Relying on the Kindness of Baristas
Category: Kitchen Sink...
Posted Wednesday, May 02, 2007 at 09:16 PM [GMT-6]

We pulled into the parking lot of the southside Starbucks just in time to see the door of the church panel van slide open and regurgitate a seemingly endless stream of teenagers. We got out of our truck as the first of the mob reached the store's entrance, and I suppose our faces gave away our feelings, for the group's leader -- not far out of his teen years himself -- called out to them, "hey, guys...let them go first!"

Unfortunately, we were still waiting for our friends to arrive so we reluctantly thanked them and waved them on. We chatted with one of the SB employees who was eating a quick dinner at an outside table, and we discussed the thunderstorms that rolled over Midland earlier in the day.

Our friends arrived and we apprised them of the situation. "We're behind about 16 kids who just went in." The barista corrected me. "Actually, I counted 15." They're trained to be observant and detail-oriented, you know, not unlike FBI agents.

We went inside and grabbed the cushy easy chairs in the back of the room, intending to wait until the line cleared out. After only a couple of minutes, the barista we'd been chatting with came over and asked, "you want your usual?" We did a double-take, saw she was serious, and replied in the affirmative, gratefully. "How about a pastry?" Well, yeah. You can't end fajita night without dessert, can you?

I jumped up, followed her to the counter (where the long line was still, well, long) and picked out something suitably decadent, and laid my Starbucks card on top of the display case. In less than five minutes, she came around carrying our drinks and pastry, as well as my card and receipt. I followed her back and dropped a couple of bucks in the tip jar. The church kids were still in line, placing their orders.

You might say we're in a rut, showing up at the same time on the same night every week and ordering the same thing. But when it leads to service like that, I frankly can't see any downside.

Plus, the kids ended up going out on the patio where they enjoyed their drinks and had a quick Bible study. They were gone before we left.

Nice kids. Great barista. Wonderful evening. Hope yours was as good.

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Comments

Sounds lovely!

Posted by: Janie at May 2, 2007 09:52 PM

Very cool!

Posted by: Gwynne at May 2, 2007 10:29 PM

Was it T and T you went with? She sounds like a customers dream!

Posted by: Rach at May 3, 2007 01:42 AM

Southside SB is my favorite in West Texas, and the barristas there are a big part of it.

Posted by: Jeff at May 3, 2007 06:39 AM

Y'know, not too long ago that could have been me getting out of the regurgitating van and saying, "let them go first." Though I was pretty far from the teen years even then.

We would have had our bible study before we came though... I just can't concentrate and drink coffee at the same time.

There's been a lot of griping going on about the watering down of the Starbucks experience lately. I'm sure there's some (maybe even a lot) of truth to it. But it looks like in your town, and in mine too, there are still baristas who know how to treat their customers.

Posted by: Jim at May 3, 2007 06:41 AM

I used to have a *$ where they would greet me by name when I came in and just start with my drink unless I spoke quickly (which I never needed to do - I'm in a vanilla latte rut and have been for years.) Gosh I miss that.

Posted by: beth at May 3, 2007 08:40 AM

Rachel, you know better than most what a rut we're in. Although I must say that having a regular schedule for meeting friends is a very good rut. ;-)

Jeff, I suspect they all know you by name, too.

...the Starbucks experience...

Jim, that phrase gives me the willies. I know what you're getting at, but it has that New Agey-Seattle yuppie-MySpace trendie thing going. In reality, the "Starbucks experience" is anyplace where -- cue music -- everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came... Uh, where was I? SB may have been the first to figure out how to globally franchise and trademark it, but it's been going on in local truckstops and diners and downtown cafes for generations.

Nevertheless, just because it's clichéd doesn't make it inaccurate. Or any less appealing to experience. ;-)

Posted by: Eric at May 3, 2007 09:12 AM

Wow. What great service.

Posted by: mis_nomer at May 3, 2007 10:17 AM

Eric,

The Starbucks Experience is a much bandied about phrase nowadyas. It is the title of a book by Joseph Michelli though I don't think he came up with it. It gives me the willies too.

There has been a lot of talk about the SE lately, especially online. What I was primarily referring too was the infamous memo from Sbux jefe Howard Shultz, which when it came out was thought to be a hoax but was confirmed to be the real deal a couple of days later. A quote:

"I have said for 20 years that our success is not an entitlement and now it's proving to be a reality. Let's be smarter about how we are spending our time, money and resources. Let's get back to the core. Push for innovation and do the things necessary to once again differentiate Starbucks from all others."


And, of course, the Starbucks Experience is the actual title of the company's barista recruitment page, which is why I thought of the phrase in connection with your own "experience" last evening.

But enough of that. Let's all go out singing, shall we?

"You wanna be where you can see our troubles are all the same..."

Posted by: Jim at May 3, 2007 11:39 AM

And that's Howard Schultz, not Shultz.

"YOu wanna go where everybody knows your name!...
da da da da duh-da ... DA.

Posted by: Jim at May 3, 2007 11:41 AM

All I can say is, It's great to have friends in high places: it's not what you know, it's WHO you know! (or who knows you).....by the way, I think you failed to mention that the barista remembered all of our "usual" drink orders.....
we are in a rut, albeit one we enjoy every week.

Posted by: Toni at May 3, 2007 01:06 PM

Jim, I didn't mean to imply that you were to blame for the phrase. I simply perceived that you typed it without that certain smug cynicism that We Who Are In The Know exercise toward all cultural icons whose success depends on kowtowing to those who are cooler than we are.

Uh, I kinda lost my train of thought somewhere up there so I'm not sure what I just said. But I'm exercising smug cynicism just in case that helps.

Posted by: Eric at May 3, 2007 01:49 PM

Toni, you don't think it had anything to do with the fact that all four of us have CHLs, do you? ;-)

Posted by: Eric at May 3, 2007 01:52 PM

No offense taken or even perceived. Though your previous comment made me (perhaps mistakenly) think that you were not familiar with that particular phrase.

In other words, "Have you ever been experienced? Well, I have."

Posted by: Jim at May 3, 2007 06:09 PM

as a frequent infrequent Starbucks customer, I'm increasingly impressed with their customer service. The spot on my way to work, really knows who their regulars are, and treats new people as regulars to be, which is why the franchise is a success. I guess.

Posted by: Jon at May 5, 2007 07:32 PM
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