Starbucks' Customer Objects To Lingo

[Ironclad Alibi]

A Starbuck's customer got upset at the barista's scripted questions.

[Magpie]

Ok, while I agree that it would be stupid to have to use their lingo, she's objecting to being asked if she wants anything on her bagel? And then she tries to justify it on the news? Whatever happened to shame? I think what annoys me the most about this is that I always have a really hard time getting everything out in one go. It's nice to be able to say "I want a bagel", and then have a chance to say "can I have peanut butter on that please." afterwards, instead of having to say "Can I have a bagel and peanut butter please", which frequently results in speaking over the clerk asking "anything else?" or in them having to mentally rewind to punch the second button. Or I get it in the wrong order, and they need to know what kind before the peanut butter, or toasted, or etc.

They sent out an advertising circular once. It explained the lingo, and how to string it all together, because it makes everything smoother if you can explain it in a way that the staff will understand. It pretty much cinched my dad's desire to never go there. But he's just not going there! (And his objection was that you had to use their size names, in a specific order, etc, not that the staff would ask to make sure they were giving you what they wanted.)

[Jack]

She wasn't upset because she was asked if she wanted anything on it, she was upset because they refused to take her order unless she said she didn't want anything on it. What's hard to understand about ordering a bagel and not saying you want anything on it? It means you don't damn well want anything on it and demanding that you specify that is asinine.

[iradney]

She said she wanted a plain multigrain bagel. To some people, that's a bagel with butter. Hence the barista's request for specification. How often have we read stories about SCs on this site, where they order e.g. a medium well steak, and then throw a fit because IT'S NOT WELL DONE ZOMG WTF BBQ!!1!

[Magpie]

Reading the report it looks worse than just "plain could mean with butter". What I see is that she ordered a toasted bagel. She didn't even specify plain. That could easily mean "a bagel, half with cheese and the other half with butter, and I'm waiting until you acknowledge that I'm having a toasted bagel before I give more detail."

[JustaCashier]

NO BAGEL FOR YOU!

"She called [the barista] an a- -hole."

One would think, that one so concerned with linguistics, would have called the barista an "anus".



Mike

[ArcticChicken]

Oh for fucks sake!

The way the conversation should have gone.

W: "I'd like a toasted muli-grain bagel, please."
B: "Do you want butter or cheese?"
W: "No, thanks."

Is that so fucking hard??

[BookstoreEscapee]

Her complaint about specifying "no whip"...well, if you order something that comes with whipped cream, and you don't want whipped cream, you're gonna have to specify you don't want it. I don't get why it's a big deal; there are a number of their drinks that include whipped cream automatically unless you specify otherwise.

I gotta say, I go to Starbucks often, and I've never had them insist on my saying things "their" way. If I say small skim hot chocolate, they usually ask if I want the whipped cream; they don't correct me and say "It's a tall non-fat no whip hot chocolate and I'm not making it until you say it right."

If you just order a bagel, odds are wherever you are they're gonna ask if you want anything on it. She should have just said "no toppings, thank you" and the employee should have gotten the bagel.

[Green_Fairy]

*twitch*

first off: i'm gonna say that i was only with the company for 6 months.

second: this whole thing is stupid. yes, they have their own special "lingo," but all the baristas that i've ever met know that if someone says small, don't throw the word tall back in the customer's face. if someone asks for a bagel, they ask if the want anything with it. hell, if someone asks for oatmeal, the barista is to ask if they want anything with it. some people don't know that there are options.
i kinda sorta really want to smack this woman and tell her to lighten the hell up. it's really not difficult to say "no, just the bagel, thanks" or "not today." i can't even begin to count the customers i had in my short stint in a green apron that thought that just because we were behind a counter; they were automatically smarter than us.

GAH! that woman is so aggravating!

[wasabi999]

I had to ask once how to order a particular drink I like so I could get it made to my taste (venti no syrup nonfat 8 scoops of matcha green tea latte). I don't think it much anymore since SBUX rarely serves anything other than Puke Place dishwater and their espresso has gotten so bad.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Just for the record - I love the folks that work the morning shift at my Starbucks on my way to work.

[PepperElf]

sounds like she was looking for a fight
and determined to be a pest