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Practical coffee know-how, equipment notes, recipes and everyday stories from behind the bar.
Latest stories
10 publishedDoes it have bacon? Do you sell meat sandwiches?
A regular customer who always looks at food options especially the meat items. Picks up the Cheese Toastie and ask if it has bacon in it. By regular, we mean the person and their routine is so well known by all staff members, that she sticks out like a sore thumb and baristas observe her handling the meat items close to her face before choosing the vegetarian option at arms length.
Read article →Can I just have a _____ ?
Some customers are super troll-like. Can I just have a ... (followed by never ending list of drinks)
Read article →Securing Place in a Non-existent Queue
A customer pressed up against counter, gets my attention, tells me to wait and walks off... goes find her partner she split from just moments before. There is no queue, not that I'd have waited for her to come back before serving someone else. Comes back to order 3 minutes later, he pays.
Read article →Lambasted for Service for a Slow Ordering Customer
A customer rudely interrupted me doing a task to take her order for the need of being in a rush. At Starbucks customers take priority so it was only a matter of a few seconds before I would have headed for the till to take their order. This wasn't adequate enough for this customer but the process of stopping what I was doing and going to the till to take the order still took the same amount of time whilst being unnecessarily lambasted during so.
Read article →Excuse me... but orders.
Imagine you are the barista on the till. You are facing the customer with direct eye contact and greet them as standard customer service... they respond abruptly "excuse me"... before stating their order.
Read article →Swiping Too Good To Go once told uncollected bags are no longer available
Girl tried to collect Too Good To Go bag after the unit has closed. She tried to create convo through the half-down shutter. After being advised that the store is now closed and uncollected bags have been wasted, decided to swipe on the app to force the issue. It is complete stupidity to swipe after being told all uncollected Too Good To Go Surprise Bags have been binned.
Read article →Don't swipe prematurely
Man orders Too Good To Go bag last minute on train and swipes to collect before stepping off the train. What could possibly go wrong?
Read article →Open Now, not Open Day
Instead of the customer doing the easy and obvious walking straight up to the till to order where I was positioned opposite, like normal people do, this customer walked around into the staff side to ask me if we are open.
Read article →Higher denomination note swapping
Some people are strange. One guy handed over a tenner, before insisting I take his twenty note instead.
Read article →Customers that spell out their name
A bizarre thing I have noticed as a barista is people with short names spell out their names, those with long names do not.
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