'None of my manager's rules apply to her': Barista irritated by manager's double standards towards customers' orders

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Apr 6, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

One barista is confused and annoyed by the rules their manager is making up. They took to r/mildlyinfuriating to share the story. But commenters informed them that they might be looking at things all wrong. 

Their issue revolves around making custom drinks for the patrons of their coffee shop. Some chains embrace the custom drink trend, including all of the Tiktok drinks with names like "Strawberry Cheesecake Frappucino" or "Chocolate Covered Strawberry Drink". (Baristas hate making these, apparently). 

But smaller mom-and-pop places often have strict rules about making drinks that aren't on the menu. These rules might not make much sense to employees: after all, why shouldn't they be able to put a drink in the blender if that's what the customer wants? But that doesn't matter much to the store owners, who just want their employees to blindly follow the rules and stop questioning them. 

Check out the full story, as well as the commentary from folks who wanted the barista to know a few important things about their industry. Then, read about a spare parts estimator who took on a million-dollar job… only to wait two years as the company kept refusing to take the next steps and pay up. 

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    Cheezburger Image 9905444096
    via Tavis Beck on Unsplash
  • 02
    None of my managers rules apply to her So I work in a coffee shop. Last week, someone came in and asked could I make her an iced latte with blended ice. I remember my manager saying a while ago if an item is not on the menu, we cannot serve it. Blended iced lattes are not on our menu so I politely told the girl we couldn't blend the ice which she was cool with. I would've done it for her 100% but my manager is very strict and would've scalded me for it.
    via u/Ok_Worldliness_2987
  • 03
    So today, someone came in and asked for the exact same order. My manager paused for a minute and said "This item isn't on the menu, however I will do it for you no problem". I was so annoyed. I told her that she told me not to serve drinks that aren't on the menu to which she replied "but it makes us money so it isn't an issue!". Whatever, cool. I'm home now and I just got this text in the work gc.
    via u/Ok_Worldliness_2987
  • 04
    "Hi guys, today a customer came in and asked for a pup cup. This item is not on the menu so please don't serve it. Thanks." ?!
    via u/Ok_Worldliness_2987
  • 05
    Edit: Firstly, ignore my crappy spelling. I meant scolding, not scalding haha. Don't worry guys she's not a complete nut job. Also, a lot of people here are agreeing with my manager which is fair enough, I respect what everyone thinks. However, it still isn't fair to create rules and break them. Rules should apply to all, no exceptions.
    via u/Ok_Worldliness_2987
  • 06
    Managers being managers
    via r/mildlyinfuriating
  • 07
    Exciting-Aioli-2522. The problem is, arbitrarily enforcing rules creates a bad rapport with customers. In this scenario, the manager is now the cool barista who hooked them up, and you're the bad guy for not doing something they know you are capable of. Doesn't matter what the rules are, but there needs to be consistency to avoid people saying "but the other person did it for me yesterday!?". -coffee shop owner
    via u/Exciting-Aioli-2522
  • 08
    Ocelot Amazing That is such a manager response. I had the same thing happened with a coupon. I honored a coupon without the buy two part. My manager got mad about it. Then I reminded her that she said "if the coupon scans we honor it. Doesn't matter what the requirements are or if it's expired". Apparently at some point that policy changed and now we actually have to look at coupon requirements.
    via u/Ocelot Amazing
  • 09
    Except her, she will still honor any coupon (expired or invalid) a customer brings. But if they bring it to me, or someone below her, and they didn't do all the requirements or it's expired and she's not around it's a no. It's so annoying the inconsistency is terrible for coworkers and customers.
    via u/Ocelot Amazing
  • 10
    Tdp133 i'd be so annoyed. my boss does stuff like this too. my response is always "so just clarify, are we doing this thing now?"
    via u/Tdp133
  • 11
    nurse-ratchet- . Yes, put them on the spot and make them clarify, better if you can get it in writing
    via u/nurse-ratchet-
  • 12
    False-Guess Behavior like this makes me so petty. Next time a customer comes in and asks for an iced latte, call the manager over to process the transaction. Ask her, in front of the customer, "this customer ordered an ice latte, which isn't on the menu but you made one for that other customer so how did you process that transaction for the other customer?"
    via u/False-Guess
  • 13
    When I worked in retail, I was fine with managers having double standards, but they were going to have to explain them in front of the customer because I wasn't fixin' to get blamed, that's for sure!
    via u/False-Guess
  • 14
    bunnymi1lk my old supervisor told us no beverages or food while on the clock. only bottled water, not even a lidded cup with water. yet he and the other higher ups could have snacks and starbucks whenever they wanted. thankfully people realized the rule was dumb and we're allowed drinks and snacks in our backroom, just don't be a messy
    via u/bunnymi1lk
  • 15
    calvin-coolidge the most infuriating thing about this is an active work group text for an hourly job like this. that leave the group. if there are announcements pertinent to the job, they should be done at huddles or on a bulletin board announced during your shift.
    via u/calvin-coolidge
  • 16
    Kindly_Coconut_1469. Her rule on blended drinks is a little silly anyway. I can understand pup cups, since that involves figuring out how to calculate ingredients and cost. But a blended latte just involves an extra step, no extra ingredients. If someone has a dairy allergy but wants a Starbucks frappuccino, they just make it like a regular iced latte but with soy or almond milk and toss it in the blender. Easy peasy.
    via u/Kindly_Coconut_1469
  • 17
    Ok_Worldliness_2987 OP Yes but our blender isn't quite strong enough for ice tbh. I think she's worried it might break!
    via u/Ok_Worldliness_2987
  • 18
    SnooRadishes4255. Pup cups are usually free. Maybe that's the difference.
    via u/SnooRadishes4255

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boss workplace-stories jobs manager job barista bosses work customers customer coffee mildly infuriating workplace order latte
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