Abused Baristas, Unite!
While I worked at Barnes & Noble, I was not only a bookseller, I was also scheduled to work shifts as a barista. The best of both worlds, right?
Wrong.
We got some real nutjobs at that place.
There was the germophobe woman who insisted that we not touch (hell, we could barely even breathe on the damn thing) the rim of her coffee cup, and watched us like a hawk as we processed her order.
We ran into tons of problems with the giftcards, because we were technically a B&N cafe that served Starbucks coffee, NOT a Starbucks.
People would constantly be trying to pay with Starbucks giftcards, and when I told them we couldn't take them, they would look at me like I just shot their beloved golden retriever in front of them.
I actually had a customer laugh and say "You must be joking", all while holding out the giftcard to me, like that would make it work.
There were more than a couple WTF instances.
Like when a woman ordered a frappuccino, then brought it back to the counter, complaining that "it was cold".
No duh. That's what the drink is.
Then there was the caramel guy.
First off, the order was originally made by one of his co-workers. She had come in (she worked at a nearby store), and given us a massive list of drinks. We make them, she leaves, everyone is happy.
Not so much.
This guy, one of her co-workers, comes back with one of the drinks we gave her. He wants more caramel in it. Okay, no big deal, put a little more caramel on it, he's happy.
Right?
No.
Then he spills the drink all over the condiment bar. He wants us to remake the drink. Does he know what it was? Of course not.
Can't we identify it by the spillage, he asks.
All I can tell is that it was some sort of hot coffee/espresso drink.
One call to his coworker later, and he finds out it was a caramel macchiato.
So we make another one.
He wants more caramel on it.
More caramel.
More.
Can't I just give him a little cup full of caramel?
"If I don't get her enough caramel, she'll kill me!"
Sure.
Bastard.
(Betsy Braddock Thee before thine, except after thou., Fri 5 Sep 2008, 2:44, Reply)