For the past couple months, every so often I would come into work to an absolutely outrageous account of a customer interaction relayed through one of my staff. I've heard stories involving everything from a customer literally shouting in one of my employees faces to others demanding free beverages because our outside tables happened to be dirty. For anyone that works in retail or around people, you know that there are just some people out there that can never be pleased. There is always something to complain about for these people.
I am a firm believer in treating people with respect: coworkers, friends, family, and customers alike. So, for the past few months, every time I have begun a shift and heard one of these stories involving power-hungry ignorant customers that feel the need to ride their high horse into our kiosk and take out their unsatisfactory feelings on the teenage employee (who is working alone, nonetheless) it literally enrages me that I wasn't there to stand up for my staff.
Today that changed.
Quick back story: last week I came in to one of my employees rather flustered, understatement, because a lady had ordered a drink and proceeded to order my barista to remake her drink ***SIX*** times because it was not up to the customers standards - although the barista was making the beverage absolutely correct in regards to company standards. But hey, the customer is always right, and this lady knew this.
So this morning, when a rather self-righteous looking/acting woman walked up to my till and proceeded to order an extra-large, dry cappuccino, I knew without a doubt in my mind that this was the lady. Now, I would never act out of line with customers, as I mentioned I really am a firm believer in treating others with respect.
So, I took the lady's order, called it out to my coworker, and handed her a cup so she could start making the drink. I hadn't even had a second to take a breath and this lady was virtually climbing across my counter to shout a very detailed how-to lesson to my employee on the correct way to make her drink.
Hell. To. The. No.
This is not okay with me.
This is not how you talk to people.
That was my breaking point. I, as calmly as I could, interrupted the lady and nicely reassured her "it's okay, she knows what she's doing." Well this was OBVIOUSLY not an acceptable thing to say. The customer starts going off again - "well, every time I get this drink the barista just pours the milk into the cup and DOESN'T scoop only foam."
"Actually, Ma'am, that is the correct way of making a cappuccino. So every barista you have encountered is just making your drink the proper way, the exact way they have been trained to." So before you try and give someone who has been doing this job for over 4 years, who has made thousands of cappuccinos, a lesson on how to do their job - educate yourself.
- I may or may not have ended my advice session before the comment about educating herself.
So to this customer, and any other power-thirsty, self-righteous, ignorant, person that decides taking their life frustrations out on some harmless barista that is just trying to do their job right, let me offer up a few solutions to this problem:
1) If we are really negatively affecting your life that much don't come back.
2) Buy your own espresso machine and learn how to make your drinks yourself. Once you can do this perfectly, then you can criticise others.
3) Treat people with respect. We literally are doing the best we can. We are not out to sabotage you. We are not purposefully making your drink wrong. Mistakes happen and if you let us know - in a kind manner - we will be more than happy to fix the problem immediately.
So people, know your role and remember your manners. They will get you a long way...and ensure your coffee is caffeinated. ;)
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