Overheard: Starbucks, Tremont Street.
In my busy morning... I managed to make it over to Starbucks to get my morning coffee. But when I got there, my desire to get a small cup of coffee soon had me wishing I hadn't stopped in at all.
There appears to be a whole new crew working the Sunday AM shift. Not a single familiar face was working behind the counter. Not that this kind of thing bothers me... But when the new crew moves slower than old people in church... Well, then that's a problem.
It took me about 10 minutes to reach the front of the line. And there were only four people ahead of me. And once I reached the front of it, it took five minutes for the girl to ring up my muffin, orange juice and tall coffee.
The reason it took the girl so long to ring up my order was because we were interrupted...
"Excuse me," said a man cutting in front of me. "I think you rang up my order wrong."
"I did?" asked the girl.
"Yes," he said. "I ordered an iced machiatto. But they made me an iced caramel machiatto."
"Oh," she said. She turns to the guy working the other register, "How do you ring up a machiatto?"
"A caramel machiatto," he asks.
"No," says the guy. "I just want a machiatto. Over ice."
"I don't know what that is," says the Starbucks register guy.
"It's that," said the guy, pointing to the picture next to the menus on the wall.
"Hey!" says the register guy to the barista. "Do you know how to ring up and make a machiatto?"
"A caramel machiatto?" asks the barista.
"You know what?" says the man. "I think I'll just take a tall coffee, iced instead."
By the time I was able to finally walk out of the store with my order, the line was backed up to the door. That meant, at least a 15 minute wait.
There appears to be a whole new crew working the Sunday AM shift. Not a single familiar face was working behind the counter. Not that this kind of thing bothers me... But when the new crew moves slower than old people in church... Well, then that's a problem.
It took me about 10 minutes to reach the front of the line. And there were only four people ahead of me. And once I reached the front of it, it took five minutes for the girl to ring up my muffin, orange juice and tall coffee.
The reason it took the girl so long to ring up my order was because we were interrupted...
"Excuse me," said a man cutting in front of me. "I think you rang up my order wrong."
"I did?" asked the girl.
"Yes," he said. "I ordered an iced machiatto. But they made me an iced caramel machiatto."
"Oh," she said. She turns to the guy working the other register, "How do you ring up a machiatto?"
"A caramel machiatto," he asks.
"No," says the guy. "I just want a machiatto. Over ice."
"I don't know what that is," says the Starbucks register guy.
"It's that," said the guy, pointing to the picture next to the menus on the wall.
"Hey!" says the register guy to the barista. "Do you know how to ring up and make a machiatto?"
"A caramel machiatto?" asks the barista.
"You know what?" says the man. "I think I'll just take a tall coffee, iced instead."
By the time I was able to finally walk out of the store with my order, the line was backed up to the door. That meant, at least a 15 minute wait.
Comments
As to the reason the staff was moving so slowly, here's one possibility: occasionally a store will bring in a borrowed crew so that the usual partners can attend a store meeting/training etc. It takes forever when nobody knows where the typical items are located. No idea if this is what was going on in your store, but it's one reason you may not have recognized a single face.