Pax Arcana hears the cannon fire just outside 128: Snarky bloggers vs. snobby baristas:
... The fuse is ignited. The prophecy is coming to pass.
The great hipster civil war has begun. ...
Free tagging:
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Comments
We can
By anon
Mon, 07/21/2008 - 6:48pm
only hope.
That's a latte comments
By Ron Newman
Mon, 07/21/2008 - 11:02pm
228 [url=http://www.andiamnotlying.com/2008/murky-coffee-ar..., 215 [url=http://www.murkycoffee.com/2008/07/open-letter-to-..., 168 [url=http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/14/funny-espress..., 339 [url=http://www.metafilter.com/73299/Espresso-on-Ice-is..., 118 [url=http://www.welovedc.com/2008/07/13/welcome-to-murk..., 87 [url=http://www.murkycoffee.com/2008/07/follow-up.html]... ... quite a tempest in a coffeepot.
Grinding through the comments
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 07/21/2008 - 8:16pm
I think the whole kerfluffle misses something: if you want your shop to survive, you have to remember that the customer is always right.
Geesh, some of these folks commenting have the same attitude as the fashionistas do - we plebes need to educated to protect us from ourselves!
I went to the Original Tittyboobbie Mermaid Starbucks on Pike Place in Seattle a few days ago. They was edumacating us on theys coffees the right way: offering samples and holding tastings!
That's a "company policy" I can get on to. Despite the recent spate of closings, it seems to have done Starbucks well.
Not to be picky or anything
By Gareth
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 9:01am
But the customer isn't always right. Sometimes the customer is very wrong. I recall one incident at Centre Street...
If you've ever eaten brunch there, you know that the line forms before opening, and basically every single table is seated immediately. Shortly afterward, the waiters come around to take orders. It is imperative that you put your menu down and place your order on the first go-round, because the kitchen is small. If you dither or can't make up your mind, your next chance to put your order in will be after everybody else there orders, and your food may end up coming out a half-hour later.
Anyway, one pair of customers who seemed new to the concept were very upset at the delay, and when the waiter brought the food the fellow said he wasn't going to eat it, he wasn't going to pay for it, and they were leaving. The waiter (whose will remain anonymous) fairly screamed at him: "You can't do that! That's wrong!"
I think it was evident to everybody else there exactly what had happened. It was also evident just how badly that fellow had fucked up. Persona non grata at Centre Street? Might as well just move out of JP. The customer in this case was very, very wrong. And to see the repercussions of telling him so, just stop by at around 10:00 on a Saturday morning.
the exception the proves the rule
By anon
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 9:46am
well done garth.
sure, there's always a counter example
By anon
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 11:50am
It's just like Garth to take a different example to argue the opposite point. In fairness, wouldn't it be more appropriate to look at the facts of this situation and comment on whether the customer or the vendor was right?
always?
By anon
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 9:25am
While that's generally good policy, the customer is Not Always Right
More a Guideline than A Rule
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 11:35am
I hear you - there are some rude and ridiculous customers out there and they can be very wrong.
In this case, however, it would have at least helped the snotty barista to recall whose purchases paid for his salary. The guy wasn't asking for anything impossible or outrageous, he was asking for espresso poured over ice. He ordered something they could easily do, and it isn't up to them to correct him on his lack of
fashionmochational training when all he wants is to have it his way.If the establishment feels strongly about the "right" way to do an iced coffee, they should print up some glossy marketing posters about how fussy they are about doing it right that promote their business but don't piss off the paying guests.
ok,
By anon
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 11:46am
the exception that proves the guideline ???
Yes sometimes a customer can
By ShadyMilkMan
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 9:53am
Yes sometimes a customer can be wrong, like when they belittle or annoy the staff or are rude.
When a customer is not wrong is when they ask for a drink a certain way and the staff refuses to do it. Not because it cant be done, or because it is dangerous or even because it is against the law. No the staff in this case decided it shouldnt be done because it was not the proper way to drink that drink. Sooooo they refuse to make the drink the way the customer wants so the customer orders the drink and a cup of ice at which point he is lectured to not do it. ERRRR WRONG ANSWER. In this case the customer was right about the drink, but wrong about the way he handled it.
I like my hamburgers with just a bun and kethcup and the lettuce/tomato and what not on the side. I eat the burger than enjoy a mini salad of the toppings. If a burger place says they cant do it because of volumn of customers or whatnot Im fine with it, but I walked into a burger joint and they refused to give me that stuff on the side out of principle I think Id freak out. If its not ok in a burger joint its not ok in a coffee house.
Not the same thing.
By Amy
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 10:12am
Please see on urban dictionary. I've seen people do this like crazy, and its cheap and disgusting.
Im not a coffee guy
By ShadyMilkMan
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 10:28am
Im not a coffee guy myself...
Looking at the Urban Dictionary definition, I have one thought, if I can use ice a double expresso shot and a little milk to create a ghetto latte and save like 2.50 maybe the normal lattes cost too much money? Thats assuming that is what he was going to do with it anyway.
this should say
By Amy
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 11:11am
Please see "ghetto latte" on Urban Dictionary.
I'm with SwirlyGrrl on this one...
By Route 66
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 12:45pm
In reading the original post it looks to me like the coffee server (I can't use 'barrista' - it sounds so pretentious) got his knickers in a knot because said customer wasn't drinking his coffee 'the right way'. Why should it matter how he drinks it? And, even if he was supplementing it with his own milk, who cares? How many times have we seen Granny or Uncle Fred drag the little nippy bottles out on a flight so they don't have to shell out for the airlines' booze?
Having worked in retail I can say that sometimes a customer's demands are over the top; but you have to weigh the immediate cost of the issue against the future dividend of this customer's continued loyalty. A consumer will, on average, share their bad retail experience ten times, whereas they will only share a good one about once. That's a lot of fallout to consider.
Yes and no
By Kaz
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 1:03pm
The coffee place had a policy: "We don't serve espresso on ice". Their reasoning is that chemically they notice a bitterness when hot espresso meets ice directly and they refuse to "ruin" their coffee by doing so themselves. The guy asked if they will serve him an espresso (yes) and a cup of just ice (yes). He then did the merging of the two himself in front of them and just before doing so, the server told him that it wasn't right what he was doing. This set the customer off, which then gave the owner a desire to retaliate. The "ghetto latte" discussions were ancillary to this whole ordeal as people started to discuss other ways to mix your own coffee drinks post-sale and even save money doing so.
I think the really stupid act that kicked this up was the owner's retaliation online about punching the customer in the balls. I can understand if the store has a policy about mixing espresso and ice, that's their choice. But if they're going to sell you a cup of ice and a hot espresso, then the most they can ask you to do is mix it outside of the store and/or never come back. If I buy a six-figure high-performance car with a manual transmission and then proceed to grind gears in the parking lot of the dealership, the salesman might want to tell me that's not cool, but he should really keep it to himself and at most, tell me he's never going to sell me another car to ruin ever again (if that's his want). The customer going to cry on his dollar bill and his blog are what customers sometimes do. The owner shouldn't have dignified it with an equally obnoxious response.
Oh well. I think it's humorous that this has continued to churn around the blogosphere/coffee shops though.
with Route 66, and SwirrlyGirly
By Anonymous
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 1:12pm
I'm with Route 66 and SwirrlyGirly, who have it a close read.
I think they're both wrong
By Gareth
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 1:23pm
The blogger is wrong for blowing up, screaming, yelling, and cussing at the barista and the cashier. The barista is wrong for not just letting it go, instead of admonishing the customer for abusing the cashier. The blogger is wrong for saying he'd burn down the coffee shop. The manager is wrong for saying he'd punch the blogger in the dick.
I think they should have a slapfest at high noon in front of the coffee shop and sell tickets.
Simmerman was ok until "FUCK YOU AND YOUR ...
By anon
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 1:48pm
Simmerman could have held his tongue but seriously, there's a policy about how you can drink what you order? That said, it may be a caffeine addiction that is causing Simmerman's volatile reaction.
Five Easy Pieces anyone?
The best part is he did this on a TIP.
By Spatch
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 2:47pm
"I HATE YOU! SCREW YOU AND YOUR LAME ASS POLICY! HERE'S A DOLLAR TO SHOW YOU MY ANGER!"
Nice work.
I think in this case, both sides are the losers, but the coffee house loses out just a little bit less. I mean, it got its dollar.
I could see a "policy" like this in place only to prevent the following exchange from occurring:
CUSTOMER: Hello, I'd like a triple iced espresso.
BARISTA: Okay, here you go.
CUSTOMER: BLECH! THIS TASTES BITTER AND AWFUL! WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME ABOUT THIS IN ADVANCE?! SCREW YOU AND YOUR LAME ASS ICED ESPRESSO! HERE'S SOME CUSS WORDS ON A FIVE DOLLAR BILL AS AN EXPRESSION OF MY HATRED AND CONTEMPT!
I mean, yeah, people will sometimes make unfortunate culinary or ... uh ... beveragery decisions, but if it turns out to be bad, well, they've only got themselves to blame. You made your bed, now lie in it. However, human nature dictates that we always find someone else to blame, so here's a dollar in the tip jar of the schmuck who made it in the first place.
It would've been wiser to tell Mr. Bloggypants "Okay, but I want to warn you, this may not taste like what you'd expect" and then have him respond with "I know what to expect."
We'd have still received a passive-aggressive blog post, sure, but it wouldn't have been this stupid. It was incredibly stupid, however, for the coffee place to just sniff "We don't do that. You're wrong."
But try as I may to see both sides of it, I really can't find a side to root for here.
Sometimes
By Kaz
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 3:00pm
Sometimes, I root for the spectators. I think that's part of what makes the internet and "Web 2.0" great. Even though we're all on the outside looking in at this little spectacle of stupidity, we can band together and slap each other high-five when something else stupid happens. We share the common bond of "at least that wasn't me!" and is there a greater bond to share among on-lookers?
So, Spatch, join the rest of us...rooting for our Schadenfreuding selves! High five, buddy! At least that wasn't us!