Starbucks Baristas Wish Customers Would Say This When Ordering Drinks
Most seasoned Starbucks customers are used to the coffee shop's lingo, so for them, ordering a beverage is a breezy experience. For others, there are many survival guides that you can go armed with, because ordering a Starbucks drink like a pro is no easy business. A large reason why ordering a drink at Starbucks can be a complicated affair is perhaps because of the distinct names given to the sizes of their drinks. A mishmash of English and Italian, Starbucks has long ditched the small, medium, and large sizing for the tall, grande, venti, and trenta names.
According to Thrillist, it all started when Starbucks founder Howard Schultz took a trip to Italy. In awe of Italy's rich coffee drinking experience, Schultz wanted to add a touch of it to his Seattle-based coffee shop, and so he gave his coffee sizes a distinct and Italian spin. Today, however, the Starbucks drink sizes are a pain for both customers and baristas alike for a number of different reasons.
In a Reddit thread started by a Starbucks employee, several baristas share that customers often get confused with the venti-trenta sizes and have an entirely unrelated answer when asked for the size of their drink. Baristas wish that customers would begin saying their order with the size of their drink first — and preferably get the name of the size right!
Start your order with the size of your drink
The key to ordering a Starbucks drink like a pro, it seems, is to start by letting the barista know the size of your drink (via Reddit). "I remember standing at the bar with my hand over the cups waiting for them to say the size so I could start the drink," writes one barista. Baristas add that customers often forget to mention the size of their drink repeatedly: "My favorite is when they order 6 drinks and EVERY. DAMN. TIME. I have to ask them 'what size?' 'what size?' 'what size?!' Like a damn parrot."
Other Starbucks baristas say that customers often get confused with the sizes of their drink and end up asking for a regular — which is usually a medium or a grande at Starbucks — when they really want a small. At times, baristas get all sorts of unrelated answers like the temperature of the drink, a repetition of the entire order, or even a blank stare when asked for the size of the drink.
The correct way to order a drink, baristas say, is to begin with the size and follow it by specifying hot or iced, the name of the drink, syrups, milk, toppings, whipped cream, and leave any extra additions for the last.