Working in customer service can be an incredibly trying job. The motto is that the customer is always right… but we all know that sometimes this simply isn't true.
We, as customers, are sometimes wrong, but it's up to employees to keep on smiling anyway.
Baristas might get the shortest end of the stick when it comes to crabby customers. After all, many folks can't think straight before they get their morning cup of joe. The chances of getting snapped at by a customer are very, very high for baristas.
But beyond rudeness, plenty of customers have done bizarre and crazy things while in a coffee shop. These nine stories from tired baristas will give you a newfound appreciation for everything that these folks do. Pouring coffee can be an art, but keeping a straight face and smile during these ridiculous experiences may be the true art form!
Will you give your barista more credit the next time you order a tall triple shot no foam decaf caramel-hazelnut swirl pour-over?
Let us know your own coffee shop stories in the comments and please SHARE these tales with your fellow caffeine fiends on Facebook!
Thumbnail sources: Flickr 1, 2
1.
"46 lattes. No tip." – collegedropout
2.
"A customer said, 'I just spent a year in Italy, so just disappoint me with whatever you want.'" – haterquaid
3.
"The other day I had a customer tell me that his double chocolate muffin was too chocolatey. Now, the only other muffin I had at the time (end of the day) was a regular chocolate chip muffin. I didn't know whether to take this seriously or not so I just laughed it off." – Reddit User
4.
"I once had a lady order a latte in a chilled pint glass. A hot latte. In a chilled pint glass. 'It tastes better that way.' Oh yeah? Does shattered glass taste good to you?" – shufu
5.
"A customer once ordered a French press and was aghast when it wasn't the freshly squeezed lemonade she was expecting." – rhodophyta_baker
6.
"A customer once kissed me for making her latte art." – sirgreek
7.
"One man comes in weekly and always gets his black in a ceramic mug. He is overenvironmentally conscious. One day I served his drink and a bit sloshed over the side as I was reaching for a saucer. He told me he wanted to not waste the soap needed to wash the saucer, and to put it back. I do so and grab a napkin to wipe the bottom of the mug. He grabs my hand, takes the napkin from it, puts it in his pocket and tells me he will take it home to dry it out and reuse it until he has a chance to go to his sister's house to burn it." – avination
8.
"A man told me to put some ice cubes in his Americano, because he read somewhere that, in Feudal Japan, women would serve men tea first and then later serve themselves when it was cooled. He proceeded to tell me that mouth cancer rates in men were higher at that time. Okay… I put some ice cubes in there. Then he goes over to the service counter and adds 17 ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER PACKETS. Has he read no current reports on the health safety of non-sugar sweeteners?" – avination
9.
"I watched one of my customers take his tea to the condiment bar, grab the honey bear, and proceed to add honey to his tea. He then gobbled up the few suspended drops and then licked the bear's entire lid!
"I walked over, grabbed my violated honey bear, looked the customer in the eyes, and dropped the bear straight into the trash in front of him." – m3loyellow
Do you have any other crazy coffee shop stories or tales of someone being rude to a barista? Let us know in the comments and please SHARE with family and friends on Facebook!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
