Maybe you are running late for work so you impatiently hover by your barista, asking them how much longer for your morning latte. Or, perhaps you are being a little too friendly and chatting with the cashier in the drive-thru while a line of cars snakes around the building and spills out onto the main road. As the barista calls your name and slides you your coffee, you may stop them and joke about how this cup of joe may actually extend your life. Sure, you may have polite intentions, but for those busy Starbucks baristas rushing to fill customers' orders as accurately and quickly as possible, your actions may actually be quite rude.
We chatted with local baristas and posed questions to baristas on the Starbucks subreddit to find out about customer habits we might think are polite, but are actually rude and even annoying. Most of the baristas' answers were quite simple, but they're also good reminders for all of us to slow down a bit, treat baristas like humans and recognize that service jobs—especially high-volume jobs like those at Starbucks—are frequently high pressure and stressful. Here are some things that might be well-intentioned, but are actually rude.
1. Bringing Your Own (Dirty) Mug from Home
Perhaps you're trying to cut back on paper and plastic waste by bringing your own reusable mug from home. We see your effort, and so does Starbucks. You'll get a small discount on your coffee and earn some stars through their rewards program. That's a win-win situation. Just be sure that the reusable mug is actually clean."If the mug is dirty, I'm not touching it," says Reddit user iamjaydenstrest. "We don't accept dirty serveware for your drinks." They added that they'd still give the discount, but the customer would have to transfer the drink from the Starbucks' cup to their own dirty mug.
2. Using Pictures or Videos to Order Trendy Drinks
Many baristas say they like experimenting with making new and interesting drinks, and especially when one of their regulars has a fun concoction to try. It's part of that relationship-building that's so important when you're working in the service industry. But if you just saw an influencer show off their favorite off-the-menu drink on TikTok or Instagram, it's best to know exactly what you are ordering instead of showing the barista photos or a 30-second video. Make these orders through the app, if possible, or at the very least wait until the shop is slow. If the shop is slammed, you can always make your own Starbucks copycat recipes at home instead!
3. Busing Your Dishes and Trash to the Handoff Plane or Glass Display Case
Throwing out your own trash or even picking up trash left behind by other customers is, in fact, polite and the right thing to do. Leaving behind your empty cup and dirty napkins is a lot like not returning your shopping cart at a grocery store. Don't be one of those people.
But be sure you bring your waste to the actual trash cans instead of dropping it off at the handoff plane (the same place you picked up your drink). And do not put any of your trash or dishes up on the glass display case where it could fall and make a big mess.
While it's nice to clean up your table, if you leave your trash and dishes where employees are taking orders, making drinks or food or handing out drinks, you are slowing them down. They now have to clean (and hopefully sanitize) the area where you left your rubbish.
4. Asking for Waters When You Pick Up Your Order
A cup of water is absolutely free, and your local Starbucks employees would be perfectly happy to grab you as much as you need, but make the request when you place your order, not when you pick it up. "When I see a ticket for a cup of water, I'm happy, because I can work that into my rhythm, my whole plan for how I'm going to tackle all these drinks," explains Reddit user thisisallterriblesir. "But 99% of the time, customers will literally watch me charge up and down the bar for ten minutes making their huge order with eight thousand modifications, plus doing the same for the mobile orders, plus doing the same for the delivery orders, and wait until I've handed them their very, very, utterly last drink and start to dart back into the million other drinks I need to make to say, 'Can we get a couple of waters?' … I won't let you dehydrate. I promise. Just please, please, please ask at the register."
One complication for free water is when you're making a mobile order. As of publication, there is no way to order a cup of ice water through the mobile app. You could try leaving the request for water when entering your name, but that may not work. If you have to ask for water when picking up your mobile order, simply wait until you can catch an employee's attention and politely ask for a cup of water. Being polite yet to the point is a common request among baristas.
5. Making Too Much Small Talk
While many baristas say customers can be less than friendly, there are also plenty of patrons who are a little too friendly. Those customers who love to chat, perhaps addressing the cashier by the name on their nametag and asking how their shift is going, are a welcome relief from those customers who step up to the register, head down in their phone, and bark out their order. Being friendly is absolutely polite, but just use your best judgment. If the cashier is running around trying to help their colleagues fill orders or there's a long line behind you, a simple greeting is sufficient.
6. Rushing Your Order at the Drive-Thru
You may want to hurry through the drive-thru to be conscious of your fellow customers waiting in line, but just be sure the cashier is ready for your order. Starbucks' employees are on tight time frames, and they may even have to meet specific order time metrics on drive-thru—in other words, they might have targets for how much time it takes for a customer to order and receive their drinks and food. So just as it's best not to slow them down with too much small talk, it's also important to wait until they are actually ready to take your order. When you pull up to the drive-thru, don't start placing your order until an employee greets you and asks what you'd like. There's typically only one person working the drive-thru speaker and window, and they'll ask for your order as soon as they can. It's always a good idea to know exactly what you want to order, especially at the drive-thru, but just be sure the cashier is ready for it.
