I say again, I am a human being.

Wow. New pet-peeve of mine.

Pull up to the speaker in drive thru, bark you order, drive away.

Let me tell you what this accomplishes... nothing, nada, zip. Especially if you said it so fast we didn't even have time to register that you were sitting at the box before you were driving away.

Instead of saving you time, in hopes that we'll have your drink ready by the time you get to the window, it takes just as long, if not longer, depending on how many people are in line, and what your drink is. (Because we can't do anything until we know what it is.)

The customer that did this was lucky, there was no one in line, and so we got to his drink immediately after he arrived at the window. But it still didn't win him any favors with the baristas.

Driver vs. Passenger

So, I have been on the drive-thru a lot recently, and I've noticed a lot of little irritating things.

One big thing, ordering from the passenger side of the car, but refusing to speak up so I can hear you.

The speaker is not super-sonic, nor does it act like the 6-million dollar woman's bionic ear. Therefore, I cannot hear everything that everyone says all the time. It's hard enough sometimes taking orders from the driver's seat. Taking them from the passenger seat can be next to impossible. 

Has your driver been struck mute? Can they not speak?

That's really the easiest way to take care of it. You tell the driver what you want, and they can tell us. Lots of customers order this way, and it works, that's why they continue to order that way. And that's why the speaker is on the driver's side. If we wanted the passenger to order, we would put a speaker on that side too.

However, for all you stubborn people out there who want to continue to order from the passenger seat, you need to speak-up. 

This does NOT mean yell at us and speak at a snail's pace. 

We're not numbskulls, you are just extremely far away from the speaker, and more volume means we have a better chance of hearing you. 

Go figure. 

I am NOT a computer tech

I know the aprons make us look like super geniuses (apparently), but believe it or not, they don’t hire us for our computer skills. (Not to mention, if I knew that much about computers, I probably would be able to make a living doing that, not making your latte.)

Now, I am a very intelligent person (if I do say so myself, and I do), a little snarky, excitable, and sometimes ditzy, but intelligent. And, because my dad is a computer guy, I know a little bit about computers (thank you dad). But again, this does not qualify me as some kind of expert. Anything that can’t be fixed by a reboot is a little beyond me.

So, with that explanation…

Yes, we have free WiFi. I can tell you the steps to access the WiFi, and walk you through the process should you get lost.

If your computer can’t find the internet, I can’t do anything about it. I don’t know how to fix it. Really, I don’t. Maybe your card is not turned on, not plugged in, malfunctioning, etc.

Please do not get angry at me, and for goodness sake, don’t yell at me. I have nothing to do with it, I did not cause the problem, and I cannot fix the problem. Yelling at me will not help.

New Baristas

So, you come into your favorite coffee shop, and there’s a new person behind the counter.

BE NICE TO THEM.

I know it’s easy to think that they are going to screw up your drink, or they won’t deliver it the same way as your favorite barista ________ will.

But, it’s their first day/week/month on the job, and they’re learning. Everyone has to start somewhere right? Even your favorite barista ___________.

Also, your favorite barista probably hasn’t looked at the recipe book in months, if not years. If anything, the new barista’s drink will be perfect, because they have 900 people watching them making sure they do it right.

But most of all, they are probably having a lot thrown at them, and I mean A LOT.

So I’m going to ask again, be nice to them.

No Update This Week

Sorry all, there's probably not going to be an update this week. (I know you're all horribly disappointed.)

A combination of factors has made this a crazy week.

Check back on Monday.