Starbucks is actually a system chain. But in the USA it seems that customers are always annoying with extremely unusual special requests, as employees report.
It’s not like Starbucks just had coffee. There are many variations in hot and cold. On the US menu there are even colorful sensations like “Strawberry Funnel Cake Crème Frappucino”, which actually have nothing to do with coffee anymore. Nevertheless, for some Starbucks customers, the offer is apparently not yet fancy enough. Current and former baristas of the coffee chain from the USA and Canada have now told Business Insider how creative customers drive them crazy with complex, individualized orders. “There are no limits to how you can order the variations and adjustments,” said a Baltimore barista. And a Los Angeles employee said, “Some of the orders I have are just gross.”
The baristas tell of customers who want brownies, cake pops and other foods mixed in with their coffee. A former Beverly Hills employee said he has had to make white coffees with banana and a café latte with six espressos and five drops of hazelnut syrup. “People think the more they add, the fancier they are. But there’s a point where the quality goes down,” he said. “I can’t imagine that these crazy creations taste good.”
Absurd ingredient lists
Since all included extras have to be listed on a label on the cup, a kind of competition has broken out on social media for the longest list of ingredients, as the New York Post recently reported. The trigger is therefore the special order from a customer named Edward, about whose 13 extras a Starbucks employee was upset in a viral post. There are even Starbucks cups on Twitter that list two dozen or more ingredients. Sometimes the special requests are so extensive that not all ingredients fit into the given cup size. “I’ve made frappuccinos that literally had no room for milk,” the former Los Angeles barista told Business Insider. “Customization is out of control.”
Some guests also come with pictures from the Internet and set the baristas to imitate them, reports one employee. Unfortunately, many of the pictures are digitally enhanced. “And then people got really upset because we couldn’t make the drinks that way.”
Baristas im Stress
A stress factor for employees: the more unusual the special order, the longer it takes to prepare. Starbucks is a chain of system catering, where speed is a top priority. This is usually ensured by standardized processes and preparations – this is torpedoed by the creative orders.
A Starbucks spokesman told Business Insider that most of the individual drink preferences are not complicated. Three quarters of the special orders would contain up to three small changes to the standard drink. “We demand from our baristas that they provide customers with a pleasant experience, no matter what the order looks like. We assume that the preparation of a very individual drink will take longer.”
Sources: / /
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
