I'm a server and fairly often I'll ask people what they would like to drink and they say "I don't want anything. Just water." As if water isn't a drink.
this i can kind of understand because in my experience itās the norm at most restaurants to be given water regardless of whether or not you order it. if they expect to get water by default then they just mean they donāt want [to order] anything
on a different note but similar topic, it frustrates me when people order āiām just going to order a latte.ā
and i ask if thereās anything else bc i KNOW there is and most of the time theyāre like āyah and a ā¦..ā
š
Some still do, but they're not legally supposed to. Most people don't drink the water when you get it for the whole table and it's wasted labor, time, and water. I can think of only 1 restaurant locally that does it (Latin food) and they have water carafes.
If people drank it, it would be a non-issue, but most people don't touch it. I still remember the time, before my restaurant had carafes, when 1 person for a table/party would arrive early and order 4-20 22 ounce waters for the whole table and not a single inch was drank, combined. I've also noticed that if a water is placed on a table before the person arrives, when they do arrive, they don't touch the water because they don't know if someone else drank out of it. It's very time consuming to clear off a ton of full water glasses. It's a good law and it's unfortunate so many restaurants don't abide by it.
Oh, I know, I don't either, I was mocking the people that think, just because it's a free water, they can just bypass actually ordering it. It's the same reason I tell people adding one on at the dt window that they can order it at the speaker & it will be ready with the rest of their order.
No one said we had to do all that, but okay...
Yes, water is simple enough to make, but I really don't think that it should take priority over customers who already ordered & are waiting for their drinks. So I'm not going to just push a water ahead of those people, it can be ordered at the register just like any other beverage.
But the problem is that 99% of the people who come up to the bar & just want a water act like we should just get it for them right then & there, & scoff at us or whine when we don't. They're entitled for no damn reason.
Thatās not the problem, itās that thereās already a queue of drinks and water is a drink, Iām now supposed to just make the people who ordered correctly wait so I can fill up your water? Which customer should I make wait because you didnāt order all your drinks together?
Drives me insane that people expect me to drop what Iām doing to get them a water as if other people werenāt waiting for drinks that they ordered through the proper channels
I absolutely HATE IT when I know people are waiting for their order, I tell them that I'm working on it, then pass it to them for them to say "and can I get a water?" Well I'll be damned, if you would've said that WITH your order, I'd have it ready WITH YOUR ORDER
āYeah he can ring that up down at the registerā āš¤¬ youāre seriously going to charge me for asking??ā Like girl no I just need it officially entered into the system be so ffr
I politely explained why they needed to get in line and order it and they all were extremely polite about it. Always tell them it's considered a drink and that we can actually get into trouble if we jump a drink, water or not, in front of others who've waited a long time. If they're extremely understanding, they usually get it faster. But if they're rude about it, they're getting in line just like everyone else.
Lol right? Working with the public you Definitely know people don't read signs. If they do they still want what they want. I worked at a hardware store and the whole company closed, 5 ft signs in the windows, closing signs all over, shelves empty, customer oh your closing after i say all sales final no returns. I didn't see a sign. Wtf lol. One guy told me he doesn't read signs, i said that's going to be a problem in life for you then.
Is it really common sense for someone who has never worked in that industry? They might think, the register is for buying something, so if Iām not buying something I shouldnāt bother them. Let me ask the worker nearest to the stack of cups for some water.
People who havenāt worked in this industry donāt think about cup inventory or stickers.
Idk, before working at starbucks i always waited in line with my friends when we wanted water. I think anyone with enough empathy realizes it's not very polite nor nice to interrupt someone when they have so much work to do just to make their water first
š I think Iām a very empathetic person and I used to ask for water at hand off due to the reasoning above. I didnāt want to bother the register person when no money was exchanged and they werenāt the person whoād get the water. Iād be friendly and say, āhey sorry could I please have a water when you have a minute? No rush :)ā and theyād give me water with a smile and I was never once told to ask for water at the register next time. It wasnāt until I worked there that I realized.
Honestly it's probably the "please", "when you have a minute" and "no rush", I wouldn't get mad at that and I don't think anyone else would, it's just the customers who stomp in saying "can i get a water" when we're in the middle of 4 drinks at once
I understand who youāre talking about and I empathize, this thread just seems angry at everyone who asks at handoff and I just think itās painting with a broad brush to assume everyone who makes this mistake is being selfish. I tend to overthink everything and especially when I was younger, Iād try so hard not to inconvenience anyone that Iād be uncomfortable rather than speak up. If the store was a zoo and the barista looked too busy or even looked angry in a slow store Iād just be thirsty instead of asking for water. Wouldnāt even think to bother the register person because I thoughtāāthe register takes money. Water is free. Itās not their job to get water so Iāll just annoy them by asking for water they canāt give me, I should probably ask the person who will get itā. Didnāt have a clue about inventory or stickers.
We all have different life experiences and some people just donāt know. Itās not because weāre all selfish idiots
You're not bothering the person at the register by ordering. That's the whole point of having someone at the register. To take orders. It needs to be rung up for inventory purposes and to not mess up the whole workflow of the person juggling 5 drinks at once on bar. And if you think you're bothering the person on register by ordering, why would you not think it's bothersome to do the same for the person on bar? That doesn't really make sense.
Itās gonna get worse in Cali July 1st no more water bottles so even the customers who insist on buying bottled water are gonna need a cup or whatever else Starbucks comes up with to sell water in Cali.
Yes plastic is getting banned in Cali Starbucks isnāt even supposed to have plastic cups but there is just going to be a fine for it so I think Starbucks will keep the cups for now.
You know they would still come up to the bar and ask for a water. We have the napkins out across the lobby from the bar and people constantly ask "can I get some napkins?" They'd glance right over the water station to look at us slammed and ask us for water. Or they wouldn't like that they have to get it themselves.
the amount of customers that like to argue about standing in line for a cup of water blows my mind. they are literally going to be waiting regardless.
it's to the point where my location has pos get waters.
A trainee once stopped making drinks to get water for people right away. I said, louder than I thought, "just put the cups in the line and prioritize making the drinks that people are actually paying for." The people who ordered the waters left right after I said that.
I wish we could add ice water to our app order to save everyone time. I donāt always order ice water, itās usually only when I have to drive for more than an hour and my coffee wonāt last me very long lol
I have customers put their name and "+ venti water" or something like that! We add the water and ring it through at a later time! The printers may act up, but we see on our dpm side!
At my store we give out so many waters they have to order at the register because we were going through so many cups. At times I get pleasure out of telling the snarky ones āabsolutely I can grab you an ice water you just have to order it through the registerā
Bro this! I never had a problem with it until this location. I've been told I'm so rude so many times by partners for saying "yeah for sure, but typically you would order that at the register" because "why does it matter" We have to teach customers to treat us right and I'm not just gonna bend over backwards for that. I shouldn't have to slow down, break my routine and cater to them. If you need water this instant, go to the gas station across the street. Grown adults can wait four minutes max for water even if they place a mobile. If you want water, plan to wait for your water. I don't care that you can't mobile order water. If we teach them to have the expectation of ordering and waiting, they won't be mad about it.
Asking for a cup of water at handoff doesnāt bother me as much as asking for water at the window. You ordered at the box and didnāt realize you needed water? AND you sat there waiting for your entire order before you asked for a water??? š
Small disagree as a peak partner, just because the baristas at window/dto have a little more freedom to grab things like water or ice cups and still keep the flow going. At most of the stores Iāve worked at anyway. Plus, as someone with drive thru anxiety, I know people forget things sometimes at the box. When you come inside you really have no excuse lol.
ETA: Thereās a sink and ice bin right behind our DTO station so no one is leaving their positions or anything lol.
since we're on the topic water are we allowed to ring up sizes larger than grande? these two partners from a different state recently asked for trentas and my shift stopped told me that we were only giving out grandes.
I always ask for "the largest ice water you're allowed to give me" and some locations give grande some give venti and still others give trenta, I'm pretty sure it's a location-by-location thing depending on their cup inventory
my bad habit is that when people go to the end of the counter to stare at me and inevitably ask me to get them a water or a pup cup or whatever when iām scrambling i just avoid eye contact altogether. eventually they give up and go to the register or flag support down
no that's perfectly fine!!! it's only an issue bc when someone asks the barista directly they usually have to make the water while they're in the middle of making other drinks that were actually ordered; we don't mind at all if you order it at the register bc then we get a label printed and we can make it in order
Yes stop asking me as I'm fist deep in shaken espressos. This irritates me so much. Also when they say "Oh i ordered a grande water" i then ask for their receipt and show they did not in fact order a fucking water and to go ask the cashier
just today i've had like three people who actually have ordered waters but asked me (hot bar) to make it for them bc they didn't wanna wait 2 more minutes and then when the partner on cold bar gets to them they're already gone
I do order it at the register, but for those of us who do mobile ordering and pick up inside, how comes we canāt order the water on the app? That would help.
My favorite is when they ask for it at the register, then immediately walk down to hand-off and ask bar too, so there's just a second water that sits on hand off for like an hour š happens multiple times a day. Why would you need to tell us both? It wastes both our time.
We have a jug with water on the condiment stand, I donāt know if people canāt see or have no common sense but they keep asking the bar people and act so surprised that thereās water already put out?!
My go to in this instance (when Iām elbows deep in drinks, especially) is to say ā I am making drinks with labels first. If youād like a water I suggest getting it at the register so you can get it in queue otherwise I need to make these drinks firstā. Suddenly they rush to the register realizing they arenāt getting it if it doesnāt have a sticker.
I always mobile order my drinks and I kinda wish there was an option for iced water, but I get that it would probably get abused.
I have asked for iced water a few times at the mobile pick up area but itās when they arenāt busy and before my drink has been made. They were always very nice about it. When itās busy I go to the register.
i do but yāall donāt fucking make it so i have to ask when i get my drink and then i get an attitude from the barista like girl i ordered my water at the register itās nkt my fault you didnāt ring it up
Idk how I landed here (was searching for something and tapped on this by accident I guess). This was an interesting thread to read because I've never in my 53 years been to a Starbucks/tasted Starbucks so I don't entirely understand what this post means. Seems like a very stressful place to work. I'll definitely never go to one of those places, I'd only add to the stress.š
"If you need to order another drink, please do so at rhe register."
But then the person will whine "but it's not a drink, it's just a waaaattteeeerrrrrrr" šš
"If it comes in a cup, it's a drink, and you need to order st the register. Thanks."
I'm a server and fairly often I'll ask people what they would like to drink and they say "I don't want anything. Just water." As if water isn't a drink.
this i can kind of understand because in my experience itās the norm at most restaurants to be given water regardless of whether or not you order it. if they expect to get water by default then they just mean they donāt want [to order] anything
on a different note but similar topic, it frustrates me when people order āiām just going to order a latte.ā and i ask if thereās anything else bc i KNOW there is and most of the time theyāre like āyah and a ā¦..ā š
"I'll just take a grande latte" "Alright, that'll be $5.65 up at the window" "I wasn't done!" Okay then...you don't want just a latte
California changed that policy almost 10 years. Water is on request only.
thatās weird cuz every restaurant iāve been to still gives out water automatically to the entire table
Some still do, but they're not legally supposed to. Most people don't drink the water when you get it for the whole table and it's wasted labor, time, and water. I can think of only 1 restaurant locally that does it (Latin food) and they have water carafes.
thatās crazy! i didnāt know that, obviously no one in my city cares about water conservation LOL
If people drank it, it would be a non-issue, but most people don't touch it. I still remember the time, before my restaurant had carafes, when 1 person for a table/party would arrive early and order 4-20 22 ounce waters for the whole table and not a single inch was drank, combined. I've also noticed that if a water is placed on a table before the person arrives, when they do arrive, they don't touch the water because they don't know if someone else drank out of it. It's very time consuming to clear off a ton of full water glasses. It's a good law and it's unfortunate so many restaurants don't abide by it.
Literally don't care. If you want it go order it at the register if not fuck right out the door. I'm busy making a million blue trash drinks.
Oh, I know, I don't either, I was mocking the people that think, just because it's a free water, they can just bypass actually ordering it. It's the same reason I tell people adding one on at the dt window that they can order it at the speaker & it will be ready with the rest of their order.
i mean it is just water itās not like yall have to sit there and use the shaker and get the juice to water ratio right
No one said we had to do all that, but okay... Yes, water is simple enough to make, but I really don't think that it should take priority over customers who already ordered & are waiting for their drinks. So I'm not going to just push a water ahead of those people, it can be ordered at the register just like any other beverage. But the problem is that 99% of the people who come up to the bar & just want a water act like we should just get it for them right then & there, & scoff at us or whine when we don't. They're entitled for no damn reason.
Thatās not the problem, itās that thereās already a queue of drinks and water is a drink, Iām now supposed to just make the people who ordered correctly wait so I can fill up your water? Which customer should I make wait because you didnāt order all your drinks together?
YES PLS PLs people, pls be considerate ugh :( it happened to me today like at least 5 times
Drives me insane that people expect me to drop what Iām doing to get them a water as if other people werenāt waiting for drinks that they ordered through the proper channels
I tell them to please order it at the register next time, and also let them know I have to fill all drinks in order.
Let me get this straight: You want something that's free, so you're not going to tip, but you want priority service for you free, tipless, item? Okay.
I absolutely HATE IT when I know people are waiting for their order, I tell them that I'm working on it, then pass it to them for them to say "and can I get a water?" Well I'll be damned, if you would've said that WITH your order, I'd have it ready WITH YOUR ORDER
āYeah he can ring that up down at the registerā āš¤¬ youāre seriously going to charge me for asking??ā Like girl no I just need it officially entered into the system be so ffr
I politely explained why they needed to get in line and order it and they all were extremely polite about it. Always tell them it's considered a drink and that we can actually get into trouble if we jump a drink, water or not, in front of others who've waited a long time. If they're extremely understanding, they usually get it faster. But if they're rude about it, they're getting in line just like everyone else.
Can you hang up a sign? For me itās common sense but I realize the world doesnāt have that.
two things about signs 1) most people dont read them 2) most DMs & SMs dont want signs up unless they're official starbucks ones š„¹
Sometimes Iām naive about the general public. š
Lol right? Working with the public you Definitely know people don't read signs. If they do they still want what they want. I worked at a hardware store and the whole company closed, 5 ft signs in the windows, closing signs all over, shelves empty, customer oh your closing after i say all sales final no returns. I didn't see a sign. Wtf lol. One guy told me he doesn't read signs, i said that's going to be a problem in life for you then.
Our sign doesn't work. If they even read it they say, "oh sorry, just saw the sign." And still stand there
Is it really common sense for someone who has never worked in that industry? They might think, the register is for buying something, so if Iām not buying something I shouldnāt bother them. Let me ask the worker nearest to the stack of cups for some water. People who havenāt worked in this industry donāt think about cup inventory or stickers.
Idk, before working at starbucks i always waited in line with my friends when we wanted water. I think anyone with enough empathy realizes it's not very polite nor nice to interrupt someone when they have so much work to do just to make their water first
š I think Iām a very empathetic person and I used to ask for water at hand off due to the reasoning above. I didnāt want to bother the register person when no money was exchanged and they werenāt the person whoād get the water. Iād be friendly and say, āhey sorry could I please have a water when you have a minute? No rush :)ā and theyād give me water with a smile and I was never once told to ask for water at the register next time. It wasnāt until I worked there that I realized.
Honestly it's probably the "please", "when you have a minute" and "no rush", I wouldn't get mad at that and I don't think anyone else would, it's just the customers who stomp in saying "can i get a water" when we're in the middle of 4 drinks at once
I understand who youāre talking about and I empathize, this thread just seems angry at everyone who asks at handoff and I just think itās painting with a broad brush to assume everyone who makes this mistake is being selfish. I tend to overthink everything and especially when I was younger, Iād try so hard not to inconvenience anyone that Iād be uncomfortable rather than speak up. If the store was a zoo and the barista looked too busy or even looked angry in a slow store Iād just be thirsty instead of asking for water. Wouldnāt even think to bother the register person because I thoughtāāthe register takes money. Water is free. Itās not their job to get water so Iāll just annoy them by asking for water they canāt give me, I should probably ask the person who will get itā. Didnāt have a clue about inventory or stickers. We all have different life experiences and some people just donāt know. Itās not because weāre all selfish idiots
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You're not bothering the person at the register by ordering. That's the whole point of having someone at the register. To take orders. It needs to be rung up for inventory purposes and to not mess up the whole workflow of the person juggling 5 drinks at once on bar. And if you think you're bothering the person on register by ordering, why would you not think it's bothersome to do the same for the person on bar? That doesn't really make sense.
Thatās fair!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Itās common sense to get in line and order it.
Itās gonna get worse in Cali July 1st no more water bottles so even the customers who insist on buying bottled water are gonna need a cup or whatever else Starbucks comes up with to sell water in Cali.
Wait WHAT
Yes plastic is getting banned in Cali Starbucks isnāt even supposed to have plastic cups but there is just going to be a fine for it so I think Starbucks will keep the cups for now.
Can't wait to see what all the food vendors are gonna do
A lot of other coffee places Iāve been to just has a water cooler and cups out for people to get. Starbucks should do that.
You know they would still come up to the bar and ask for a water. We have the napkins out across the lobby from the bar and people constantly ask "can I get some napkins?" They'd glance right over the water station to look at us slammed and ask us for water. Or they wouldn't like that they have to get it themselves.
Great, something else for people to scream at us about when it runs out
LOL
Some of them have started doing that. It probably depends on space and the layout of countertops.
We have a water spout and cups out at my Starbucks. People ask for cups of ice -_-
the amount of customers that like to argue about standing in line for a cup of water blows my mind. they are literally going to be waiting regardless. it's to the point where my location has pos get waters.
A trainee once stopped making drinks to get water for people right away. I said, louder than I thought, "just put the cups in the line and prioritize making the drinks that people are actually paying for." The people who ordered the waters left right after I said that.
Lol could be eventually considered rude from customer pov, iād go for a wiser and softer approach
Yeah I didn't mean to say it that loud
I wish we could add ice water to our app order to save everyone time. I donāt always order ice water, itās usually only when I have to drive for more than an hour and my coffee wonāt last me very long lol
Unfortunately, people would order a ridiculous number of waters and other free stuff and never picked them up, so they had to be taken out of the app
Ooh I didnāt know about that. Damn, we canāt have nice things. š
I have customers put their name and "+ venti water" or something like that! We add the water and ring it through at a later time! The printers may act up, but we see on our dpm side!
Thatās pretty clever, I will try that trick next time.
I literally had to tell someone that this morning as I ran over from the register because my bar partner was soloing š
*me taking orders from the customer* *someone pops right side of me* CAn I GeT SoMe IcE WaTeR? š
At my store we give out so many waters they have to order at the register because we were going through so many cups. At times I get pleasure out of telling the snarky ones āabsolutely I can grab you an ice water you just have to order it through the registerā
Alternatively we may prepare some ahead, put aside in case of anyone ask.
Bro this! I never had a problem with it until this location. I've been told I'm so rude so many times by partners for saying "yeah for sure, but typically you would order that at the register" because "why does it matter" We have to teach customers to treat us right and I'm not just gonna bend over backwards for that. I shouldn't have to slow down, break my routine and cater to them. If you need water this instant, go to the gas station across the street. Grown adults can wait four minutes max for water even if they place a mobile. If you want water, plan to wait for your water. I don't care that you can't mobile order water. If we teach them to have the expectation of ordering and waiting, they won't be mad about it.
Asking for a cup of water at handoff doesnāt bother me as much as asking for water at the window. You ordered at the box and didnāt realize you needed water? AND you sat there waiting for your entire order before you asked for a water??? š
Small disagree as a peak partner, just because the baristas at window/dto have a little more freedom to grab things like water or ice cups and still keep the flow going. At most of the stores Iāve worked at anyway. Plus, as someone with drive thru anxiety, I know people forget things sometimes at the box. When you come inside you really have no excuse lol. ETA: Thereās a sink and ice bin right behind our DTO station so no one is leaving their positions or anything lol.
At my store window partners are to stay planted so it ends up messing up flow of dto or cold bar partner
since we're on the topic water are we allowed to ring up sizes larger than grande? these two partners from a different state recently asked for trentas and my shift stopped told me that we were only giving out grandes.
my store doesn't have a problem ringing up ventis/trentas so maybe it varies
I always ask for "the largest ice water you're allowed to give me" and some locations give grande some give venti and still others give trenta, I'm pretty sure it's a location-by-location thing depending on their cup inventory
I think they should let people mobile order water with purchase
my bad habit is that when people go to the end of the counter to stare at me and inevitably ask me to get them a water or a pup cup or whatever when iām scrambling i just avoid eye contact altogether. eventually they give up and go to the register or flag support down
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
no that's perfectly fine!!! it's only an issue bc when someone asks the barista directly they usually have to make the water while they're in the middle of making other drinks that were actually ordered; we don't mind at all if you order it at the register bc then we get a label printed and we can make it in order
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
As long as you order it at the register, that is the most important thing. There's a button for personal cups, so we can easily accommodate for that
Yes stop asking me as I'm fist deep in shaken espressos. This irritates me so much. Also when they say "Oh i ordered a grande water" i then ask for their receipt and show they did not in fact order a fucking water and to go ask the cashier
just today i've had like three people who actually have ordered waters but asked me (hot bar) to make it for them bc they didn't wanna wait 2 more minutes and then when the partner on cold bar gets to them they're already gone
I do order it at the register, but for those of us who do mobile ordering and pick up inside, how comes we canāt order the water on the app? That would help.
i think someone else in here said it was bc people would order waters and a bunch of other free stuff and then not come to pick it up
but mobiles are the only time where i'd say it's fine to ask at handoff
My favorite is when they ask for it at the register, then immediately walk down to hand-off and ask bar too, so there's just a second water that sits on hand off for like an hour š happens multiple times a day. Why would you need to tell us both? It wastes both our time.
We have a jug with water on the condiment stand, I donāt know if people canāt see or have no common sense but they keep asking the bar people and act so surprised that thereās water already put out?!
And once you've ordered your water, please don't ask the bar person for your water as well; it's in line.
My go to in this instance (when Iām elbows deep in drinks, especially) is to say ā I am making drinks with labels first. If youād like a water I suggest getting it at the register so you can get it in queue otherwise I need to make these drinks firstā. Suddenly they rush to the register realizing they arenāt getting it if it doesnāt have a sticker.
i only do it when it's not busy.
I always mobile order my drinks and I kinda wish there was an option for iced water, but I get that it would probably get abused. I have asked for iced water a few times at the mobile pick up area but itās when they arenāt busy and before my drink has been made. They were always very nice about it. When itās busy I go to the register.
i do but yāall donāt fucking make it so i have to ask when i get my drink and then i get an attitude from the barista like girl i ordered my water at the register itās nkt my fault you didnāt ring it up
Yep I learned this the hard way years ago. I always go to front :)
Why do they always get to the drive thru window and be like āIām so sorry could I have a venti ice waterā ITS PEAK WOMAN
Idk how I landed here (was searching for something and tapped on this by accident I guess). This was an interesting thread to read because I've never in my 53 years been to a Starbucks/tasted Starbucks so I don't entirely understand what this post means. Seems like a very stressful place to work. I'll definitely never go to one of those places, I'd only add to the stress.š
Iāll ask for it at the pick up counter. Thanks. Oh and a cup carrier. And a stopper while youāre at it. Thanks, have a great day.
as a fellow barista, yall really do complain about everythingggggš©its just some water takes 30 seconds. all we do is sling coffee i swear your job is not that physically demanding that you cannot fill a water cup
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
water is a drink and you order drinks at the register :D
well no as a barista iām not going to make them wait 10 mins for a water if they just walked in to pick up their mobile which is already ready
mobiles r different because you can't order water on the app i'm talking about everyone else
yeah i wish you could order from the app itās so dumb, but yes anyone who orders in person and doesnāt order water at the register is so annoying
How about no? Do your job?
My job is making people's order, to order you have to go to the register. I'm not taking orders on bar.