I Just Don't Understand People! (Rant)
 

You know, I just don’t understand some people. They act SO rude and so childish, it’s as though (pardon the cliche) they were raised in a barn.

Tonight around five minutes before close, a large group of guys and girls (skanky ones, at that) came sauntering in. Then, following them, a large crowd of people. So there was a line five minutes until close.

I quickly sprung into action, getting drink orders. I asked Skank A what she was going to order. "Grande Soy Mocha, with no whip," she replied. Great. So I hand the cup to Donna (the partner on bar), and direct her to Domino (partner on register) to ring her up. She ignores me. She ignores Domingo that is asking her to come over to his register. Finally, impatiently, I firmly say: "Ladies, Domingo can ring you up over here." Her response was: "So then why the fuck did you do that?" referring to me getting her order, while Domingo was ringing up another person ahead of her. I just answered, "Because I needed to get everyone elses orders behind you," and then moved on to the next customer in line.

So then, Skank B (friend of Skank A) moves along to the bar and asks rudely: "You guys don’t gotta bathroom?" No, we don’t. She replies, "That’s illegal; I’m pregnant." Of course, she’s getting coffee. REEEAALLLL good for that deformed, misfortunate child growing inside Miss Skank B. Donna answers, "We don’t have a public restroom, bput there is one down the street at Peggy Sue’s and the Spaghetti Factory." Skank B: "I’d like to speak to your manager!" Donna says that the manager is not here right now, but would you like to speak with her on the phone? "YES!" screams the bitch. So Donna doesn’t get ahold of her, but does leave a message describing the whole thing that’s unfolding. Finally the Skanks and their idiotic and unfortunate boytoys leave.

It’s not over...keep reading.

About fifteen minutes later, Skank A and her posse returns, and start wrenching the door around in the doorframe. No, she didn’t knock on the window, or tap, or just jiggle the handle. It’s banging around (which is not good for the door, as it’s locked), and so I look up and mouth, "We’re closed." She screams so that I can hear her: "I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!!!!" I walk to the door, and say through the window, "We’re closed." She screams, "DID I LEAVE MY KEYS ON THE COUNTER?" I look around and finally say, "No." She leaves without saying thank you.

Later on, ANOTHER FINE speciman of ladies (hear my sarcasm?) is walking by Domingo who is bringing in outside chairs and tables. They ask: "Can we use your guys’ bathroom?" No, says Domingo, we don’t have a public restroom. The girl responds, "We ain’t the public!" Yes, you are; get over it. Domingo laughs uneasily and says, "Sorry, have a nice evening." As soon as Domingo has closed and locked the door again, the girl walks past the window and slams her two fists as hard as she can against the window.

Wow....just wow. It makes you wonder about people. Are bathrooms that fucking important?! And is it that hard to walk a half block and pay a quarter to use one? Sad...just sad. And we’ve had other instances. I’ve been threatened at least three times by people saying they’ll sue Starbucks or get me fired. Sigh..."I’m an architect; I know you have a restroom, and my wife is pregnant!"

Anyway, I wish I could have flipped Skank A off when she came back for her keys. Even if they were there I would have flushed them. Then again, as Donna said: "That would be stooping to their level."

---

On another note, Kevin and I got our hair cut and coloured. It is so hot!

Here are some pictures for everyone to see:

<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/face.jpg">
<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/top.jpg">
<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/turned.jpg">
<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/aerial.jpg">
<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/phone.jpg">
<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/phone2.jpg">

<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/front.jpg">
<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/side.jpg">
<img src="http://www.ageofinsanity.com/users/lily/back.jpg">

Sorry, I can't resist
 

So you work at some expensive foo-foo coffee place, and you're here to rant about humanity? I think you're in a race to the bottom with those you are ranting about!
First off, those people who walk through the front door to spend their money are your customers. Get that? They're the reason you have a job. They're not SKANKS.
Second, I don't drink coffee that often. One reason I don't is that IT MAKES ME HAVE TO PEE! So if you want to sell ridiculously overpriced beverages, and set up an atmosphere conducive to folks lingering, you should have a bathroom. It would be a much better way to treat your customers.
Finally, I'm not aware of coffee beeing detrimental to unborn babies. Anyone?
So, then your title is appropriate. You apparently don't understand people. The problem appears largely to be yours, not theirs.

wow, I dont think I've ever been anywhere that I, as a paying customer, could not use the bathroom. In fact I have been known to buy something in a convenience store that had signs that the restrooms were for paying customers only, just so I COULD use the bathroom.

I totally know how you feel la petite moi, I work at a sporting goods store and every friday and saturday night these groups of like 16-17 year olds show up and trash the place in the last few hours before we close. They throw balls, swordfight with golf clubs, hit each other with baseball bats, break displays, it's a good time. It only takes us an extra half hour to clean up before we can leave because these kids like to come in and trash the place.

Eribrav, I think that was pretty harsh. You really don't know how annoying/rude people can be until you work in some sort of service/retail job. I don't know if you've been in that situation before, but it can be horrible. Food service is definitely the worst. Yes, you do provide a service, but that's no reason for people to come in and treat you like a sub-human. You do deserve some kind of dignity whether you're serving filet mignon or "foo foo" coffee.

fuck it. nevermind.

I don't think there is an issue with a cup or two of coffee, but I don't think you want a 8 cup-a-day habit.


http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/3955.html

Do I have to give up caffeine now that I'm pregnant?
Not necessarily. You can still enjoy your favourite caffeinated drinks as long as you don't overdo it. Guidelines issued by the Food Standards Agency in October 2001 suggest that women have no more than 300mg of caffeine a day while pregnant. This is equivalent to three mugs of instant coffee or six cups of tea or eight cans of cola per day. Although moderate amounts of caffeine are unlikely to harm you or your unborn baby, some women choose to cut out caffeine completely.

i'm sorry you had such a bad day.

I think the real enemy here is the company. They should be spending a little bit of their profits on a public washroom and a little more so the employees can feel well paid for having to clean them.

These are the kinds of issues that keep us divided as a community. As a customer, it's easy for me to blame the person working on the front lines when I'm unhappy with the way the company does business. The real crook is the person at the top, too concerned with their profit to create the conditions for customer satisfaction.

la petite, I know that "skank" was a jerk for banging on the window, and the way I interpreted your story, that is your main point of contention. I know there was a restroom in the close by restaurant, but can't you sympathize just a little bit with the need to use the bathroom?

By the time someone is old enough to wonder into a overpriced coffee house to buy a cup of piss poor coffee and sugar (not knocking the OP just the type of place she works) they should understand that not everywhere has a public shitter. If they want to toss a shit fit in anyone's direction over it I say fuck 'em. And just because they are customers doesn't mean that they can't be skanks and that the service staff has to kiss their skanky asses. When you are in business often you have to deal with customers that aren't worth your fucking time just because you are in business for the ones who are.

The general consensus here is that petite moi was wrong in her actions. I'm wondering if the people who are against her have ever worked in retail or customer service. I have worked in fast food, grocery stores, clothing retail, and waitressing. While I knew that the customers were the reason I was there, it did not excuse their rude adn demeaning behavior. It is a 2 way street. If you want good service, you have to be a good customer in return. I am notorious for having to go to the bathroom a lot. When I am out it is the worse. I remember being in Chinatown, which is a horrible place to be in that situation. None of the places have public restrooms. I was running all over the place trying to find somewhere to go. It didn't help that very few of the people spoke english. I ended up going into a church. I think it's crazy for a coffee shop not to have a bathroom, but if it doesn't, it doesn't. You have to move on and try to find some place to go.

I have been rude to customers before because they were very rude to begin with. I do not feel good about some of my past actions, but we are human. Minimum wage jobs typically suck enough without customers being assholes. If you haven't worked retail/customer service, I strongly recommend it. It will totally change your attitude when going to a place to get good service.

In fairness, it is pretty unusual for a place to serve food and drink not to have a toilet available to people. Im not saying it is her fault, she just works there after all, but from a company perspective I would say that is a pretty bad level of customer service to offer.

Having been in retail for far too long....I developed a rule I pass on to all my staff.

Tecoyahs Five Minute Retail Rule:

No matter how nasty someone may be
Regardless of single digit I.Q.
Ignore the smell of the unwashed

remember one thing....you deal with them for Five Minutes
Some poor bastard gets them 24/7

Why is it so bad that they didn't have a public restroom?

It seems to me that a coffee shop without a bathroom would move the customer 'traffic' a bit faster than one that did. If they have to seek relief elsewhere, it keeps them from clogging up the tables while they nurse a single 'Grande Soy Mocha' for hours on end.

Not so strange, Strange. When I was in the 'food service,' which is really a euphemism for "Sixth Circle of Hell," the restaurant I managed tried to keep a public restroom. It didn't work out. They were always messy, requiring an inordinate amount of attention, so customer service suffered. Not to mention, it seemed to draw large groups of high school kids, for what reason, I couldn't say, but I used to walk into the middle of all sorts of shit. Guys fighting, guys smoking pot, one fellow selling drugs, one guy had his 'girlfriend' (to this day, I still think 'she' was a he) in there, the list goes on and on. Eventually my boss decided to just close the public restroom. The only good decision he ever made, in my opinion.

The bathroom or lack of bathroom isn't the issue here. Even though there's not a public restroom, the customers shouldn't have been rude assholes. Some people think they're entitled to be rude if things don't go their way...those people are spoiled, immature brats, and the world is composed of them by probably around 50%. I would have told them something that probably would have cost me my job. I would have been a complete smartass to them at the very least. If I walked into a place and asked to use the restroom and they didn't have one, I'd say "thanks anyway" and walk out. These people chose to bitch about it and argue. Assholes, plain and simple.

-Lasereth

Okay, okay. Firstly, how were my actions wrong? I was polite throughout all of this, and never let my temper flare to these rude people. Donna and Domingo directed both groups of girls to a public restroom a few establishments over. It is not even a half-block away. We also explained to the first group that bought coffee the reason why we can't have a public restroom.

Secondly, we don't have a restroom because we are in the heart of downtown and had to remove it three years ago because of people doing drugs in it. We are also a very small store, and get a lot of service in the morning, so we can't keep track of everyone that comes and goes. We have only a few chairs inside the store, and a few outside. We are more for the morning crowd that wants fast service.

Thirdly, the second group of people last night were not customers. Even so, Domingo was polite to them. The first group were my customers, yes, but that doesn't give them some right to act the way they did! Aren't we taught when we are babies and little kids that we aren't supposed to throw tantrums? We are not in business BECAUSE of these people. I quite love the customers that come in for the comfort of knowing there is someone to talk to. I have had MANY customers come back and tell me I have a lovely personality. I have had dozens of folks tell me I should get a raise. And you know what? There are many adults that are understanding when I explain to them that we had to close the restroom to the public due to customers doing inappropriate things. So don't think I am just some annoying little barista girl that treats people like shit. I should have mentioned that despite these girls getting under my skin, staring at me like I'm scum and shouting curses at me, I held the door open for people that were leaving and smiled and said: "Have a lovely evening."

Fourthly, Starbucks is not a bad corporation and does a lot for the community and worldwide. (Please see: http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/csr.asp)

Fifthly, we have "customers" throw a fit about not having a restroom EVERYDAY. I mean, screaming and shouting and making a HUGE fuss. This is not something an adult does, and it's sad that the baristas (who aren't getting some AMAZING salary) have to take it. Donna (copartner mentioned in the story) got punched by a customer once. Is that something an adult does?

Sixthly, THAT STORY WAS A RANT. I HAD A SHITTY DAY. I was tired of people not knowing how to be polite. I was sick of saying: "Hi guys, how are you doing tonight?" and being ignored. I was tired of smiling and asking someone what they were up to that night, just to have them nearly spit in my face. I don't deserve to be treated poorly just because I am behind a counter. I don't know about you guys, but I know that after working in food, I am more polite to people in retail and food because of it. I hope you guys aren't like those customers and that last group of people last night, banging on the window and throwing a tantrum and chucking curse words around while drunk off your ass in slutty clubbing clothing.

(Oh, and about the coffee thing- Starbucks is known for people that come in several times a day. Hence, why I said that caffeine shouldn't be consumed by the average pregnant Starbucks consumer. The girl I was talking about actually got a Venti (24 ounce) caramel frappuccino, the equivalent to around three shots of espresso caffeine-wise.)

And jeez, no comment about the pics? :(

Some people can be terrible. It's really too bad that others have to deal with whining and bitching and tantrums from these people. Sort of makes you wonder why you even bother being polite sometimes...

Oh, and both of you look great. Love the hair! :D

Oh! I thought I'd share my bitchy Starbucks customer story!

I'm a Second Cup girl at heart, but I heard that Starbucks had awesome pumpkin muffins, so I went to check it out. I ordered a random sized chai and went to the end of the bar to wait for it. Soon after, the server called out "Chai Latte...mumblemumble" and since no one else was getting it, and it sounded like what I had ordered, I took it and put my cinnamon on it. Then this woman comes out of nowhere and starts yelling at me, as I had apparently taken her chai, which was made with soy. It was maybe my second time at a Starbucks, so I was a bit confused anyway, and apparently I took her drink that was special made for her, or something. Then she started yelling at the server saying "how could you let her take my drink? I was just in the bathroom" I appologized and offered to get her a new drink, but the server told me to nevermind and just whipped up a new one. The woman glared at me and told the server that she wasn't coming back to that location and left.

Ugh... scary bitchy lady.

Sorry, thought I'd vent too...

Ack.

Yay, thank you so much, Cello! <3 :D

I don't want to jack this thread, but I can also relate to dealing with snotty, whiny customers. I worked in a record store that bought and sold used CDs. It was a daily ritual dealing with the idiots who came in with cracked and broken discs who would throw a fit when I wouldn't buy it from them. In fact, it was more than daily; I would say it was actually hourly. I would explain to these "customers" that, since we sold all our used discs with a guarantee, we could not buy discs that looked as if they'd been underwater for a week then smashed underfoot on a gravel road. I was always met with the same "But it works just fine!" response. I would then place it in the CD player and have them listen to it skipping within the first 10 seconds only to be met with "It plays fine in MY stereo!" I would still refuse to buy it. I lost count of how many CDs and tapes got thrown at me after these encounters.

After a few years of this, I ended up being rude to just about everybody because I had gotten so sick of dealing with these asses. If I saw someone coming into the store with a paper bag, I would immediately roll my eyes. I had gotten that bad.

The thing about the business world that many people tend to ignore or forget is that any business has the right to refuse service to customers. Sure, the saying is that the customer is always right, but I tend to go by the mantra of: Fuck off, there will be thousands more who'll spend their money here. We don't need your shitty, whiny dollars.

I agree with shesus - surprised? - that everyone should be required to work customer service for at least a year at some point in their lives so they can learn to appreciate what people in these low-wage, high-bullshit jobs go through daily.

/end threadjack.

First off, I'd comment on the pics, but they're all rexed.

Second off, I work at Starbucks too. I totally feel ya, man. Some people. Our restroom is for paying customers, but when people run in doing the pee pee dance, I let them use it first, and bug them to buy something.

I went on vacation to San Francisco in April. I drink at least a gallon of water daily. Needless to say, I ended up having to base my days in downtown around the three toilets I could find that weren't pay, on the street, or had a recorded voice instructing me on how to use the toilet. I tried not to get mad, but I even ended up at a restaurant where I ate dinner and they had no restroom for customers. I never saw anyone throw a tantrum about it, people were just used to knowing where there is one, I guess. It takes a special kind of person to show up at closing time, pitch a fit, and draw the whole neighborhood's attention to themselves over anger that stemmed from a toilet... or lack thereof.

Quick note, also off topic.... The nicest people with a restroom I found in downtown San Fran were at Starbucks.

Yer a hottie! (I can make no comment about your boyfirend lest it be construed that I ain't 110%, red blooded, hetero guy with an overabundance of testosterone!)

Here in Toronto, you can't have a restaurant without a public washroom...

Wow. :eek: Punched? AT work? Wow. I've been yelled at. I've had people throw stuff in my general direction, but I've never had someone throw a punch at me. Wow.

I know I got off on a bathroom tangent there, but let me make myself clear. Believe me when I say I understand completely where you're coming from. I never put too much into the 'customer is always right' business. I mean, I'll go out of my way to make sure a customer is happy and I can certainly empathize when they get angry when something goes wrong, but that doesn't mean there isn't a line that can't be crossed. Civility is a two way street, hard as that is to believe sometimes. I applaud you for keeping your cool.

I've worked in food service and in retail. I've worked in dining halls, delis, restaurants, mass-market retailers. I go by the 99% rule. 99% of the people you deal with are fine. 1% of them are jerks.

Ya just gotta get over it. Pack it up, move it on, get over it.

It's really not worth getting your panties in a twist over. Any of it. There are more important things in life.

I've worked in retail before. Once at a place that sold drinks. And the other at a general candy store at my school.

A few things that i've noticed.
1) If you don't know who they are, THEY do not know what they want. This usually means that you have to answer questions. Sometimes lots of them. Usually, I was willing to be patient for the drink job, but not so much for the candy store since the already long line would then be proceeded to be held up.

2) Signs are invisible. Seriously. I don't know how many times i've had to answer questions where the answers were literally right beside the customer. It got to the point where I just made prices up for the candy store. Another sign people don't seem to understand is "closed." I remember during the xmas party at the drink job, people would bang on the doors of our building and ask if we were closed.

3) The whinier the customer, the more they think they can make you lose your job. Not so much an issue with the drink job, because anybody who was a real dick was dealt with by the head of staff. But it's incredible the number of high school students who thought they could make me lose my job at the candy store. "I'm going to get you fired" was a pretty standard thing to hear. This one was my favourite, because it'd then be followed by "I want to see a manager." Which I got to say "You're looking at a manager." Or things like "i'm never coming back." That's good too. Especially when you see them back within a week.

It's really unfortunate. But I always try my best to give service industry people a break because they really do take loads and loads of shit. Most of my friends have great service industry stories.

Basically, just because you are buying something from the place, doesn't mean you get to be rude to the employee.

And your hair looks excellent LPM! :)

I used to work at a high-volume Starbucks with no public restroom in Los Angeles - land of the uncivilized brabrians, uncouth, animals. Reading LPM's post was like reading a page from my own experiences there.

LPM - you did right. You don't have to put up with that crap (and actually, Starbucks supports their employees on this). Your safety comes first.

I also second that Starbucks is a good company (I hope you are taking advantage of all the wonderful benefits they give).

I can relate to your story. I used to work at starbucks, and i'd say about 85% of the customers were tolerable. The other 15% were either complete fucking slobs, sniveling entitled upper middle class white people or their children. I'm not being racist, just pointing out a statistical certainty. I always enjoyed reminding these people that it is just my job to serve them coffee. I'm not responsible for their poor motor skills, their inability to be clear about what they're ordering before they order it, or their need to attempt to derive a sense of self importance from a coffee shop employee. Teenagers were generally the worst. Thankfully i don't work there any more, and in fact work somewhere where i'm not expected to put up with so many immature adult children.

The problem with starbucks is that they respect the fragile egos of their most self important customers more than the well being of their lower level employees. This attitude only encourages people to act like complete and total assholes because they know that as long as they don't let it get completely out of hand they can get away with it.

If cashier at a grocery store counts, then I guess I've just had amazing luck.

I worked as a cashier for about three years, and the few times I dealt with angry customers, I do believe the blame was mine. Nor did they ever cause much of a scene. Couldn't even say that anyone ever overreacted.

One exception, that I was simply a witness to: apparently, some black people had been suspected by another customer of shoplifting and that customer had called the police. They found themselves approached by police after they left the store. I'm guessing no evidence was found, as they proceeded to go back into the store to speak with a cashier manager. The one doing the talking gradually raised his voice to angry yelling, his sentences packed with allegations of racism on the part of the store (fair enough, though I think it was, at least, misdirected) and plenty of profanity. With plenty of kids in the aisles who could hear it perfectly. Another customer came over and angrily yet fairly diplomatically let him know that the profanity was not appreciated, whether or not he was right about the incident. Of course, all that produced was another target for his rant. Eventually, they left. Never did find out if they dropped it or pursued the matter further. But that jackass did a great job of removing whatever sympathy I might've had.

Since I've worked in retail, I've been yelled at, seen many an adult throw a tantrum a 3 year old would be proud of, had stuff thrown at me, called a bitch, called stupid, and been cussed out countless times. It doesn't really bother me anymore, because it's not worth wasting my time worrying about the stupid asshat who did it.


Amen, JJ, amen.

Try working in a mental hospital. It's about a 60-39-1 rule, 60% are not only insane, but complete ass hats as well, 39% are the some of the most selfish and self absorbed people I've ever met, and about 1% consists of decent people who just happened to wind up with a lot of shit in their life and need some help to get them through it.

Oh, and I've been punched too, so has about every other Program Counselor working there. Ditto with the being yelled and screamed at and the threats to be fired.

WoW
 

Are you serious Eribrav? Wow. I really can't believe your reply! La Petite Moi was looking for support here, not critcism. There are plenty of threads that you can post in expressing your opinion - was this one really necessary ????? :confused:

ANYWAY La Petite Moi - You hair looks nice. I'm sorry you had a bad day. You were awesome with those people. I would have been a little less patient!

I must say, though, Mage- there's a reason those people are in a mental hospital. Obviously they aren't going to be the most dignified of people.

I don't know why everyone expects every store to have a bathroom you can use, regardless of whether you're a "paying customer" or not, to the point where they'll yell and scream about your lack of facilities. Now, if someone wants to open a Marbucks across the street that serves all the same ridiculously expensive bullshit, but has a nice public bathroom, then that's serving the demand of the public, and they will profit from it. "Good customer service" doesn't mean "absolutely required".

But then, i'm not sure why anyone expects anything from an establishment that intentionally makes up stupid, complicated names for everything so the people who shop there can feel even more elitest and snobby than they already do, paying $15 for a cup of coffee and a muffin.

And to the people who push the "they are your cutomers, they are the reason you have a job" and blah blah, are 99% of the time the same assholes who treat the retail people like morons, slaves, and degenerates, and tell them to get a real job, etc. If they all followed your advice, there'd be no one for you to treat like shit and give you the coffee fix you addictively crave.

Yeah, but dignified and decent ain't the same thing... there's a difference between someone who needs help, someone who's crazy, and someone who is such an incosiderate ass that they get sent to a mental hospital...

Seriously, I deal with the people you hate to deal with every shift I work, and i don't get paid nearly enough to do it.

Oh, come now. It's not 15 dollars for a cup of coffee and a muffin. 14.50 maybe, but 15 dollars? Seriously, now. :crazy:

My experience is that public restrooms cause way too many problems. What lpm did was understandable. Love the pics of both btw.

I don't think so...

It's been a long time since I worked retail -- actually, food service in this case -- but I totally sympathize, LPM. 30 years on, my blood pressure still rises when I remember certain customers.

I do understand some people being upset about there being no restroom. But you're not the one at fault. You just work there. They have to deal.

That said, I perfectly understand why some coffee houses do not have public restrooms. Here in Santa Cruz we have a number of coffee houses and a young and mobile population. A couple of coffee houses have closed their restrooms to all customers because of what goes on in there -- constant damage, shooting up, drug dealing, and so on.

We've got one bookstore owner here in town who lets _anybody- use his restrooms, as a political statement. After a while, he was incurring 1000-2000/month in repairs and maintenance, and the place still stunk. Finally, he spent I-don't-know how much money and had the restroom walls and floors redone in _stone_, migawd, that can't be easily scratched, graffitized, stained, or broken. So yes, I understand why some businesses don't want to bother with that.

Rodney, I'm in San Jose. Heheheh...

no one expects EVERY store to have a bathroom, just foodservice type places. I for one consider that standard protocol.
My pizza place has one thats not accessile to the public, but if you;ve been in there more than once, they recognize you, and a simple "May I?" gets you in.

and petite, have you considered that wherever you are sending these people to use the bathroom might not appreciate the traffic and wear and tear on their facilities?

The idea of a food and beverage place not having a restroom sounded pretty odd to me, but then I realized the Starbucks where we're moving do not have them if they are in a shopping center with public restrooms.

At any rate, the point isn't whether or not Snartbucks should have one, the point is sometimes people are just incredibly rude to those in the service industry.

If I had to complain about Snottybucks, it would be the one in Chicago where the guy refused to take my order unless I said whatever term it is they use for large.