Ranty Mc Rant Rant

[rerant]

Baristas get to scrub the toilets too! That company doesn't have cleaners come in. When I worked there I cleaned the bathrooms way too often, especially since people are disgusting and we often found poop or blood decorating the walls.

Thank FUCK we have cleaners come in once every week. All we have to do is empty the garbage and replenish the toilet paper. If anyone makes a serious mess (which has happened but not while I've been there) we just put an Out Of Order sign up and call the cleaners.

I did get two horrifying bathroom stories yesterday though.

One:
The toilet in the men's room was clogged but none of the employees knew about it.
Some guy comes out of the bathroom, tells the girls working that the toilet was seriously clogged. Was. As it turns out he shoved his hand in the clogged toilet and pulled out the obstruction!
And he told this to the girls working with a sense of pride.


Two:
There is a certain part in the women's washroom that is boarded up.
Why?
Someone had gone into the men's room, drilled a hole in the wall and was peeking into the ladies washroom.

[friendofjimmyk]

Non-Tippers

I'm sorry, I hate pointing this out, but people who don't tip are assholes.
When you go to a bar and order a beer you typically leave a tip on the bar for the bartender.

Gruff.

I drink at coffee places all the time. Sometimes I tip, sometimes I don't - depending on how much money I have on me. Usually, when someone is drinking at a bar - they tip because they will be there for awhile. Bartenders make less than the national minimum wage (usually around $2.13 - 3.25/hr) coffee shop workers at least make minimum wage, right?

I don't ever order anything out of the usual - I usually order a vanilla latte or an espresso - or just a plain ol cappacino. OR - one of their specialty drinks - but I don't make outrageous requests.

I guess I've run out of nice things to say now....

[Hyndis]

The restrooms where I work at are horrific cesspools.

First off, there's absolutely no air circulation at all. The piddly, tiny little useless vents were all covered up with massive amounts of duct tape. I'm pretty sure those rooms are air tight. This was supposedly done for privacy reasons, but the ambient temperature in there stays a constant 80-90 degrees due to the fact there's a bunch of refrigeration equipment on the other side of the wall.

Then there's the customers.

Its like a scene from the exorcist, with various....things...splattered all over the toilet, the floor, the walls, the sink, and the CEILING.

The floor is incredibly dirty. The tiles are actually supposed to be white, but the floor appears to be a dark brown. Also, bleach cannot be used due to the fact that its a completely sealed environment, and the AM has an aneurysm if we crack the door of the restroom even while cleaning it. Its also just a single room. No stalls, just a single room with a sink and a toilet. You lock the door when you're using it.

The various foul things in there just bake in the heat, rotting in that airtight environment. Its just horrible.

I have to hold my breath when entering or else I'll likely puke. The cleaning closet is just as bad, when opening that also airtight room full of chemicals and maintained as a toasty temperature, my skin instantly itches and my eyes water.

Lately I've simply refused to clean it. Its not even in my job description. I'm supposed to bring in carts and put groceries in bags. I'm not a janitor. And I'm not alone in refusing to clean the restrooms. When the AM tries to make me clean it, I just make myself scarce, suddenly find something very important to occupy myself with, or similar ways to avoid the horrors of the restrooms.


And the women's restroom is just as bad as the men's.


I think the only solution is fire. Lots of fire. Build the whole room out of fireproof things, then seal the door and flip a switch and cleansing fire takes care of all of that filth.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Just order a hot chocolate and leave me alone.

I hate coffee. I only order hot chocolate. Occasionally a strawberry frappucino (I know, I know, but I go to Starbucks on my way to work once a week or so and sometimes the B&N cafe, which sells Starbucks stuff.) I've gotten to the point that I have a "usual" at the Starbucks I go to on the way to work. Grande non-fat light-whip hot chocolate. (But I don't order it that way. I say grande skim hot chocolate. Fewer syllables early in the morning. Then when they ask if I want whipped cream I do the universal thumb-and-forefinger pinch that says "just a little bit"...but there are at least 2 people working there that know what I order and I don't have to even do that).

On tipping: I use a gift card that I put 20 bucks on at the beginning of the month. If I run out before the end of the month that's it. I put a few bucks in the jar when I load my card. If I do ever use cash I usually throw in my coins.

On bathrooms: When I worked at Store1, the bathroom in the attached Starbucks (not a B&N cafe) backed up and flooded most of the Starbucks with raw sewage (they had to rip up the carpet that only covered the front half of the store, while the bathrooms were in the back). It also seeped through the concrete wall into our receiving room. We had to throw out at least 4 boxes of books...didn't even bother with the usual procedure...just chucked 'em. Luckily we were able to move most of the stock that was in danger before it got too bad. It was gross, though. Starbucks was closed for the rest of the night (that was fun explaining to the customers - we just told them that they had a flood; didn't tell them what they were flooded with) and the professional cleaners had to come in. We had those giant fans in receiving for the next few days and we couldn't close the door.

[crazylegs]

Coffee and chocolate I condone. What I do not condone is skinny malted chai extra skim soy milk fruit explosion coffee espresso steamed fat removed double venti wtf. When it sounds like gibberish, man, your drink is way too damn complicated.

Agreed, Coffee and Chocolate are two major food groups, how better to start your shopping than combining them!

[pile of monkeys]

I fear I may be one of the potentially suckiest coffee bar patrons ever. It is physically impossible to leave my work to grab a cup of coffee without... the list. The list magically appears, with a fistful of money, and usually contains anywhere from 4-10 people's coffee orders on it. I've tried avoiding the list, I've tried outrunning it, but there's no getting away from the list.

So when I go to the coffee place, I walk in with a list. And they see me coming. And they hate me immediately. And I don't blame them. I always try to minimize the damage of the list- my usual spiel is something like this:

-I'm really sorry, I have a list.
-Is it easier for you to just take the list or would you like me to order each drink verbally?
-They can all be rung up together- I'll figure out change when I get back to work.
-I'm not in a rush, so please don't worry about making them in between other orders.
And I bring my own sharpie so I can label each drink with the initials of the person who ordered it as each drink comes up.

There are three of the same coffee place within reasonable driving distance. The most convenient one is staffed with people who always act EXTREMELY put out by the list. They huff, they puff, they make comments to their coworkers. One girl came out from break and said, "Who the {expletive deleted} thinks we want to make all these {e.d.} drinks at once? Next time, tell them we can't do it." I was sitting right there. I'm not sure who she thought the order was for that couldn't hear her while she was standing at the espresso machine. Obviously, I don't go to this one much.

The next most convenient one is unpredictable. Sometimes they're cool about the list, sometimes it's like I've asked them to murder puppies. I just try to keep pleasant, tip decently (everyone rounds up when paying for food/drink, otherwise you don't get food/drink), and stay out of the way.

The least convenient place (because their parking is pretty far away from the store itself, and try carrying 4-10 drinks any distance at all) is the winner. They usually take the list with no bitching at all, thank me for asking what's most convenient, ring in the drinks, take my money, I drop a decent tip in the jar, then go sit down and wait. As each drink comes up, they label it with not only the drink order, but the initials (since they have the list). They apologize if there's a long delay because of other customers, I apologize back for having a huge order, we laugh about it. They put the drinks logically by size in to-go trays so they're easier to carry. And more than once, if it's been slow, someone will help me carry the drinks. I have written numerous emails and letters to the manager and to corporate about this store and how awesome their employees are. But I always feel bad because I know the list sucks.

[Becks]

:mental note: Another place to tip at or I'll be telepathically sent to Hell.

[rerant]

I fear I may be one of the potentially suckiest coffee bar patrons ever. It is physically impossible to leave my work to grab a cup of coffee without... the list. The list magically appears, with a fistful of money, and usually contains anywhere from 4-10 people's coffee orders on it. I've tried avoiding the list, I've tried outrunning it, but there's no getting away from the list.

People who come in with lists don't bother me, so long as they're not jerks about the fact that this is going to take a while, and I would prefer to ring everything up together.
Personally if someone has a tangible list and not just a mental one I would rather take it and make the drinks straight from it, rather than try to remember everything.
I did that once and forgot a drink, now I label the cups as people order or just pray they have something written down I can work from.

There are regulars who come in with small lists, usually from the Staples to our left or the hair salon to our right, who want them rung up separately, but thankfully they're usually all the same thing, and when they order the drink I can already tell who it's for. The regulars are good because they don't mind waiting and they always tip us.

Strangely enough it's worse when people want something like four large regular coffees, because our carafes don't hold a lot - certainly not enough for four large drinks, assuming they even get ordered when the carafe is full.
Usually the people who just want coffee are OK with getting whatever I can provide for them, so long as it's not a flavoured coffee like the Iish Cream we always have on or the flavour we change up, which is currently Caramelo.
I'm not one for flavoured coffees but DAMN they smell good! Butter Pecan has got to be the best smelling coffee in the world.
Sometimes people are willing to wait for a new pot (two minutes) and when they are I breathe a heavy sigh of relief. When they're not I always want to bark at them, "Well what did you expect? You think you're the ONLY person who wants this coffee? Do you SEE the size of this carafe? Have you no sense? Here, let me get a large cup, and empty carafe, and you see how many cups of water you can fit in it. Go on, try it."
Our coffee gets changed every hour or when the carafe is empty, whichever comes first, so it stands to reason that on occasion they will run out mid-pour.

[freeatlast]

I guess that's just because I grew up with Tim Hortons. Y'know what types of coffee they have? Regular and Decaf. That's IT. Y'know what you put in them? Cream and Sugar. That's IT. And it STILL tastes better than the Starbucks equivalent. A lot cheaper too.

.

We don't have Tim Horton's where I live (Indiana) but my Mom, my Grandma and I went to Frankenmuth, Michigan last week and had breakfast there. The coffee was great and we loved the great assortment of donuts, muffins, etc. that they offered. Now I wish we had them here.

[wynjara]

[QUOTE=rerant;401315]

We are not Starbucks!


http://www.punchanpie.net/cgi-bin/au...?date=20080820
Thought this might be appropriate. Some minor language in the comic.

[otakuneko]

Hmms. I never tipped a barista at starbucks.. I also don't go to starbucks very often. On the order of less than two or three times in a year. Never really thought about it to be honest. Are they paid a waiter-like wage or something?

I also drink my coffee cold. I can't stand hot drinks or food. At a pizza buffet I'll let a pizza sit up on the buffet a while before I get some of it, I'll go for whatever's been up there longest, and if I'm afraid a fresh one will disappear before I get to it, I'll get some and let it sit on my table.

I'm weird like that.

[rerant]

Are they paid a waiter-like wage or something?

We make minimum wage where I am (apparently Starbucks makes more and has room for wage advancement) and we will never get a raise. Ever.
The location I'm at is barely breaking even to the point where there are sometimes only two people working in an entire day so they don't have to pay anyone else.

I know we're not making the same as a server's minimum wage and I'm not demanding tips (though granted it irks me when at the end of the day I've only pulled $2.50) but I do very much appreciate them.
I know my post makes it sound like people haaaaave to tip me but come on, I'm here alone for seven hours doing the job of three people (the amount of tasks we have for closing is INSANE - as is the owner's request that we don't start any of them until exactly closing time and still be out by 10:30, which is impossible for one person) gimme a break!

[Pezzle]

I know my post makes it sound like people haaaaave to tip me but come on, I'm here alone for seven hours doing the job of three people (the amount of tasks we have for closing is INSANE - as is the owner's request that we don't start any of them until exactly closing time and still be out by 10:30, which is impossible for one person) gimme a break!

Yes but I've done the exact same thing in retail. 2 NCNS in the computer department and I had to run it myself for 10 hours during the Christmas season making around minimum.

Of course tipping a minimum wage barista is ok but not a minimum wage retail slave... god that irks me.

[friendofjimmyk]

I know we're not making the same as a server's minimum wage and I'm not demanding tips (though granted it irks me when at the end of the day I've only pulled $2.50) but I do very much appreciate them.
I know my post makes it sound like people haaaaave to tip me but come on, I'm here alone for seven hours doing the job of three people (the amount of tasks we have for closing is INSANE - as is the owner's request that we don't start any of them until exactly closing time and still be out by 10:30, which is impossible for one person) gimme a break!

When I do go to a coffee shop, which is around 3 - 4 times a week, more when I have money - if its not busy, I order my drink and spend a total of, I'd say, less than 7 minutes in the shop - IF THAT.

I don't know how long the barista's shift is. I don't know what their closing duties are, and I don't know that they are the only person there for their entire shift when there should be others to help.

I'm sorry, but your posts do make it sound like people HAAAAAAVE to tip you. And they also make me feel bad for the times I can't tip someone at a coffee shop. If I can't tip - I don't go to a restaurant to eat because I *know* the servers make around $2.13 an hour and depend on those tips. If I can't tip at a coffee shop, I *know* they are at least making minimum wage and don't depend on my tip to make ends meet. They also don't have to tip out to bussers, bartenders, and sometimes hostesses.

I don't think I can go any further into this debate because I've seen where tipping debates go here on this site.

When it comes to coffee shops, if I have it - I give it - sometimes $1 or more a drink...other times, the change from the transaction. But if I don't have it - I don't give it.

[Raieth]

I happen to HATE coffee. The smell makes me want to gag and the taste is worse.

However there are days when I need that extra pick-me-up that coke won't get me so I get the soy (lactose intolerant) caramel hot drinkee thing in a small with two shots of espresso.

It doesn't taste like coffee and I get my pick me up.