Credits: Social Media
7 things baristas hate you doing at the coffee shop
If you want to keep the baristas at your local coffee shop or diner on your side, you best heed the following seven pieces of advice, served scaldingly hot by two baristas who are fed up with certain customer habits.
If, like most people, stopping for a coffee before work is an essential part of your daily routine, you probably want to make sure that you and your barista maintain as strong a relationship as possible. In order to do so, make sure to take notes on the following do’s and don’ts of ordering coffee – or risk losing the trust of the people who can make or break your morning commute.
7 things baristas hate: Don’t be ambiguous about your order
Barista turned TikTok star Alana, (or, as her username states, Alana Del Rey), has come to the aid of suffering hospitality and retail workers around the globe, by compiling a handy guide for annoying customers to refer to before their next visit to a coffee shop.
In a now-viral video, Alana and her colleague went to the effort of acting out the seven most irksome scenarios they face every day in their workplace – starting with those pesky customers who fail to make it clear exactly what they want.
Specifically, Alana clarified, the Americano drinkers who get confused that they have not been left room to add cream, despite not asking for it in the first place.
- TRY IT YOURSELF: 7 quirky latte recipe ideas to try from home
Trying to pay before you’ve even had your order taken
Next up on Alana’s hitlist are the contactless payers who are just a little bit too keen to complete their purchase.
Everybody is busy and nobody wants their coffee trips to be the thing that makes them late for work, but aimlessly waving your phone towards the card reader before the barista has even had the chance to type in your order will certainly not make your coffee come any quicker.
Treating staff like they’re not real people
Remember, just because you may not know your barista personally, that doesn’t mean they’re not a person.
If you’re going to go to the effort of initiating small talk with your server, the least you can do is wait for a response and not, as Alana highlights, open with a “How are you?”, before launching straight into your order without waiting for a response.
Nobody is asking to be best friends with your barista, but the least you owe the person helping to keep you awake in your 9am meeting is some basic manners.
Going off menu
Remember, not every coffee shop uses the Tall, Venti, Grande system
In fact, in most places deciphering between a Regular or Large will suffice – don’t overcomplicate things by using Starbucks terms when they’re not needed…
Prioritizing your phone call over your order
Anyone who has spent any time working a customer-facing job will sympathize with Alana’s gripe here.
Simply put, if you are in the middle of a phone call, you are not ready to order coffee.
If you do insist on chatting on the phone while your drink is prepared, make sure that your focus remains on the barista – as they will not be best pleased if you ignore their questions as you chat to your friends or colleagues.
Again, prioritizing your phone call over your order
Worse still, do *not* hold up the entire queue when your time comes to pay.
At the very least, try to make it through the last hurdle and pay for your coffee – the person on the other end of your call will surely understand.
You’ve made it this far, don’t tarnish things between you and your barista now.
Ordering Frappuccinos (with no whip)
And finally, to end the video on a lighter note, Alana warned against ordering a Frappucino, without whipped cream.
It’s unclear why exactly this irks her, but you best believe you will not be ordering any such thing if you ever happen to visit Alana’s coffee shop…
- RISE AND SHINE: Best time to have your morning coffee, as backed by science
