Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Vaaler on April 20, 2010 at 7:48am

Wow. Just wow. I'm speachless.

Rob Hoos said:

Two things.
1. A woman came through our drive through and ordered a large iced caramel latte with extra caramel and 10 shots of espresso.

2. A man came up to one of my co-workers and out of the blue asked, "Do you struggle with pornography?"
not a great opening question.

Permalink Reply by Adam Wilson on April 20, 2010 at 11:07am

Just a thought on the Home vs. Pro barista idea:

Home baristi:

1) If you have a 1-group Linea and dual Mazzer grinders at home, you (hopefully) already have a skill-set way beyond that of 80% of the baristi in this country. Why do you go to high-volume shops using full-auto machines expecting the same level of attention and love that you put into each drink?

2) If you have a Mr. Coffee espresso maker and buy your beans pre-ground, you sure as hell better demand that a pro barista can beat your drink every time.

3) Just because you CAN make a better drink at home than your local shop can produce, does NOT mean you have the right to be an ass to the person behind the counter.


Pro baristi:

1) If the person ordering a drink can make the drink better than you can, you don't deserve your paycheck. No matter how awesome their home setup is, you are the professional, and they came to you expecting quality.

Permalink Reply by Brady on April 20, 2010 at 12:11pm

Rob Hoos said:

Two things.
1. A woman came through our drive through and ordered a large iced caramel latte with extra caramel and 10 shots of espresso.

How? what? Huh?

Permalink Reply by christopher myers on April 20, 2010 at 1:09pm

I would tell her that ethically, I can't do that, as her heart might explode, and you don't want that on your conscience.

Brady said:

Rob Hoos said:

Two things.
1. A woman came through our drive through and ordered a large iced caramel latte with extra caramel and 10 shots of espresso.

How? what? Huh?

Permalink Reply by Kevin Ayers on April 20, 2010 at 3:03pm

We had a regular customer, who on occasion (when he was grading finals or something i think) would get "the big one" as he called it. It was a 16 oz latte with 8 shots of espresso. I've had that much or more in a day, but in ONE DRINK? BTW it was skim and extra hot and he drank it within 5 minutes.

christopher myers said:

I would tell her that ethically, I can't do that, as her heart might explode, and you don't want that on your conscience.

Brady said:

Rob Hoos said:

Two things.
1. A woman came through our drive through and ordered a large iced caramel latte with extra caramel and 10 shots of espresso.

How? what? Huh?

Permalink Reply by Terri Voltz on April 20, 2010 at 3:15pm

I honestly think that comes from previously being served by a poorly trained barista that served large bubbly foam with their lattes. A customer gets it once and doesn’t want it again so they say, "no foam".

Kenia Perez said:

It bothers me when a customer asks for a latte with no foam. I explain that that's exactly what a latte is, so no need to specify "no foam." If it had foam it would be a cappucino. Maybe customers just need to be educated more, but it was slightly annoying. :-P I only worked for a few days at this independent coffeehouse last summer, and I was surprised and how many people made that request over that short period of time that I was there.

Permalink Reply by Christina Chi on April 20, 2010 at 3:44pm

first off, i'm asian and i was born and raised in california, so i don't have an accent.

me: would you like whole milk?
customer: what?
me: would you like whole milk, nonfat milk, etc?
customer: me no speaky english
me: .... what kind of MILK would you like?

Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on April 20, 2010 at 3:50pm

can i just say that the "caramel macchiato" debacle can be solved with a bit of tact, kindness, and common sense. we had a lady come in today and order one. dave gently told her that our macchiatos were ~4 oz. and asked her if she wanted something bigger. she did, and so i explained what actually went into a starbucks caramel macchiato, and why they called it that, and that we would mix our (homemade) caramel and vanilla in the bottom so she could taste it throughout the whole drink. dave dropped a triple rosetta / trans am firebird logo in the latte and she was definitely surprised. it's not that hard to be nice and correct someone's predispositions at the same time.

Permalink Reply by christopher myers on April 20, 2010 at 4:47pm

Beyond unacceptable, I think that warrants getting kicked the hell out.

Christina Chi said:

first off, i'm asian and i was born and raised in california, so i don't have an accent.

me: would you like whole milk?
customer: what?
me: would you like whole milk, nonfat milk, etc?
customer: me no speaky english
me: .... what kind of MILK would you like?

Permalink Reply by Squirrel on April 20, 2010 at 7:27pm

I was working part-time at Starbucks when a customer walked in and asked for Nescafe. When we told her we don't have Nescafe at Starbucks, she asked if there is any drinks similar to Nescafe.

Permalink Reply by Victoria Wilcox on April 20, 2010 at 10:34pm

Regular customer orders a latte every day. She says quietly to barista as soon as boss is out of ear-shot: "Honey, I just wanted to tell you something about the coffees you've been making me lately"
Barista: "Sure, what is it?"
Customer: "They haven't been very creamy lately"
Barista: "How do you mean creamy? Is it the texture of the milk or the foam?"
Customer: "I don't know, they just aren't creamy enough"
So I made her the textbook-perfect a latte - shiny, silky milk and perfect foam, rosetta to show off, take-away, lid on.
Barista: "Ok. Give that a taste-test for me and if it's not right let me know what needs changing and I'll make it again"
Customer removes lid, grabs spoon and pushes back foam, revealing perfect latte foam. "There's just not enough froth on here honey!"
(How hard it was not to sound rude when I politely informed her that she wants a capp.. she still orders a latte but leaves it up to me to know which 'latte' on the dockets is hers..)

Permalink Reply by Victoria Wilcox on April 20, 2010 at 10:37pm

P.S. Can anyone enlighten me? I was asked for a weak long macchiato today.. how the hell do you make a weak long mac without making a short mac, or adding water to a single shot?

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