So, no, I didn’t fall off the face of the Starbucks planet…I am still employed by the fine coffee-brewing establishment and my loyal readers need not worry, I am in FULL GREEN APRON form, as always!
Today was my off day, and I should have posted earlier, as I was on a hot rant after visiting the neighborhood Starbucks location by my apartment. But now, I have calmed down considerably, after a day full of errands and relaxation, and I am opting to let my frustration fly into the winds of inconsequence...
[because this morning doesn’t really matter…that I had my laptop, my “for there” coffee mug, and a backpack full of heavy things and every single chair, table, outlet was being used…even an empty table for four, the outlet had two things plugged into it…and to top it off, a man walks out of the bathroom just at the moment I’m eyeing the table, sits down and proceeds to talk on the phone while reading the paper (must have been a FASCINATING conversation)…and, NNNNOOOO, man-sitting-by-yourself, don’t bother getting up from that table for FOUR or letting me borrow the outlet where you’re CHARGING YOUR PHONE and IPOD simultaneously…we have HOMES for that, by the way…and even after I POLITELY say I don’t need to plug in my computer, but I’d like to sit down to use the “desk” space since that table is big enough for us both including his HUGE ego…he said, into the phone (that is plugged into the wall, mind you…I hope he gets zapped for talking on a phone that is plugged in…), “Just a sec…” and to me, “What was that, again?” and when I repeat my question, he says tentatively, “Well, if you just need to log on real quick…” as he eyes my backpack…because OBVIOUSLY I wasn’t there to just “log on” real quick…I wanted to use the coffeehouse to be INSPIRED since I write a BLOG about it…and my BLOG readers NEED me to WRITE!
So, I sigh, loud enough for the people in Oklahoma to hear me…and then I just smile real big and goofy like and before I walk off, I say, “I bet you don’t tip well either…” Just kidding, I don’t say that, but I did tell him, “Your fly is unzipped” because it was…
And then I had to walk back into the store, after I had walked out so triumphantly, because the coffee mug wasn’t mine…]
But, nope, I’m not going to vent about rude people tonight. Haha. Too late for that!
When I am working, I like to consider these rude, weird people as high-maintenance. I know, now having worked a couple different customer service jobs, that it’s not a personal attack when people are rude. Also, I know that I, myself, am demanding, and there are probably more than a couple places that dread seeing me walk in the door. I always have “special requests,” like extra sauce or extra dressing or no bacon bits or “on the side.” And very rarely do I want to have to wait in a line.
So, I get it when people seem rude or weird at Starbucks. There is oftentimes a short line or a wait. So, I’m glad that the kind people outweigh, in importance and numbers, the rude ones!
Interestingly enough, yesterday I went to a training at our corporate office. It was about coaching new partners, baristas, and basically, the training sums up as- being uniform. Not being IN uniform, but being consistent. Making each drink the SAME, to the specifications, ultimately, of the drinker, so that they know what they are getting every time they visit a Starbucks. We can provide the witty banter, the fun conversations, the “warm welcoming environment,” but the drink has to TASTE the SAME…so the coaching in making the drink has to be very specific. If the drink can be like clockwork for the barista, then they can eventually be comfortable enough to engage the customer…and they can help create a different environment for the customer than any other “drink” establishment.
I take that part of my job seriously- the engaging part. I don’t care about the drink part. I KNOW that I will make the customer a good drink, one that they will enjoy because I will make it until it is right. And I believe in our product enough to know that Starbucks drinks take care of themselves- they are addicting to a fault, trust me…I am addicted. But it is in the LISTENING that I learn about how to create a satisfied customer, a REPEAT customer.
Our store went to Six Flags the other day, as a prize and team building, all the workers except like two. And, guess what? The people I work with are amazingly NICE people. They are easy to be around because they, too, like people. They are kind and thoughtful. Talk about an easy work environment in which to be successful at customer service.
One more thing, in the class at the corporate office, we had to answer a question, “Who would we like to have coffee with (dead or alive) and what would they drink??” I love these kinds of questions…and there were some great answers at the class…one guy said, “Winston Churchill” and he’d had tea…another person said “Jesus and he’d had Sumatra…” I mean, really? Would Jesus like Sumatra? Whatever, just thought it was funny, that’s one of our boldest coffees. Drinking Sumatra with the J.C. (sounds like a bad title to a book…would make an interesting devotional… “Building a Bold Faith, one Sumatra at a Time”)
I got to thinking about it…and since I can still have coffee with those people that are living, and I consider it a blessing when I get to spend time doing that, I’d choose two people who aren’t living. I know they both drank coffee, don’t know what kind they would necessarily enjoy, but I’d have coffee with my grandpa (my mom’s dad) and my granny (my dad’s mom) and we’d have a coffee misto which is regular brewed coffee with steamed milk. I’d grind up Organic Shade Grown blend (it’s my favorite right now) and brew it in a press so we could get the prime flavors, then I would steam up some half-and-half which makes a rich, thick foam, pour a little on the coffee, and top it all off with some cinnamon. That’s how I drink it when I’m in the store, on break. We’d talk and hang out and just enjoy the coffee and the company. I think we would have the best time! I’m sure they’d like anything I brewed them.
I'm sure they would like that...
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