So I realize that our prices can be a bit steep and I can understand people's complaints when we raise them and/or charge them extra for something insignificant. But in the end, I don't fucking decide the prices, the big men on top do. And if you are going to complain that much, then don't come in everyday and order the most expensive thing on the menu.
But after years of working here, I have begun to notice a trend in the way people sneekily order their drinks to avoid a dollar or two.
They are called "ghetto lattes" and I laughed super hard when a co-worker informed me that this behavior has a title and it really only works in the summer when people order iced drinks.
Basically they order like a double espresso in an iced venti cup and then when they get it they take the milk from the condiment station and fill up the rest of the cup so that they have essentially got a "latte" for $2 instead of having us make it for $3.50. And sometimes they go as far as getting their "iced espresso" with 5 pumps white chocolate mocha so that once they pour their milk in they have themselves a home made mocha!
This goes along with the whole stuff for free issue...people are ALWAYS trying to save a dollar or two...it's ridiculous!
But in the end we get the last laugh because little do they know how long that milk has been sitting out....
32 comments:
hello
I read your blog and I laughed and shook my head in amazement at the unmittigated gall of some people. It amazes me that people can be so wrapped up in themselves as to think their prescence is so important that you would have to give them something for free. I do thank the cashiers, I am polite to the workers in stores, I will not take anything that is not mine and I will not demand anything that I have not paid for. To do otherwise is stealing, I can not do that because God is watching me, and He expects me to treat others like I want to be treated.
Hugs from me to you
and thank you
Joy
Eeeew. I like milk, and I drink it for my bones, but one thought of sour milk makes my blood run cold.
I have two little sisters that drank chocolate milk religiously through early childhood, so imagine the GREAT fun I had when I discovered the sippy cups shoved down the side of the crib (once filled with chocolate milk) had MAGICALLY turned into chocolate cheese!
I still shudder at the memory. And now I will avoid Starbucks at all costs. ;)
if you are making fun of my husband I will forever be mad at you! your sister
I am so proud to have made it into your blog, but not in a bad way. Ghetto lattes, gotta love it!
Ghetto Lattes! LOL This is going to be a part of my SB from now on....
A fellow girl barista
Wow - that's just obnoxious. But, I can't say I'm surprised. People suck.
Now, as a consumer, I must ask: Does it count as ghetto if I order a latte and doctor it up myself with two splendas and a sprinkle of cinnamon? I don't want to offend the barista, but I like my version of the cinnamon dolce much better...
:)
Oh, PS, I always tip generously anyway. So, no ghetto fabulousness coming from here.
Goodness, I suppose it happens at other businesses, too.
We always laughed when our Chick Fil A customers occasionally made what we called "welfare lemonade"--a large water ($.25), with lemon (free). Then add many (free) packets of sweetener of your choice. Free lemonade!
that would be seriously annoying to see but now i'm worried that i order a ghetto latte! b/c i just like iced espresso with a bit of half and half and extra ice. only b/c i like a stronger taste than an iced latte. oh well:)
I don't see what the big deal is. As evidenced by one of the previous posters, some people might just like to add their own preferred amount of milk to their iced espresso. And I don't understand why using the milk at the condiment station is categorized as "stealing." These people aren't actually doing anything "sneaky." As long as iced espresso shots are available to be ordered, and as long as milk in the condiment station is put out there for people to use for free, then I don't see anything wrong with doing just that. I think you are a) overreacting and b) reading too much into it and c) making assumptions about the reasons behind said ordering.
You might also consider that if people are, in fact, ordering their "iced lattes" in this "sneaky" manner in order to save a few bucks (not necessarily convinced that is the real reason, at least not for everyone, maybe for some of them), it could actually be to your advantage because perhaps the extra dollar or two they save will go into your tip jar.
So wait, I am confused. You tell people not to come in and order the most expensive thing on the menu, but then you seem to be angry at them for taking your advice and ordering something cheaper.
Unless the place you work is taking the money they spend on milk right out of your tip jar or paycheck directly, then I don't see why you care how much of it the customers use. What's it to you?
She is probably mad because she is the one who has to go out and refill the milk. The more the customers use, the more trips she has to take out there to refill it.
But I actually agree with the posters above. If the customers have found a cheaper way to get their drinks, then who cares? You should actually be glad because aren't two shots of espresso thrown over ice quicker to make than an iced latte anyway?
When I was in college, my jolt of choice was a quadruple espresso. To which I would add plenty of half and half before I downed it. It never ONCE occurred to me that I was drinking a latte on the cheap. In fact, it never really ocurred to me that I was drinking a latte at all. I guess in an abstract sense, it had the two main components. But there was no foam, which I see as kind of the thing that really makes the latte a latte.
I just found that four shots of espresso was quick (because they didn't have to fuss with foam or anything) and it seemed to wake me up better than a quad latte.
Now looking back, I have to wonder if the counter help - oh, sorry, erm barristas - were snottily making fun of me for having welfare lattes.
Sheeeeezus!
wow wow wow people. Lets take it down a notch here, yeah?
It's hard to explain these little situations to most because they just don't get it.
Number 1, I am talking to a remote few that actually do this to the point of annoyance. Shit, I drink iced espresso.
Number 2, all power to you for a saving a buck or two. Our prices are expensive...But dammit, it's funny and I laugh and I laugh even harder when they know that we know what they are up to.
Number 3, a dash is different from a fucking cup full. As mentioned per my post...i am talking about a double shot in a venti cup and THEN filled to the top with milk.
Number 4, do you REALLY think that a person who is too cheap to order an iced latte is going to tip? HA! Apparently you've never worked at a coffee shop...
Number 5, I am sure I would love most of you if you were my customers.
Number 6, Holy hell...welfare lattes is so much funnier then ghetto lattes!
And I resent the "counter help" comment...
Well, no offense, you are counter help. Just like I was at the Gap, although we referred to ourselves as "cashwrap specialists." Granted, it takes a lot more effort to learn how to work behind a Starbucks counter than it does to ring people up at a retail establishment, but customer service is customer service is customer service.
I actually think that these people are being smart. Starbucks offers delicious espresso shots, and I apologize that the price of milk is so high but I don't think that adding straight milk or half-and-half to your bev really qualifies you as a cheapo. First off, no foam (and I totally agree with the person who says that the foam makes the latte) in the hot ones. Second, perhaps these people really really like the taste difference between a barista made latte and theirs...and if they save a coupla bucks in the process, good for them. I'm going to make sure to order a "welfare latte" (lol) next time i'm in there.
I think that this issue is totally distinguished from your other, extremely well thought out post regarding the customers who try to wrangle something for free from you guys (as opposed to taking somehting that is patently offered as free). THAT sucks. But this seems a bit silly.
"ghetto latte," i love it. i order "ghetto iced soy caramel macchiatos" all the time. i just get an iced americano with an inch of soy (they don't charge extra for that) with caramel sauce (like 10 cents). it comes to $2.10 instead of ~$4.30, and it tastes better because it's not as sweet! totally worth it.
I never said that they were stupid...I am just saying it is amusing. I laugh. It's funny.
When you work in retail you have got to find the funny bits otherwise a person would pull all their hair out!
Regardless...katie, ghetto soy caramel macchiatos are amoung the best of the ghetto lattes. It takes some serious knowledge to get that one down....and you definitely aren't the only one...
I don't know why all these woosies can't just drink espresso the way it is supposed to be consumed? Go to Italy and order a stupid drink with an Itallian sounding name, step back and enjoy the riddiculing you are about to recieve, no a sucha thinga you stupido americano! Nothing Starbuck's sells, save for the espresso shots, is authentic, so really, it's all ghetto!
Except in Italy you only pay about 1.50$ for a cappucino...
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