'I demanded an apology': Local barista gets back at an insolent customer by serving him and his coworkers decaf until he makes a public apology; it took 3 days

Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor

Sep 24, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

Don't bite the hand that feeds you. For folks who work late night shifts, it's more important to remember the mantra, 'don't bite the hand that caffeinates you!' When you have a good rapport with your local barista, good things can happen. When you make an enemy out of your coffee server… You're gonna have a bad time.

The whole world runs on coffee and it's certainly the fuel from the bean-water that gives most of us life. No matter whether you take it with sugar, cream, or just poured in a cup, coffee can resurrect even the most tired human on Earth. That's why when a State trooper made an enemy out of his local barista, the entire squad suffered, resulting in the most humbling display of public retribution imaginable.

I'll set the scene for you– in this story, a young girl in her early 20's was working at the local coffee joint. Being one of those employees that picks up every shift, she found herself in the coffee shop pretty much every day, befriending and jiving with all the locals. As it turns out, with the police station right around the corner, she became pretty good friends with a fair number of police men. All was well until one day, one of the troopers took his anger out on the barista, making her cry in front of everyone.

Little did he know, he was dooming himself to half a week of shame, humiliation, and decaf coffee.

Scroll for the full story of how one girl weaponized caffeine to make a point to an indignant customer proving that she was the most powerful person in town. For more stories of sweet retribution, check out this tale of an EMT who got shorted on PTO pay when he put in his 2-week notice, so he used all of his 'sick days' for his last few shifts.