As a Starbucks barista of 3 years, I have picked up a few new pet peeves. No, they don’t have anything to do with how my latte art turns out (because most baristas do not care about latte art). Most of them come from the string of customers who line up at the door during Frappuccino Happy Hours and expect to be treated like royalty. If only they knew.
Here are some things you should stop saying to make the lives of the baristas everywhere a whole lot better!
“Can I get a medium? Or, sorry, a grand-day.”
We literally don’t care if you say the size terms right. What we do care about is people getting that we don’t live at the Starbucks and understand terms beyond the counter.
“Can I get a frappe?”
Why, of course! Unfortunately, we only sell frappuccinos here, McDonald’s is right down the street. Have a great day!
“I’ll have my usual.”
Unless your barista says “Hey Fred, you getting your usual today?” or something along those lines, it is pretty rude to ask for your usual with no other context clues if you aren’t familiar with them. In other words, you’re not the center of the universe.
“My name’s *says a basic name like Sam* spelled *the most obvious way to spell a basic name like Sam*.”
Unless “Sam” has a silent U and three umlauts, I think I can guess.
“It doesn’t look like the picture!”
No one behind the coffee bar cares about your Instagram aesthetic. No one.
Enjoy your next Frappuccino! Don’t order extra whip.
All images courtesy of Giphy.com