To workers who deal with serving coffee: (MINOR RANT)

[tinamarble88]

To all fellow workers who deal with serving coffee:

Do you get annoyed when a customer comes up to you and says, "Can I have a coffee?" That's all they tell you. They don't tell you what size, if they want decaf or regular, if they want a certain flavor, if they want milk or cream, if they want sugar or no sugar. It really gets me annoyed.

It happened today for the 10000000th time. I decided to see if the customer was going to proceed to tell me her whole order. It went like this:

ME: Good morning.
Customer: Can I have a coffee?
ME: *stares waiting for her to tell me if she wants sugar or milk or whater*
Customer: Can I have a coffee?
ME: Medium or Large?
Customer: Medium
ME: Milk and sugar?
Customer: Yes

Am I the one ordering or are you?

Ugh it just gets me so frustrated. PEOPLE JUST TELL ME THE WHOLE COFFEE ORDER. It's sad that most customers don't tell me exactly what they want in their coffee. We have to say, "medium or large" and "milk and sugar".

Does this frustrate anyone else?

[Akasa]

You're supposed to be psychic and just KNOW!

[SG15Z]

Well I haven't served coffee in months, but yes I feel your pain. I hate it the worst when after a few questions you find out they actually wanted a Latte!! Ugh! I don't read minds people!!

[edible_hat]

I guess I'm lucky, when the fast food joint next door is open I send people there (the coffee is better and it's owned by the same family) and when it's closed I direct them to the self serve coffee machine.

Then I have to put up with idiots who made themselves 5 coffees and *then* thought to ask if we have lids for them (we often don't).

[Summerfly413]

Just get them what they ask for. Coffee. Pick any size you want! It's all up to you.
They don't like it? Maybe they'll learn to ask for what they WANT besides having their hand held through the whole ordering process.

[Red_Dazes]

Just get them what they ask for. Coffee. Pick any size you want! It's all up to you.
They don't like it? Maybe they'll learn to ask for what they WANT besides having their hand held through the whole ordering process.

that is the most excellent advice ever...

[One-Fang]

I don't actually order coffee, but I'd do that.

You see, if you are going to respond "Sure but I've just got to get this change counted, be with you in just one second" or "As soon as I get this mess here cleaned up I'll be right with you" then I'd rather have only asked, basically, are you ready to serve me a coffee, than to have gone all out with a double-half caff double-chip deep foam chococaramel latte with skim milk and extra foam ... or whatever all the heck those coffee words people use are.

Basically it's an opener. An opportunity for you to respond "yes I'm ready to take your order in full now" or "Please wait for reason xyz".

[Chazzie]

I get that all the time.

It's funny how confused they get at my question of "Would you like cream and sugar". In fact, most of them say "What?" two or three times before they understand what I'm saying. If you listen to what I say, you get a better coffee. Sound like a deal?

And you get all sorts of answers too, not just "yes". Cream only, just a little bit of sugar, milk please, etc... How are we supposed to know these things?

[CloserToSane]

I get stuck behind these people all the time when I'm buying coffee. I swear I see pain on their faces when they have to explain the sizes, types etc. I also see the same pain with someone who wanders past the coffee menu (is it still a menu?) and then says "Ummm well, I don't know" when they go to order.

[Jester]

The first thing I thought of is my job at my restaurant/bar. In which, if someone orders coffee, I bring them a coffee with a coffee spoon, a caddy of sugar/sweetener, and two creams. Standard, easy, no problem. (Though I do hate when they do this and then, AFTER I've brought them their coffee, say something like, "That's decaf, right?" No, jackass, it's coffee, just like you ordered it!)

But then I realized you meant more the people that work for places that have a distinct variety of coffees. (Our variety: regular and decaf. End of story.) And I realized that it is the equivalent of the yahoos that come up to my bar and order, and I quote, "a beer." Oooookay.....any particular flavor? (Yes, that is exactly what I say to them!) See, I have 12 beers on draft, plus we do some mixed draft beers (half and half, etc.), plus we have about 20 something bottled beers. Do you just want me to choose? Really? Well, how about I give you the $10 beer, bucky? Hell, if you're gonna make me choose, I am going to make sure that you spend as much as possible AND try a beer you've never had before. What's that? You don't like it? THEN ORDER ONE YOU FUCKING WANT, NUMBNUTS! (No, I don't actually say that to them.)

I may not deal in coffee, but I feel your pain. I do. So....want a beer?

Then I have to put up with idiots who made themselves 5 coffees and *then* thought to ask if we have lids for them (we often don't).

To be fair, if you as a business deal with coffees to go, it is not too much to expect that said coffees to go would have LIDS. I don't think these people are idiots, I think their expectations are perfectly reasonable.

[Sparky]

I don't actually order coffee, but I'd do that.

You see, if you are going to respond "Sure but I've just got to get this change counted, be with you in just one second" or "As soon as I get this mess here cleaned up I'll be right with you" then I'd rather have only asked, basically, are you ready to serve me a coffee, than to have gone all out with a double-half caff double-chip deep foam chococaramel latte with skim milk and extra foam ... or whatever all the heck those coffee words people use are.

Basically it's an opener. An opportunity for you to respond "yes I'm ready to take your order in full now" or "Please wait for reason xyz".

I agree. This is because those customers have had the following exchange:

NYSC (not yet sucky customer)
CNPA (clerk not paying attention)

NYSC: I'd like a medium coffee in a to-go cup with skim milk please
CNPA: I may I help you?
NYSC: I'd like a medium coffee in a to-go cup with skim milk please
CNPA: Coffee?
NYSC: Yes, please
CNPA: What size?
NYSC: Medium coffee in a to-go cup with skim milk
CNPA: Did you want milk or sugar?
NYSC: Uhh, milk
CNPA: Half and half, regular, 2% or skim?
NYSC: Skim
CNPA: Here ya go (hands customer coffee in regular cup)
NYSC: Oh, I wanted that to go
CNPA: Why didn't you say so!

Sometimes it just confuses people when you offer too much information right away. Wait for them to ask.

[Chattyaholic]

I can imagine how annoying it would be to have to ask that over and over and over. How hard is it, as a customer, to just say up front that you'd like a small/medium/large regular or decaf coffee, with cream and sugar or without?
That way the server doesn't have to ask. Makes sense to me.

[tinamarble88]

It is annoying, but I am used to it. I guess customers have gotten that lazy or they think we are mind readers or they think all coffee requires to have milk and sugar.

[BaristaTrav]

One thing I liked about working at the "bucks." We just poured it for them, they have a bar to adorn it as they see fit.

[SG15Z]

then I'd rather have only asked, basically, are you ready to serve me a coffee, than to have gone all out with a double-half caff double-chip deep foam chococaramel latte with skim milk and extra foam ... or whatever all the heck those coffee words people use are.

What size?

In Starbucks lingo we would call that a Half-Caff Double <size> Mocha Caramel Nonfat Extra Foam Latte! And on the side of the cup it would look like this:

1/2
2
M/C
N
X-F
L

And I know exactly how to make that. I can't believe I remember all that!