) throw your trash away (including straw wrappers!) …But that’s not necessarily a note exclusive to starbucka customers, those things get under my skin anywhere I go as a customer myself. 🙂
I agree with your list, Melody! To me, they all seem like things that should be common sense, or at least common courtesy. I also like the idea of a list of ways Baristas could make the customer experience better. Most baristas I’ve dealt with have been very friendly and professional. However, sometimes I run across one that really frustrates me. For example–I was driving through the other morning, same Starbucks I drive through every single morning, and I ordered my drink. She repeated it back, correctly, and asked if I wanted anything else. I said, “A cheese Danish, please.” She tells me to pull around to the window. At the window, I get my drink. No danish. When I ask about it, the person at the window–who is not the person who took my order–kind of gives me this look, which I recognize to mean he isn’t sure what I’m talking about seeing as how I didn’t order with him. The woman who took my order pokes her head out and says first, “oh, I didn’t hear you.” Then she adds, “I thought you said no.” Which is it? Did she not hear me, in which case a simple “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Did you say you wanted anything else?” would’ve solved that. Or did she actually think I said no? So I would agree with an above commenter, please please not only listen but pay attention when a customer answers your question. Because I’m still confused as to how “a cheese danish please” was ever mistaken for “no”.
Peggy H— Yes!! I agree with the office run sentiment. I find almost nothing more frustrating than when I’m in the drive thru to get my one drink on my way to work, and I’m held up by a car ahead of me order seven+ drinks in the drive thru. I myself make coffee runs for my shop, and every time I go inside to order.
Just thought about this article. I meant to order my water at the register and totally forgot until I got to the hand-off station. I asked for one there and apologized profusely but the Barista didn’t seem bothered one bit. Maybe because he has a permanent smile on his face and just the sweetest guy around!