Dear Coffe Customers... DON'T DO THIS!

Today is Sunday and well, I love Sundays! I always work with a great team and it is always full of new challenges. Big drink orders and people late for church! So speed and quality are the important thing to focus on.
Today I was in window for just a short period of time but remember my Soy friend? The one who is pretty cocky and has no style; anyways he rolls up to the window.. (and I forgot to mention he pulls up to the speaker and just yells "Hey this is ...!")... So he pulls up to the window and is on the phone. I say hi to him and see if he needs his receipt the usual questions when somebody pays with a debit card. He looks at me and without skipping a beat in his cold heart he says "Umm stop I'm on the phone." HOLD ON THERE... first off buddy I am not your child, you might as well have held your finger up like my mom used to do when I interrupted her on the phone when I was FIVE. This happens all the time with various people, my brother says that I should keep asking questions till they are forced to get off the phone, then stop talking to them. haha note to self, stop being nice to these people who don't have time for me. So this very nice man who is lucky I have the patience of a saint has inspired my post today DON'T DO THIS!!!
Pretty cut and dry, here are some pet peeves of mine (and many other fellow barista's) when you come through a drive thru at any coffee shop.

1. First off we answer the speaker when people pull up like this "Hi there welcome to ___, how are you today?" You then answer either good thank you or I'm good how about yourself? Something polite like your mama taught you. Don't just start ordering right away and DON'T say hold on (as you finish your conversation with somebody on the phone)

2. That brings me to the next one... GET OFF YOUR PHONE it is rude. At the speaker and at the window. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, get off the phone for a whole 2 minutes and be just as friendly as your barista, it means a lot to us.

3. When you pull up to the speaker don't order from the passenger side unless you can yell loud enough for us to hear you. If you order from the passenger side and we mess it up, we get a free pass because you should either drive or be with somebody competent enough to repeat your drink to us.

4. DON'T DRIVE A DIESEL TRUCK.. it's KILLS my ears.

5. Please speak clearly at the speaker and don't go fast because you are so cool you can say your drink fast... we have to enter in EVERYTHING and the screen consists of like 7 different menus.

6. Remember to say if you want your latte hot or iced at the speaker, we can't just dump your drink over ice to fix it, that would taste DISGUSTING.

7. Don't order drinks at the window, you hold up the people behind you and it is rude!


OK there are a few more little things that just drive me crazy but that's just because I am picky, you can start with these 7 helpful hints though :D A happy barista makes an even better experience. If you are nice to us we will be nice to you, and put more love into your latte!

Laughed till I cried.. big foot?

I was working last Wednesday when a man came through our drive thru with a long trailer and an suv packed with camping gear. To strike up conversation I decided to ask this man where he was headed. "To go hunting for Big Foot with Bob Sagat" was his answer to me. I laughed and asked him if he was messing with me. Right at that moment I saw that on his t-shirt was the logo of his group that actually does hunt for Big Foot. So what does Bob Sagat have to do with Big Foot? Well apparently Full House has lead that man to....nothing. Why not add to an already epic career by doing a show on the crazy people in the world who believe in Nessy, Big Foot, Etc. I continue, with a straight face mind you, to get more information from this man about his hunt for Big Foot on the Olympic Coast. I found out that he has seen Big Foot 7 times at night and 3 during the day (because of course Big Foot usually comes out at night) though the man has no physical proof of Big Foot existing, he did promise me that he will bring in a picture when it happens. In fact this man just spent a good ten grand on an infrared camera that can record in the dark. (promising) My favorite part to this story that actually had me in tears though was when the man proceeded to tell me that there is a logical theory of why Big Foot actually roams the forest in Washington; he actually travels to Earth in a UFO for what other reason than vacation! Well let me tell you, after my encounter with this man I am pretty dang close to being a believer myself, now I am just waiting on this guy to bring me the proof from his recent trip. So my dear hunter of Big Foot.... thank you for sharing your ambitious quest with me at the Drive thru window of a coffee shop.

Welcome!

Where to start? Lets start with two of our regular customers. You would be surprised at how many people come at least twice a day to get their coffee. One person in particular pays over $5 for one of his drinks. I am predicting that he spends lets say $60 a week on his latte. What gets me about this guy is his different style of outfits that I see him in everyday. Sometimes its his leather jacket, sometimes it is his strange hats, I've seen him on many occasions in his bathrobe. And well lets face it there have been times where I have been taken back when he pulls up to the window without his shirt on. Hairy chest and all I can tell you that after seeing this man drinking 60 oz of Soy a day, it does in fact give a man some saggy boobs. But when you start to see past this guy with the cocky attitude and poor fashion sense.... I might actually miss him if he ever stopped coming in.

Another regular is an older women who comes through with her dog. She gets her latte and a cup of whip cream for her poor obese animal. Let me just say this women has the biggest heart. She can always tell who answers the speaker and knows all of our Batista's by name. She tips us every time she comes through (we will talk later about tipping your Batista's) and just lights up our faces. People like her make getting up at 4 am worth it and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate her.

These two characters are just the beginning of many you will hear about as you follow my blog. My customers mean everything to me, and yes even the crazies are what keep my job available to me. There have been many long days working in customer service but one thing is for sure, through all of the laughs and a few tears at the end of the day I love my job.