Less Idiot with My Latte Please
Apparently laws of physics no longer apply at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. This morning I was asked whether I wanted my medium latte in a small cup. I was stunned and happy at the same time. I had no idea Coffee Bean was allocating enough resources into research and development where they could figure out how to put things in containers smaller than the volume of the thing in question. Wow! After I paused for a second, I realized that I was probably giving a bit too much credit to Coffee Bean, and it was more likely that the barista was a moron, since I had asked for a medium latte with only a single shot (as opposed to the usual double shot that comes in a medium). The response to this request had been…
“Would you like that in a small cup?”
Uh, what?! Wouldn’t that make it just a small latte?
Me: “No. Just a medium latte with a single shot, please.”
Barista: “Oh you just want extra milk,” she said happily, having solved the mystery of the single-shot medium latte.
At this point she can see that I am about to explode, so she tries to explain her logic.
Barista: “I am just trying to make sure.”
Make sure of what?! For the love of God, how complicated is making a latte and only putting one less shot of espresso in it?
Apparently, coffee doesn’t increase your chances of a heart attack; it’s the people who serve it to you.
Note: This has happened on more than one occasion. Can someone please explain this to me? Perhaps one of you works at Coffee Bean.
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umm well if you don’t specify what you want to take the place of the missing espresso, you’re wasting the volume of the cup, reducing the volume of what you’ve ordered to a small anyways. so you’re actually paying more for something she tried to save you money on.
well i think the phrase ‘medium’ should generally have cleared up any misgivings a person might have about the size of the latte someone was ordering…
The volume of the espresso being omitted is negligible, and my goal is to have a milder coffee flavor in the latte, not save money. If I wanted to save money, I’d go get coffee from 7-11 or make it at home.
So not true. By requesting one shot less, the customer is implying that they would like to dilute the flavor of the coffee more, because espresso is very strong. So you can STILL fill the cup, and thus get what you pay for, while not having to have two shots of espresso. Don’t be dumber than the barista.
I don’t see how she would be saving him money if she just asked him if he wanted a medium latte in a small cup. Sounds like she is going to charge him for a medium latte and was just going to give it to him in a small cup…
not necessarily Dan, if the barista had half a brain, she would have topped it up to a medium size. If you require cream or cold milk or something out of the normal then naturally you request those things to fill the space left by the missing shot of coffee. I am a barista myself and I agree, the woman probably could have used a coffee herself to give her brain a kickstart
You’re a douche. I could see why you might try to defend this logic but its not really logical and doesn’t deserve defending. OBVIOUSLY if he only wants one shot of espresso then the remaining volume should be filled with regular coffee. Seriously, is it that hard to understand? One less shot espresso = one more shot coffee.
the power of compressed latte
AMAZING!!
I can’t be sure but I have a feeling the explanation is this:
They put one shot of espresso in a small latte, two in a large, three in a medium, etc… The price of the drink you order is dependent on the amount of espresso more so than the amount of milk. Therefore, she was actually doing you a favour by charging you for a small latte (i.e. one shot of espresso) in a medium cup, instead of charging you for a medium and leaving out a shot of expresso. The way she asked it was stupid, granted, but I think her “Oh you just want extra milk” comment is a dead giveaway of her mindset. In her mind, what you ordered is not a medium latte, but a small latte with extra milk (or a small latte in a medium cup). Whereas you are thinking about total volume, she is thinking in terms of espresso shots.
I think you’re giving waaaaaaaay too much credit here. The phrase I like to use when ordering from any food service establishment is, “Never assume competence where none exists.” There is a much greater probability of moronism than there is that she was trying to help out. There are two phrases that give this away: “Oh, you just want more milk,” and “This has happened on more than one occasion.” It’s probably the fault of whoever does the hiring. I’ve noticed when I order food at different fast food establishments around town, that the staff at some places are just more competent than at others, most likely because the hiring managers at some places are more competent than at others.
I always appreciate it when they dont mark the cups with what they are so when you ask which one is which the Barista responds with “I don’t know”. My coworker who is lactose intolerant loves this. I tried complaining once at our local Yogurt Mill, however I was given the impression that my business just wasnt wanted and their employees cant be trusted with a pen.
ya…. she was just a moron. as a barista i would simply leave the shot out and fill with milk. simple… and good piece btw
Looks like somebody needs to switch to decaf! Hachacha.
I work for one of the leading coffee shop brands, and having been on both sides of the counter, trust me it works both ways.
Customers (not specifically coffee shop customers) are picky/like to get their money’s worth/just have no clue whats going on.
Baristas try their best to help the customers (in general; we’ve all been accused of a little laziness at work or even the occasional off day) but seemingly the customers don’t always want to help us – ordering drinks that either make no sense, are horrendously complicated or even just ambiguous. Your dilemma however, with the one shot medium latte? I don’t understand them getting this wrong – its a very standard combination! Finally – I’m a university aerospace engineering student, and its very commonplace to be looked down upon by the customers, which winds me up no end – we’re not thick, we get paid minimum wage.
So anyone that’s read this – keep it in mind. Would you care that much about your customers nitpicking if you were being paid minimum wage?
I really can’t stand being look down on at work. I get paid rubbish wages sure, but I’m a world literature student, You (random member of the public) probably just work in payroll at whatever random company is paying YOU minimum wage. You just get a lunchbreak. That’s all. Although I do think this particular Barista was being a bit dense… bless.
*looked down on
whoops.
Hmm, well the ‘extra milk’ comment is so she can hit the ‘extra milk’ button on the computer screen; yes, thus charging you ‘more’, but not that much more. You shouldn’t be paying more for a single-shot, medium latte, since you aren’t paying for the extra shot, just the extra milk AND shots are usually more costly than milk. The drink should be rung up at the register as a small latte, with added milk. This should not cost more than a medium latte, made with the standard shots and milk…just something to check on price-wise the next time you are there.
And no, this isn’t rocket science and shouldn’t be so difficult for the poor Coffee Bean employee to figure out.
I don’t mind paying a little extra. I worked in the service industry during college, and I know customers can be douches, and I try not to be one of those ass-hats, but this one just put me over the edge. :)
I worked as a cashier/barista at a local coffee shop (that is a franchised location of a nationally franchised brand) for about a year, and “cup upgrading” was very common.
The only thing is that sometime, customers WERE pretty dense – although this story does not sound like that was the case. I would have clarified at the end (for the sake of repeating the order) that they wanted a single shot in a larger up, because I find that’s just the right thing to do.
There was of course, the random person that wanted a SINGLE latte (both shot and milk) in a TRIPLE cup. From my knowledge though, I dont’ think there was a giant charge for upgrading a cup, like 2oc or something.
wow… I work at Caribou Coffee and I actually had a customer ask me if she could get a medium latte in a small cup… haha she was obviously confused..I just looked at her and tried explaining it to her and finally just stopped and just charged her a small and didnt tell her haha she was all excited cuz it was cheaper then she expected… wow some people
She was likely asking for a medium in a small cup because it is cheaper than a small with an extra shot of espresso added. At least that is the case at the coffee shop I manage.
Give the poor girl a break… maybe she was tired
Multiple workers at this place have asked me this question. I understand they may be trying to be nice and save me $0.30, but that savings costs me a few ruptured capillaries.