The Customer Is Not Always Right

So after being an employee of Starbucks for roughly five ish months, I've picked up a few things besides how to correctly call and make a half-caf triple venti four pump almond breve extra hot no foam latte.  Chiefly, what not to do when you're ordering at Starbucks, or any establishment for that matter.  Things I thought were just common courtesy are apparently lost, and not always to my generation.

1.  Turn off your cell phone:  When you are going up to a register, whether it be to order coffee, a sandwich, or purchase a new pair of jeans, do not continue your conversation on your phone.  If it is important, either say you will call back or keep the person on the line, but for goodness' sake, put the damn phone down.  Do not look at me and expect me to know what you want.  When you are ordering from me, or anyone, that is the person your attention should be on.  It's not just that it is annoying, it doesn't make you feel good to be completely disregarded like that.  If I am being courteous to you, please reciprocate.

2.  Hand me your money:  Do not, under any circumstances, put the money on the counter and leave it there or push it towards me.  I place your change in your hands, you place your money in mine.  Again, this goes back to common courtesy.  When people just shove their money across the counter at me, I feel low, as if I'm not worthy of their effort.  Don't make someone feel like this folks.

3.  Don't get mad at me for doing my job:  If you hand me a one hundred dollar bill and I tell you we can't break that, don't get pissy with me and don't ask to speak with my manager.  It is not my personal preference not to break your bill, it is the company's.  If an employee says they are just doing their job and following protocol, there is no need to get angry with them specificially.

4.  Be aware of where you are in line:  Do not zone off, continue to chat on your phone, or spend too much checking out the hottie in front of you to not realize when you are being called.  I don't want to have to beckon you like a dog, but I will if you make me.  Holding up the line will not make you friends, if anything, it will make caffeine-deprived people angry, and you don't want them angry.

5.  Do not give me cash then later say you have change:  My absolute biggest pet peeve is when someone's total is 3.69 (for example, the actual dollar amount is irrelevant) and someone hands me a 20, then after I have punched into the computr that they have given me a 20 and I am counting out the change for that amount, they say "oh I have change!" and proceed to whip out change.  I then have to do reverse math calculations (which if I'm opening, isn't so easy to do at 6 a.m.) and it takes longer.  Just take the change, I beg you.  Give it for a tip.  If you know you have it, give it beforehand.  It also throws off our computer system and the tills come out off because I have to give out a different amount of money than the computer tells me.

The main things, folks, is be nice.  Be courteous.  Don't treat employees working for minimum wage as such.  Just because they may not make as much as you does not mean you can put them down.  The more pleasant our experience with you, the more pleasant your's is with us, and the less likely you will be to find spit in your latte.