Monday, April 18, 2016

I have one main thing irritating me this morning, which isn't bad considering it is a Monday and work is kind of busy already. It is Starbucks related and it has been bothering me since Sunday afternoon.

The wife and I went to Starbucks yesterday and we both ordered a Venti Soy Chai Latte--she wanted her drink to be extra hot, I just wanted mine regular. The two Starbucks folks (allegedly called baristas) were in the midst of a conversation about fatigue. One woman was talking about tired she was, and the other was hoping she didn't get reported by a customer who caught her falling asleep on the job. So right away we know we're dealing with two employee of the year candidates.

One of the baristas asked my wife two times if only one of the drinks needed to be extra hot, and my wife said yes both times. Of course the woman didn't hear either answer because she kept running her mouth. The first drink was ready and I asked the barista if it was the regular drink or the extra hot one and the following conversation started:

Her: I thought they were both extra
Me: No, just one drink
Her: Oh, well I thought they were both extra hot and I already made it, so you can just put a ice cube in the second one, trust me, plenty of people do it.
Me: No thank you I don't want a ice cube
Her: Ok well do you want the way it is?
Me: No
Her: So you DO want the ice cube?
Me: No
Her: Well I'm sorry I didnt know only one was extra hot, I was trying to compromise and offer you an ice cube
Me: So making it the way I want it isn't an option?

At this point, my wife and I had to go pick up our son and there wasn't time to sit there and argue so I just took my drink and told her we'd try again next time. Of course she didn't hear me because at this point she was bitching and moaning to her co-worker. Mind you, her co-worker already knows me from my weekday morning trips to this same location, and she looked at me as if to say, "I'm sorry". I wrote an official complaint to the Starbucks-powers-that-be, and I expect some sort of compensation.

First off, who the hell wants ice cubes in a hot drink? There is no way in hell that the Starbucks bylaws allow their precious baristas to just drop cubes in hot drinks. How do I know this? In most Starbucks I visit, if they mess up the drink even a little bit, they offer to remake it--no questions asked. The solution to an error that THEY made is not to use a half-ass solution that THEY came up with. That is a piss poor way of handling things.

Second, this Starbucks has a handful of women (I'm sorry to say who are black) who act like each Starbucks customer first called them at their respective houses, and then called them into Starbucks and forced them to make a drink at gunpoint. There are no "good mornings", "good afternoons" or even "hellos". All I've gotten is a brusque, "Welcome to Starbucks, what's your order?". I am far from high maintenance, but I do expect some simple customer service, but sadly, I've gotten used to their negligence. What I will NOT accept is people half-assing their jobs or just flat out being lazy. Me and my little $5 deserve better.

The sad part about all this is that the manager is the epitome of class and whenever she is behind the counter I get nothing but first class service. Perhaps she needs to do a better job of hiring staff...or maybe she's tried and this is the best staff she can hire. I feel like a snob typing this entry, because at the end (and beginning) of the day, we're talking about coffee/tea/hot chocolate. But goddamn, have you actually tasted Starbucks? It's the best Jerry, the best.



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