Starbucks Staffers Say This Is The Wrong Way For Customers To Handle Food Order Questions

A Starbucks worker took to the subreddit dedicated to the popular coffee shop's workers and customers to air a complaint. "Dear customers," they wrote. "Please stop asking the person at the bar (the person MAKING DRINKS) about your food." The problem is that the people making drinks are there to make drinks and likely have no knowledge about when your toasted pastry will be done. As a rule of thumb, the OP noted, you can assume nine times out of 10 that the delay is due to a big order before yours. No one is likely to forget about your food.

This struck a chord with workers. "Blows my mind," one agreed. "Especially when they can visibly see who is handing out food and WALKING back to the ovens." Customers also tut-tutted the impatience of their compatriots: "Sometimes I can tell my drink got delayed. ... But still, it always comes. Meanwhile most days I see people go tell the barista 'I think you missed my order.' People can be so impatient."

Arguably more helpful, however, is that one worker clarified what a person should do if they are concerned. Namely, ask the person at the register who will have sent the order to the rest of the team. Though, there is the protocol here too. As one worker griped: "I honestly hated when customers tried to cut in front of other customers to ask about their food." Instead, it would be easier for everyone to wait in line.

While the subreddit complaint is about impatient customers interrupting the wrong workers, it's worth noting that under certain circumstances, a customer might have a legitimate reason to question why an order isn't ready. In November 2021, Business Insider learned from former baristas that the Starbucks app had a glitch that allowed customers to order items that weren't in stock at specific cafes. This happened because the app was too slow to update inventory, wouldn't allow workers to turn off ingredients, and had a system that let customers order their go-to items with a shortcut. 

As one might imagine, this led to conversations where "customers asked questions like 'I paid for it, where is it?' and 'If it was out, how was I able to order it?'" In some cases, the encounters culminated in rude customer behavior towards Starbucks employees. Of course, even in this situation, the person tasked with making the drinks had no control over the missing order. And if that order involved food, they likely had a lack of info to go with the lack of control. As one commenter said in the Reddit thread about the broader problem, "I'll truly never be able to comprehend why in the world a customer would see me in the middle of making a latte and think I have any idea where their butter croissant is." Workers would appreciate more patience as they try to address the public's wants.