Ok, here’s the background story:
We have run our company out of the same location for years. Like, at least 15-20 years. There is one local coffee shop in the neighborhood that has been around FOR-EV-ER. Because of this and because of the ease of access, we use one of the upstairs sitting areas to have our supervisor meetings for work. This typically entails 7 or 8 of us coming in at 7am, purchasing some coffee, and then sitting down for our meeting. No big deal.
This past Friday was no different. The 7 of us showed up and I purchased 6 coffees/chai teas and a donut for the group of us. One of my employees has a 40 minute commute, so he had already bought Starbucks on his way into work. Again, no big deal… or so I thought!
As of late, this local coffee shop has started to BOOM in business, which is completely awesome. Unfortunately for us, this means that it gets really loud around 7am and we were all having a hard time hearing each other over the noise of the other customers. We were sitting next to a meeting room with a locked door, so I went back downstairs to ask one of the baristas what we would need to do in the future in order to secure that room for our meetings. Her response to me?
“Well, you could start by not bringing Starbucks into our store.” Naturally, this was followed by a death glare in my direction.
Of course, since it was 7am and I obviously hadn’t drank any of the coffee I had just purchased, I was not quite on my toes yet and couldn’t think of a witty response. Instead, she got the super blank stare. I explained to her that my employee had a 40 minute commute and needed his coffee before making the drive. I also carefully reminded her that I had just purchased 6 cups of coffee, as well as some snacks…which I do every single Friday, and have done for the past 10 years. After all, it wasn’t like we were freeloading here! What does she say next to me?
“I just find it really offensive. This is a coffee shop after all, not Starbucks. I’m offended.”
Needless to say, I still had no idea how to get inside the damn meeting room, and I was pretty irritated. I turned around and went back to our employee meeting, but as the day went on — and the rest of the weekend — I have grown more and more annoyed at this barista! Is it okay to treat customers that way?
In their defense, I will say that the two usual baristas that I have known for years are the sweetest and friendliest women ever. However, they have hired two 20-something women to accommodate the influx of business, and it was one of these two that spoke to me. But still….
I told my dad later, and he was equally fired up. After all, she spent more time bitching at me then she did answering my question (still waiting on that answer!) However, when I told my mom about it, she agreed with the barista and thought we should leave the single cup of Starbucks outside of the shop.
Obviously, I disagree. My logic is that WalMart doesn’t kick you out of the store if you come in wearing clothes from Target, assuming you are purchasing something while you are there….right? (Not the same, I know, but it’s similar!)
38 Comments
I think the biggest issue isn’t whose coffee is or isn’t being brought in, even if that were a company policy or anything official, the girl should not be rude to customers… Ever.
I think you are right, though. I feel like as long as the collective party is supporting the business (which, by buying half a dozen coffees and snacks, I’d say you are doing that and then some), it shouldn’t matter if one or two people bring their own… What if they had some sort of food allergy that caused them to NEED to bring in outside food products? Or what if you brought a drink from home in a travel mug? Is it the starbucks logo that makes them mad??
But yeah, I think that girl was crazy rude and being generally ridiculous.
That’s a tough one, but I agree with the first person that the barista was RUDE!
I know that a lot of places don’t like it when you bring in food/drinks from other establishments but you did buy 6 coffees and snacks. If it really bothered her, she could have come over nicely to your group and asked the person to take the coffee outside of the coffee shop.
That is awful. She could have said that in so many ways and been more polite and ANSWERED your question! You did get six cups of coffee from them. I would talk to one of the girls you are used to dealing with.
I agree that the barista is way off base for being so snippy and all. I do know that a ton of restaurants and such have policies of “No outside food or beverage” so I can understand that as well. I think leaving that sbux out side is ok but I do agree she should have gone about it in a very different way (not said anything) since you guys are obviously there all the time and this is likely a rare occurrence.
I agree that the barista was rude and that type of customer treatment is inappropriate. She didn’t even bother to actually answer your question, she just tried to find a way to “put you in your place” in a manner, even if you didn’t really need to be put in a place considering you had bought coffee/tea/snacks.
I think I will share this post on Twitter… maybe some other people will chime in! 🙂
I wish the barista would have just answered your polite question without being rude to you! At the same time, what would registering a complaint do? :/ Would you explain the whole situation, or just mention you had poor customer service because of a rude barista? It’s a tough call, but being the more shy/less inclined to make a complaint kinda gal, I would let it roll off my chest this week. If it happens again, I’d definitely talk to the manager.
That is pretty rude. I can somewhat see her point but the way she said it and handled it could’ve been communicated better.
As for me, I am like an old person when it comes to this stuff. I write letters, contact supervisors, etc. If I’m paying for something, I expect decent service and consideration not to be chastised.
Ugh, this would seriously bug me for days on end too! Rudeness is not ok, and that barista was way out of line…like I get they don’t want you bringing Starbucks, that’s fine, but there is no reason for her to respond to you like that!
You are sooooo not off base to complain! There is NO excuse to treat a customer poorly. She could have politely asked the member of your party to not bring competing products into their store. Although I bet if it were any other company than Starbucks, she wouldn’t have had that stick up her you know what (since Starbucks gets a bad rap for ‘shutting out’ small coffee houses). I would complain to the manager or owner. If that’s how they feel about a large group of customers that has supported their business for 10 years, then maybe you should go someplace where your business would be appreciated… like Starbucks!!!
you totally should never EVER be treated like that by an employee, but with that being said, if I was a small business owner (my family runs a small business so i know how tough it can be when your big chain direct competitors are booming with their huge profit margin) I would dislike someone bringing starbucks into my coffee shop, but she totally handled it the wrong way!
She was rude. They have the right to request that you not bring in outside food/drink, but they should be polite about it.
I wouldn’t let one rude new employee ruin your longstanding good relationship with the place, though. Call, email, or talk to the manager, saying you were taken aback by her rudeness and you’re concerned it might lose business for them. Even tell them that despite your loyal patronage your knee-jerk reaction was to move your meetings to Sbux. I bet you are valued customers who will be listened to.
And if they don’t listen, well…maybe it is time to move on.
I 100% agree with this.
She was rude. They have the right to request that you not bring in outside food/drink, but they should be polite about it.
I wouldn’t let one rude new employee ruin your longstanding good relationship with the place, though. Call, email, or talk to the manager, saying you were taken aback by her rudeness and you’re concerned it might lose business for them. Even tell them that despite your loyal patronage your knee-jerk reaction was to move your meetings to Sbux. I bet you are valued customers who will be listened to.
And if they don’t listen, well…maybe it is time to move on.
She was rude. They have the right to request that you not bring in outside food/drink, but they should be polite about it.
I wouldn’t let one rude new employee ruin your longstanding good relationship with the place, though. Call, email, or talk to the manager, saying you were taken aback by her rudeness and you’re concerned it might lose business for them. Even tell them that despite your loyal patronage your knee-jerk reaction was to move your meetings to Sbux. I bet you are valued customers who will be listened to.
And if they don’t listen, well…maybe it is time to move on.
I think you should terminate that employee for not finding a Peet’s somewhere along that 40 mile route. Consider it quality control.
I am so sorry that lady was so rude to you, what a jerk!! She had no right to get such an attitude with you. If she had a problem with the Starbucks cup coming into the store, she could have addressed it totally differently.
This is VERY interesting that you bring this up, because I am currently listening to an AMAZING book on tape called “The Power of Habit”, which (among many other things) talks about how Starbucks employees are trained to have very strong customer service skills…and how that sets them apart from the rest of the coffee shops. In fact, they have very extensive (like over 40 hours) of training for new employees, with a lot of focus on how to do conflict resolution stuff. Sounds like this new coffee shop lady needs to have some of that training!
okay, i WORK in a restaurant.. I have worked in SEVERAL restaurants and the only time I would ever say something to ANY guests not eating OUR food is if nobody at the table was eating ours. The restaurant I work at is in a plaza of several other restaurants, if we were rude to or kicked out every group of people who had ONE person dining from another establishment, we would lose like 40% of our sales.
Bottom line, even if you don’t like the things your guests are doing STILL TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT. there is a nice way and a rude way of addressing these kind of things. I say file a complaint. They need employees who actually treat the general public well. & who knows maybe it was a bad day or moment. Those things HAPPEN, but it should still be addressed, in my opinion. As a manager these are the kinds of things we need to hear.
I think you should definitely let one of the women you have known for several years know about this sassy-asses response to you and see what she says and does about the situation. Then I would base my actions on what the manager/long-time employee does.
I am totally on your side, that is ridiculous!
I would completely overlook the 1 cup of coffee for the 6 or 7 you bought along with snacks!!! WOWZERS! I think you should make a formal complaint about the situation and let them know yes there was a starbucks cup and it was OUTNUMBERED 7-1 by theirs. IF they can’t give you a reasonable apology or answer – move it down the road sister. I was okay with my chick having one bad day – but 3 in a row? Nope!
If you are friendly with the owner, I think you should mention it. I would want to know if my employees were being rude to customers. You might want to ask your own employees to support the coffee shop & refrain from bringing in cups from competitors even if you are buying a round for everyone.
Unfortunately, you probably have to see this girl in the future at your weekly meetings and unless you let it go, she is going to rub you the wrong way every Friday – yuck! What you need is some of that good old fashion snarkiness-with-a-smile and kill her with kindness =)
You only bought A donut for the whole group?!?! What a cheap skate! j/k
On another note, my Nana used to take each of us 4 grand-kids to a different fast food restaurant to get exactly what we wanted, then unload and eat it all in the diner of the last place stopped at!!!
I’d have to disagree with your mom and that bitch of a coffee lady also. You don’t say that to someone who just purchased an entire group’s worth of coffee, especially not if they are regulars. “Oh, I sorry, would you like to refund me for 6 coffees and a dozen donuts so I can take my ass out of here and go spend that cash at Starbucks?”
Sleepy or not, I definitely would have asked to speak to her manager, and it’s still not too late.
First, the employee you talked to was down right rude and that entire situation could have been handled differently {by them, not you!}. And if it had been than it wouldn’t have left such a sour taste in your mouth.
I work at a bakery cafe and it isn’t uncommon for people to walk in with coffee from another coffee shop {either in travel mugs or the other brand’s paper cup}, order a pastry and sit down. We aren’t going to kick them out for drinking coffee from somewhere else. Anyone who has ever had a fancy coffee of sorts knows that one place certainly does make it better than another – ever compare a Panera chai to a Starbucks chai!? Heck, we’ve even had families come in to order lunch while one or more of the kids ate food from another restaurant {most recently, Subway}. Whose to say its not because of an allergy that we can’t accommodate? Maybe the kid needed gluten free and none of our breads were gluten free so he couldn’t have our food…definitely not kicking him out for that!
All in all, I think you should definitely have a conversation with one of the people there that knows you and your history with the company. Be polite and just explain the situation. You are loyally bringing in business, they should be fine with one flipping cup of Starbucks. They may request you don’t flaunt the Starbucks cup, but a travel mug could fix that…again, something that could have been conveyed much more professionally if the original conversation wasn’t so hostile on their end.
Or, you could always get the commuter a generic travel mug, continue to meet at the local coffee shop and get extremely complicated drinks from the bratty barista only to tell her it was made wrong and make her remake it… just saying! 😉
I find it kind of funny that a 20 something barista was “offended” about other coffee being brought in to a shop she works at… Seriously?! Who feels that strongly about coffee unless you’re the owner? Sounds like someone who needs to feel important, which is too bad because being nice would have gotten her so much further! I think you should definitely mention it to the owner or the seasoned baristas. Bad customer service is ridiculous and so counter productive!
I agree with the above!! The manager needs to know that she need to brush up on her customer relations skills!! If she was that worried about the starbucks cup she could’v just given you one of their cups to put over it!! Please let us know if you decide to do!! 🙂 (Dont ya hate it when you cant come up with smart, witty retorts until after the situation!)
my rule for me is IF I THINK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE THAN TWICE—I DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
It’s never too late 🙂
damn that girl was sassssyyyyy. Although she can think it, and maybe put a sign up on the front door next time she shouldn’t have said that! JEEZZZUSS!
It was brazen of her to talk to you like that, and she definitely should have answered your question. However, I think this coworker should pour the Starbucks into a logo-free travel mug for the commute. That might be slightly less offensive to the barista. I dunno… just sayin. If you’re still fired up, then I’d say it’s totally cool to talk to the manager.
I would complain to the manager. She/He might not know that one of their new hires is a raging bitch who is going to scare customers away.
A complaint will only work if the manager follows through and does something about it, (f/u with the employee, additional training, etc)
Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, its human nature to remember the bad over the good with dealing with a business.
Personally, I would inquire on how to get the room with the manager then casually bring up what happened in that conversation, like “well I asked her how to, but she….” perfect setup to lodge your complaint and get an answer to your orginal question of how to obtain the room
I probably would have asked to speak to a manager right at that moment rather than say anything more to her at all. If their original employees are so kind, I doubt they would be ok with that type of behaviour
i think i have to take your point of view and side. it sounds like you all have been incredibly loyal and it was ONE cup of coffee. if every store got made every time another brand was brought in…things would be a mess!
I agree with you – that was rude and uncalled for. First off, if they had that big of a problem with it, they should have come up to you and said something right away. Second, I’m sure people go in there with their own water – do they get snippy about that? Coffee shops are supposed to be inviting and relaxed. I would talk with one of the original girls you like!
I worked at Starbucks for six years, and god help me if I ever mentioned that to someone who worked at a local coffee shop. Some people consider Starbucks the anti-Christ. Still, as a barista, I probably would have been a little offended if someone had brought coffee from another place in, but it is really not as much of a big deal as she made it. AND, even if I was compelled to say something, it would have been a lot more polite and probably phrased more as a joke. I’m a wuss though and really don’t even complain to managers unless it’s I need a refund or something. I always freak out that maybe they’ll get fired and it will be all my fault and maybe they were having a horrible day and had just been to the funeral of a loved one or something. My mind automatically goes to the worst case scenario.
Oh, also, could she have meant it jokingly and just didn’t have the people skills to pull it off?
Hmmm…well I definately agree that the barista was rude and thats inexcusable. Especially since you ARE a good customer and you DO bring in regular business.
However, I also agree that the Starbucks cup could have stayed in the car. In 40 minutes….I could have downed a couple of those, so chances are it was close to being gone (or would be in my case) so he could have finished it off, or tossed it out of respect for the coffee shop.
Just my opinion…let us know what you do!!!
pretty rude of the barista! i see both sides of this argument – she should not have been so b*tchy – you ARE a paying customer (and a long standing one at that!) but i probably would have left a starbucks cup in the car. but it should not have been that big of an issue!!
man – did you complain? i probably would at least let the normal baristas know, casually, about your experience and maybe they can let homegirl know whats up.
That barista WAS out of line and I would DEFINITELY file a complaint with the manager.
You’ve been a customer for years, you support them by holding your meetings there and purchasing their products. One coffee brought in from Starbucks instead of purchased there is not going to make or break their bank.
I’d be fired up too – just reading this got me fired up.
Agreed. Out of line… if you were being rude to her, then maybe it is called for. Even if she doesn’t know that you are a repeat customer (because she is new), that is no way to treat a customer. Customer service should be at the front of every interaction, especially for a local spot.
And you have every right to bring in an outside beverage, food or whatever you would like (unless a sign is posted), ESPECIALLY if you are purchasing something from them. I could see if 5 of you had sbux and you bought one coffee, but c’mon 1 out of 6 is a good number.