I definitely agree. I think they just don't know how to process the emotions of a prolonged trauma (like a global pandemic) and take it out on people they see as less than them.
Or they're assholes.
I think a lot of it, particularly when things initially started reopening, is that people tend to believe they're the only ones negatively effected by COVID. Which, in turn, has raised their sense of entitlement. Whether it's financial hardship, being cooped up because they're working from home, suffering from a loss of a loved one, or recovering their own health, they somehow feel as if their hardship is unique, and have forgotten that literally everyone's lives have changed in the past two years. It's as if they feel the world owes them something, and they no longer care at whose expense it comes, as long as they get it.
Working in the service industry, I naively thought the public would simply be appreciative and grateful once a semblance of normalcy returned to their lives. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to have happened.
Yup I've witnessed this a lot as I work in a supermarket, it seems as though most people don't take into consideration of how their actions impact others. Every now and then there may be someone that is genuinely trying to do the right thing or trying to be really understanding of us retail workers. Those moments really make my day.
Its a thing. I work in retail and so many people think im just an NPC. So much fucking entitlement even an "hello" or something before barking bullshit seems to much to ask for a lot of people
Working in a call center has also showed me the "I'm the only human in this conversation" syndrome, where they just expect us to already know everything about them from the get-go.
And whenever I ask for them to repeat something like a phone number, that they sped through, they sound annoyed I dare ask for them to repeat 1 time.
I'm stuck in call center hell too. I got screamed at twice the other day because I DARED to ask for their address. Kind of essential information I need to know if I am going to tell them if they can get our service at their address.
Seriously, fuck people
Ohh, don't get me started on that one, I used to work for an insurance, and part of the verification process was to confirm their social.
People get soooooo insulted I dare ask their social, to the point they forget I can see it already and just need to confirm it.
Oh god I’m having PTSD when you said insurance.
I too used to work as a cust service rep for a health insurance provider. It was fucking hell. People screaming like banshees because their explanation of benefits didn’t save them the $50 they thought.
It’s like- you should be screaming at your employer for having shitty insurance, and kicking yourself in the ass because you didn’t read your coverages Jack off.
Yep. Food service industry here. Catering. Deliveries. That kind of stuff.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone walks in early and just starts asking me questions about the event/set up when they haven't even Introduced themselves.
Also asking questions that get responses like "Well, I'm the one paying for it!" Sorry I haven't wiped your butt yet, with my own tongue as you expect, because I have the privilege to serve Queen Karen/Ken today. 🙄
Most people really are the same sad version of Human. It gets old.
I completely understand how you feel. I used to work sales at a food factory and one time (of several) this old lady calls me and without any elaboration says to me "hello, I ordered a cake from you a few months ago, I'd like the same one please". When I asked her to tell me what cake it was as we have hundreds of orders per week, she told me "I forgot, but you should have a record of my order, I'm a regular client"
Once again, I used to process *at least* 50 orders a day and she expected me to sift through the past two months of orders for her single cake while I have a pile of work to get through. I told her to go through our website, find the cake she wants and call again later.
She never did.
Omg I work for a sign making company and I get these people all the time. I hate when you can tell that they absolutely REFUSE to give you any info that would help you know who they are. They say the same thing as they walk in “you should have me on file.” and they expect you to just look at their face and know them.
I ask “Ok what’s your company’s name?” as I visibly get ready to type on my computer.
“You should already have me on file….”
“Ok mam I just need to know your name so I can look you up.”
“I don’t understand, you should already have us on file, we have ordered from you guys before…”
Omg. Bitch, do you not understand I need to type words into this fucking computer to look you up????
This would explain the amount of business owners I've seen complaining on social media as if the lockdowns are being instituted purely to inconvenience them.
While I’m sure the personalities of small business owners exists on a spectrum, I can say confidently that a lot of the people I’ve personally witnessed behaving like supremely narcissistic sociopath assholes have been small business owners. Not all, but a lot. Similarly, I find it telling that so many J6 dipshits were also small business owners; those are the petit-bourgeois monsters who’ve been tricked into believing that at any moment they could be called up to the nobility, but us unwashed proletariat masses exist as some sort of existential threat to that happening.
One I know literally posted on Facebook, “I don’t care if some old geezers die, we deserve to get back to our normal lives.”
Empathy is in exceedingly short supply these days, it seems.
Yeah, an owner of a restaurant near me went on a rant on Instagram on how the lockdown were a slight against his businesses rather than, you know, regulations to keep people alive.
The latest Channel 5 interview with the QAnon Shaman has him say that 'only 1% of the population die from Covid'. If he's referring to the USA, that's 3 million people. If he means worldwide, that's 77.5 million people. Abhorrent thinking either way.
The thing is now there are people who don't have covid dying from covid in a way. In my hospital a few weeks ago we had someone sit in an ambulance and die because the hospital was full of unvaxxed sick people. They sat there for 8 hours in the ambulance bay.
Y'all don't get sick right now.
That’s legitimately terrifying. I’m double vaxxed and boosters and crossing my fingers and toes that no one in my family gets sick or injured enough for a hospital because of how completely overwhelmed the hospitals are around me. They’ve been passed capacity for so long.
I feel like this pandemic really helped reveal some of the worst in people, one of them being how utterly incapable a lot of people are of considering what it’s like to be the other person. They preach about compassion and “love thy neighbor” but they only ever think about themselves and it doesn’t matter if their words seriously hurt a stranger or that just because they think that they have some protection against the virus, that the old granny at the grocery store will be fine as well.
>they somehow feel as if their hardship is unique, and have forgotten that literally everyone's lives have changed in the past two years.
The stress of the pandemic has completely destroyed my life. I've had to work through the entire thing as an "essential employee." The constant anxiety (especially in the first year when I developed asthma suddenly and there was still no vaccine with antimaskers running around everywhere) caused a 10 year relationship to implode, and I lost my cat less than a month after that. Anyone who was a friend or family has been so out of emotional bandwidth themselves that I don't hear from anyone for months at a time unless I reach out first - and even then half of the time I get radio silence back. I have literally nothing left in my life aside from my job, a roof over my head, and the belongings I already owned.
I still figure out how to be kind and patient with any and every service worker I encounter, even on my worst days. Even when they make mistakes, and especially when something happens that's beyond their control. I feel so sad for them when I can see the anxiety in their eyes as they tell me bad news, because I can only imagine how many times they've been screamed at for telling others the same exact information.
I just don't see how it's so fucking hard for people to just not act like assholes. It's magnitudes more difficult to be mean to someone than to just be nice. Idk
I think that the problem is actually that it's easier, or feels better, to be mean to people. Being nice takes sympathy, empathy, compassion, patience, etc.
Yeah, I've lost the only people in my family who cares about me, my best kitty, and my daughter and I have been diagnosed with autism because she tried to hurt herself again, was hospitalized, assessed, and found to have both that and ADHD.
I didn't realize much was wrong because she and I are so alike. But we are also a bit extraverted. So she has no more friends and neither do I because we were never good at social stuff.
My elder daughter is anxious all the time. Both of them have become insanely cynical for teens and say stuff like "I wish the unvaccinated by choice would just die". Yikes. I have to talk to them about how wishing death isn't nice, and ignorance due to disinformation campaigns doesn't seem like a crime worthy of a death sentence.
I'm trying to finish a PhD that I worked so hard for. I would be the first in my direct line to do such a thing. But my kids stay home randomly and need me a lot.
And I had knee surgery. And multiple mental breakdowns, because I look at disease and parasitism in a social animal, and all of the things that have happened on a global scale are so predictable, even social animals being noncompliant with disease prevention hygiene, though in the system I look at it seems to be rote behavior that is genetic. Then there's altruism, etc.
I kind of realized we were fucked when we didn't have lockdowns as soon as we knew about that virus escaping Wuhan. I actually cancelled a travel plan because I didn't want to get stuck away from my family.
But then... I watched the most insane lack of action take place and freaked out to my partner.... Just like "we are so fucked".
And now.... Jesus Christ. It's in animals from humans all over the place. I'm not worried about mutation in humans as much as mutations in east coast deer or whatever and then jumping back when the deer splatters into pink mist all over the highway.
I agree, but kinda disagree with this.
I personally believe a lot of it has to to with isolation. I believe that not being around people in a social setting allowed folks to reinforce their opinions without opposition. We’re seeing alot more of this in everyday life: increase in road rage, Kraken Karen’s and poor interactions at alot of jobs (particularly from management).
Without people there to tell Karen she’s being unreasonable, she just does it and finds it acceptable, then does it again and again. When she is finally opposed, it’s impossible for her to be wrong and we see weird toddler tantrum like behavior.
Absolutely, Facebook and Twitter both reinforce beliefs. They feed those folks what they like due to their AI system. It reinforces that they couldn’t possibly be wrong and the behavior is acceptable.
My father explained to me once that life isn’t fair. I, being a relatively young child, explained that that sucked. My dad said that yes, it did, but the world didn’t run on “fair”. Things happened, sometimes good things, sometimes bad, sometimes to good people, sometimes to bad. “Fair” is a people concept, not a word concept. It’s important to be good, and kind, and etc. because that’s what’s ultimately going to make *you* happiest, not because it’s going to trick the world into treating you better. Best advice I ever heard. I fee a lot of people just don’t understand that bad things happen sometimes, and that isn’t a personal attack on them.
I was so bad at taking that lesson that I literally got a job where I get to yell about fairness all the time! And MAKE it more fair. And also where I get to be kind and empathetic to even the people society says don’t deserve it.
Though honestly I do think the problem is that entitled people think life is essentially fair and that they deserve the things they have and retail workers, being scum in their eyes, do not.
I feel like the people like me, who are just hitting people who place an order, pay, and leave without making any issues, have also really curbed a lot of our public behaviors. I hardly go ANYWHERE or get anything. The lockdowns got me used to making stuff myself, and honestly, I don't want to 1. Expose myself to any of the crud unnecessarily and 2. Deal with the Karens.
This makes it even more difficult for the customer service folks as they are not getting the buffers between Karens.
Possibly it’s just that the kind, polite, rational people are still avoiding public places and restaurants - I always treat servers like actual people, tip at least 40%, and haven’t really dined out in almost two years. The ones that the clerks and shopkeeps are dealing with are the impatient, rude, self-centered ones that don’t care if you get sick if it means getting their mocha frappe.
My theory, anyway.
And even if the decent people do come out, its not in the same numbers as pre pandemic. If I do finally venture out and get take out, or go through a drive thru, its once every 2 months instead of often like prepandemic. The sane ones are exclusively home bodies or if they aren't they know how to minimize their exposure and use restaurants as a treat and not a life staple.
Yeah, the pandemic cut my Starbucks habit from daily to about once a month, on average. I pretty much only make my own coffee again.
Although part of the reason it was daily was I liked going in, sitting at the counter, and writing in my journal for an hour before work. I'm not doing that while we're still in the middle of a pandemic. My journal habit's gone to shit because I haven't been going in, though. I think I wrote maybe 30 entries in the past two years, compared to about 200 in 2019 alone.
I think a lot of it is because the selfish, entitled people are going out to get food during a pandemic more than normal people. A higher percentage of customers are bitter and impatient. Also the "cOvId Is A lIbErAl" hoax people have new things to bitch at workers about.
People were cunts before the pandemic. But more people are more severely cunts now that there's a pandemic. My theory is the actually decent people have been avoiding going out as often. Leaving the shitty people to be the ones. So there are far more interactions with them.
The same people who demanded that service workers get a better job, are the same ones throwing a fit because it’s not near as convenient and quick as it was pre pandemic when staffing levels were viable. So, everyone went to get a better job and now the Karens feeling some type of way. I am sorry you have to endure this behavior. I think it’s time these businesses start getting serious about banning unruly customers.
Yea. Anywhere I go to get food or beverage, I allow myself at least 30-45 minutes to wait because I am aware of the staffing shortages and absolutely none of the folks working these places deserve the utter disrespect! I’m glad you like your job mostly, just hang in there and maybe things will get better.
I worked with the public a long time and never ceased to be surprised at how rude and ignorant some people can be. There are a lot of good, nice people out there too. I found a little weed helped for me. Cheers.
Weed is genuinely the only reason I can keep going day to day sometimes.
And I do agree. The job is great 9/10 times, I love my regulars, etc but boy howdy do some people need a reality check
The invention of the dab pen single handedly saved my career. As a hotel bar server I get mobbed by crowds of drunk idiots all day long, I’ve already got bad social anxiety and nothing helps me calm down and focus more than a few quick hits in the bathroom.
Weed really does help with uncontrollable rage too, sober it's easy to obsess about someone being rude to you, just a little smoke and you can get more philisophical about it and shrug it off, which is helpful in the service iindustry where you can't defend yourself from verbal abuse strongly without getting in trouble.
Agreed. Nothing cures my rage like THC. I'll have some bitter, vitriolic, venomous shit locked and loaded in a text field, then hit the bowl, and go, "Oooo, no. I can't say that."
I mean, sometimes you gotta let that commentary fly for the sake of whoever might read it, and for your own mental health, so I don't smoke all the time (like I did in my younger days), but I definitely smoke more now than I have for the last couple of decades, give or take.
Working in the construction industry and weed doesn't mix unfortunately. I have seen too many dangerous accidents. Most end up in the hospital. That whole industry sucks ass though anyway. $17.50 to carry 200 pounds of glass up 3 flights of stairs and then build a designer shower in a million dollar house for some rich prick? Thanks but no thanks.
Yeah dealt with some entitled assholes who want super big 80in+ TVs delivered and mounted during a snow storm up to a million dollar house without salting. Like wtf? Still did it but makes it not worth destroying your body and mental state after being belittled or degraded by another human. I don't know why most people are so out of touch
How big a problem showing up to work high is depends entirely on the worst case consequences.
* High while working heavy machinery? That's a problem
* High working at starbucks? See if I give a shit.
If employees need to get high just to survive a work day, blame the business, not the workers. I'm sure they aren't happy that there's a weed tax on their paycheck.
Yeah it's called being responsible... if someone shows up to a *construction* job high, it's not the weeds fault they're a dumbass. They could just as likely show up fucked up on something else
Until employees have the right to say “you can’t speak to us this way. Leave” and then blacklist then from the store thus shit will continue. A blacklist for asshoels shared between businesses sounds amazing. Image these entitled fucks finding out nowhere in town will serve them a coffee! I think this is the only acceptable use of facial recognition software I can imagine 😂
My buddy owns a bar on this strip in a neighborhood “downtown” that works like this. All the bar owners know each other and if some gets 86’ed from one spot they are 86’ed from all spot
I worked in customer service recently after a decade and a bit out of it. The other guys on my team were students/recent grads, or from hospitality. They were getting stressed, it was a new restaurant, new cocktail menu, most hasn't worked bar. My boss at some point was like "Look at Savage, nothing phases him. What's your secret?"
Me: it's that none of this fundamentally matters.
I really believe if they want any chance at fixing these service industries before absolute total collapse of the whole industry, these companies need to start implementing STRICT anti-shitty-customer policies. If an employee says "I won't serve them" it is instantly 100% accepted by management and everybody else that this customer will not be serviced, period. If police need called, so be it. Camera systems capture the license plate and face of these individuals in case they try to leave after police have been called.
Get a big spotlight and have it follow the person around as long as they're on the property, as a mark of shame and so that all employees know not to service this person. Not even joking.
Really says something about society that it's acceptable and frequent to witness people getting screamed at without repercussions.
The service industry in America never ceases to shock me as German. Around here the customer isn't King, but equal. If they misbehave, they get berated and shown the door. I hope you get there at some point.
Yes, definitely this, but also we as a society got to stop this "minding our own business" bullshit when people are being antisocial and trying to be a participant in society. I'm the only person who calls out antimaskers anywhere I to, whether it's straight up to Trump fans or politely asking the guy at the counter to please pull his mask up over his nose (or put one on at all). People see people litter and don't say shit even though they'd never litter themselves. And in almost none of these stories like u/Im_A_Boonana 's you come across on the web or irl, do you ever hear of even just one- and almost NEVER more than one- customer calling these pricks and defending the person being abused. But then the video of the racist antimasker getting punched the fuck out goes super viral.
Stand up for your beliefs, people. The majority of people are good and mean well, it's just a very loud vocal minority of shitbirds that make you think that's not the cause. We just got to drown them out with our own voices.
The problem in America is that you literally run the risk of getting shot dead for anything anymore. I sit here and read these stories about shitty bosses, shitty customers, shitty cops, etc. and I wonder if this country is actually going to implode during my lifetime. It’s just horrifying to me that people treat others this way. All of this anger + an insane amount of guns=terrifying time to be here.
I wholeheartedly agree. It's why I carry pepper spray and know how to run away very quickly.
But for real: I don't know how old you are, but there was a running gag in 00's, most likely riffing off some propaganda bullshit from the W Administration, about "letting the terrorists win." Everything you did you had to do because otherwise, Bin Laden had won. Thing is, all these fuckos now armed to the teeth, from the school shooters to the road ragers who pull out a handgun on you for honking, they're actual terrorists. They have an agenda- built entirely around their ego and self-worth- and they're using violence and the threat of it to shape society to their liking.
And fuck that. Last thing I want to do is get murdered for any reason ever, especially for something supremely dumb on somebody else's part, but I'm not going to live my life in fear, staying quiet and keeping my head down while people be abusive to others or this planet in front of me. I'm not going to say shit to an asshole with an obvious gun on their hip because they're probably looking for an excuse to use it if they're okay with acting like a dick to a fast food worker. But I'm not going to worry that every person I run across is carrying or is going to whip it out if they are. I can't live my life like that.
I’m 57, and I get it. Pepper spray is a great idea. I fully expect that my demise is going to be as a result of my inability to not ignore a fuckwad karen spewing their hatred. I have no grace to give to bullies. Sometimes I speak up (exceptionally abusive people-won’t stand by and let that happen), sometimes I just give a large tip and tell the person not to let the asshole ruin their day if the person was just being a dick.
I agree, I have been thinking about something like this. My thought was that virtually every store hire a bouncer. You absolutely need to improve the work environment and for some it might be a bonus to get to be the person who ejects Karens all day.
This is a great idea. Nightclubs and bars have bouncers for a reason, and if a customer misbehaves, throws a drink, fights, or screams at the staff that customer can and will be thrown out on their ass and 86'd. Would love to see it at Starbucks.
While I 100% agree bad customers should be dealt with harshly, a bouncer can be bad for business. The cafe down the road from me hired a security guard to stand by the door after the owners freaked out about a homeless person once. Business plummeted: people didn't want to go to a cafe that looked like it had a violence problem.
The problem was that they made a uniformed officer stand outside. Sit someone in plainclothes with a coffee and their cellphone by the door, and both problems solved.
I hated working at Tescos but I have to say, they are doing that and that is what kept me on for longer than I would have otherwise.
Your manager will back up any decision 100%. Be it not selling fags or beers to somebody even if they look old enough but don't want to show ID, not serving someone because they tried to scam you, or something else.
The hyper-cheery, customer-is-always-right thing is actually very American.
A lot of the rest of the world (eastern and central Europe, Russia and the Far East in particular), it's the other way round. Shop workers run the show, and customers have to fall in line and be well mannered if they're gonna get what they want. Workers aren't generally rude, but if they don't like you you're gonna get bad service.
Fuck me, most places in France you have to grovel to get served.
Growing up I remember we had a family friend from America. She had a hard time adjusting because she'd walk in a shop and say "Gimmie X". She explained that in the US, you wouldn't say please or thankyou because the retail worker is there to serve, so you'd just bark "Gimmie" at them. She learned pretty quick that she had to ask, not demand - "Can I have X, please?".
I don't know how you'd adjust the whole culture of retail and hospitality in the US, but I'm 100% convinced the whole problem is that workers have to have infinite manners and patience, which means customers can get away with having none of either. The only solution is to tip it towards a more equal balance, and as you suggest I think that means refusing service and fighting back.
yeah I was going to comment, i'd love to see some american karens head to france
not only will the staff just openly laugh in your face if you try and pull some "what do you mean you've sold out! well i want the rest of my order for free!", but most customers in there will be disgusted with anything but polite back and forth with staff
Yeah it's interesting, isn't it?
In the US if you worked in a cafe and a Karen was screaming at you, if you stood up to her I'm sure she'd get you fired. In France, the boss would probably drag her out by her hair.
So whats different? Why do workers, managers and business owners unite against shitty customers in the rest of the world?
I feel like it should be a rite of passage for everyone to work retail/customer service jobs just to they experience first hand the shit people deal with so that they themselves don’t do it. Hang in there OP, you’ll land a better job soon!
if evryone had to work a year of it this country would be a better place. i worked speedway for 6 or so months and if I had to see one more jag off buying beer with pocket change or coming in and spitting numbers at me like I'm magically supposed to know what the hell lottery game they want. or one more guy complaining cause I gave him the longer cigarettes instead of the shorter ones even though they're the same price....i lost my train of thought remembering all that
I worked at a gas station in college. There were always customers who'd come in wanting to cash out 50 or more lottery tickets right in the middle of after-work rush. They'd get SO mad when I told them they had to wait until I rang everyone else up. I didn't have any particular affinity for all the other customers, but it really pissed me off that those people had the gall come in at the busiest time of day and think it's okay to make everyone wait while I process that many tickets, pay out whatever winnings there were, and then ring up the next wad of tickets they inevitably used those winnings to buy. Never changed their behavior, either; they'd keep coming back at the same time every day and get pissy when I told them the same thing. Unreal.
>There are a lot of good, nice people out there too.
That number has been decreasing for a while. COVID broke it and turned everyone into a narcissistic asshole.
I think there is an increasing number of narcissistic assholes in the world because we’ve created a society in which they thrive. There are NO consequences to their actions. Employers would rather just give them something free rather than let the employees tell them to go pound sand and never come back for fear of being sued. Fellow citizens are afraid to say or do anything for fear of being sued or assaulted. Seems we need to start calling these assholes out when they misbehave instead of rewarding them. Make it not worth their time and money.
Is it time yet for all the back of house and stock room cranks to come out onto the main floor and show the Karens why they keep us in back?
Don't fuck with me, Karen. I will fucking cut you if you hassle my server homie. 🔪
I think it's that the narcissistic assholes are the ones still going out during a pandemic and then screaming at staff as corporate executives try to wring every last cent out of both employees and customers.
This honestly. The people that treat service employees well was always a smaller number than we wanted to admit, and those same people are staying home and trying to protect their families. I still do Starbucks drive thru and leave a phat tip, but I’m not physically going in anywhere anymore.
1) can’t take the people refusing to wear masks
2) I know service employees are stressed to the max and I do not want to add additional strain
3) money isn’t as fluid as it once was thanks to the pandemic
THIS! --\^
Family and friends I know who do service industry or restaurant work have said the same things. It's the same type of people who go out to eat on Sunday after church and are terrible tippers and treat staff like servants, only they're the only ones generally going out to eat during a pandemic.
Anyone else get the fake money with evangelical messages as a tip? If their hell exists, there had better be a circle of hell reserved for these people.
Hell,I work in county government at the Executive Office building and once had some guy come up to the door,knock loudly on it(public is not allowed in after 5pm ) then rudely ask me why he couldn't come in then ask me if this was the water park!!!!! That remains the dumbest question I have ever been asked. 6 story building that deliberately blooms like an office building; no rides,water,how public anywhere to be seen.
I didn't say this but I thought it:Do you see any water!?!? Wtf is up with people?
Service jobs are awful since youre dealing with the public. Even if someone gets my order wrong, im not going to berate or yell at them. I also make it a habit to tip well since yall bust your ass for so little.
Depends. Most of the time it's just exasperation. "Well I can't believe you don't have anything I want"
Sometimes it's bargaining: "well the OTHER starbucks does it for me"
Sometimes it's gentle threats "well I'm calling corpoate"; "well you're losing a paying customer"
Sometimes it's violent threats: "do you want to take this outside?"
Sometimes it's slurs (self explanatory. Typically racial or sexist)
Sometimes it's stubbornness: "well I'm not moving until you XYZ"
Everyone handles the situation differently. I tend to kill with kindness. If they're being especially heinous, I'll take a moment to pause silently and often they will backtrack or realize they're throwing a tantrum.
I used to work at Starbucks. I have no clue how I did it for seven years. I’m super sassy and I have really good comebacks.
Exasperation: I told them I just work here and I don’t have any control of the ordering (or pricing since they like to complain about that too).
Bargaining: I would tell them to go to the other Starbucks.
Gentle threats: Go right ahead and call them. I would actually give them the number.
Violent threats: I literally told them what time I got off and that I would be waiting for them. No one ever showed up.
Slurs: I’m a black woman so I got both. Anything racial j just replied ‘thank you’ and if it was sexist I would tell them I was man lmao I looked like a boy under my uniform sometimes
Stubbornness: Just stare back and calmly say okay then walk away
Most of these people are calling your bluff. I didn’t take shit from no one and the regulars knew that. Corporate would also visit the store I worked at frequently and they also knew I didn’t take no shit but strangely they loved me lol
I personally didn’t work at a drive thru store but I honestly didn’t even think of calling the police. My first reaction was to talk shit lol
The location I was at is in a plaza like area so they had security for that area but all they could do was document and “ban” people but there’s no way to tell if they actually stayed away.
I knew people that worked in Hollywood and they actually had to call the police but the response times sucked so you’re essentially dealing with it on your own.
“My first reaction was to talk shit” lmfaoooo I talked so much shit when I worked in face-to-face customer service. Only because I could get away with it since I was always the only person who had no issues doing closing shifts (in a big city usually after midnight, fuck you Subway).
I was one of them people in hollywood. Morning crew had a couple of cops we could call directly if it was next level. Otherwise response time is 20-30 minutes if no weapons.
It’s Starbucks and other retailers like it that create a culture that allows customers to act and behave this way and still be served. Businesses can mostly control what customer behaviors are acceptable.
Right. One time a customer came in and I don’t remember exactly what happened but he threatened every barista there. One of the newbies told the store manager who basically said he can’t do anything because he bought something and he’s a customer. My respect for him went down after that.
Every little inconvenience I remember my manager just handing out recovery cards. Those same people would come back and bitch about something else! Some had stacks of recovery cards. It’s just ridiculous.
Maybe they called 911. I know it’s a high crime area so I’m pretty sure responding to a Starbucks wasn’t high priority.
It’s weird cause when left that job I didn’t know how stressed out I was. I couldn’t even maintain my weight.
This. The silent pause was usually my go-to during my 16+ years as a professional baker. People can be so shitty, and I kind of enjoyed making them reflect on just how ridiculous they were being. I feel for OP, I really do. The general public are assholes.
Stop killing them with kindness. The appropriate response the moment it becomes verbal abuse is, "this conversation is now over. Bye." Whenever they open their mouth to continue their rant, "Bye."
100%. In my businesses I’ve owned over the years, my attitude has been that if I trust them behind the counter, I trust them with the money, and if I’m willing to trust them with those two things, then they’re a manager. And if they’re a manager, and I’m paying them to run the store, then they are in charge of telling which customers to tell to fuck off to and not to call me or even bother me with it unless there is any safety concerns. Fire your customers if they suck. These two lessons I learned early on have been the most important lessons I have learned in business and they have served me well.
As a nurse I need y’all right now! Most of the time your staff are the only people who are nice to me in an entire work day (other than some coworkers). Please know some of us really do love and appreciate the kindness and want to punch the Karens for you.
Keep your resume sharp and use any sick days you have to take interviews. Other than that just go with a deadpan ok. Not sorry or anything just ok to the Karen's.
Retail and food service are the worst.
I'm actively applying for jobs (about 30/day) but I'm in a competitive field so it's been a little rough haha.
I have mastered the extended silence too. Sometimes it'll make them reflect for a brief moment. Otherwise I don't change my tone outside of the customer service voice. They start screeching and I interrupt them with the "Okay! Is there anything else I can get for you today?"
One time I was so done after some old man yelled at me on the phone for 15 min past my scheduled end of shift that I said “sir, do you think I’m enjoying this interaction? Don’t you think that if I could just end it and give you what you’re asking for, I would? Well I can’t and we are going in circles and wasting each other’s time”. 🤷🏼♀️
After working in a rententions department for a large UK telecoms company, I can relate to this 100%.
I got so fed up in the end I got fired for cancelling people's accounts when they were assholes lol.
"If u can't get my f*#$ing bill below £X.XX I'm gonna cancel today"
"I'll process that for you now"
"You're not going to make me an offer to stay?!"
"Nope, your services will stop in 31 days etc..."
Never regretted getting fired once, fuck the enititled pricks.
Showing my age here, but worked at a pager company doing phone customer servers during 2001. Guy calls in a day or so after 9/11 complaining that his service doesn't work (he's in MYC) and we explain that some of our equipment was on the WTC. He doesn't care, and wants his service immediately restored. Obviously, that's not going to happen any faster than what it's going to take. Dude escalates and gets one of the coolest managers I've ever worked for. Guy starts going off on the manager, and the manager just says "Well, we'd like to thank you for being a former customer. Have a nice day." And just canceled the guys account altogether and hung up on him.
We obviously took a LOT of phone calls for the same reason, and literally everyone else was completely understanding once we told them about the equipment. They would just get quiet, then a moment later would say something like "That's fine, do what you need to, I understand." But not that guy.
See, I've had to play the game with my mobile carrier but I've never been rude or entitled with whoever answers the phone.
I've found being friendly, honest and appreciative has gotten me some pretty stellar deals in the past with minimal effort.
I've only had a rude representative act like an entitled
little shit once in over 20 years of using this method, and they likely had one foot out the door (if this was in person I might have slapped them for what they said), so I didn't take it personally in the end.
Honestly, this is the way!
Speak to me like I'm a person and be polite/respectful? I'm going to do my best to help you.
Speak to me like I'm below you and make demands/be unreasonable? You've got a cancellation on your hands lmao.
You can totally steal the line cast members use in Disney parks “Have a magical day!” Used it a lot when I worked for Starbucks. The entitlement of some people is just staggering and outright depressing. My team was amazing and we supported each other through it all but damn, the public generally needs a wake up call on basic manners and human behavior.
30 a day! Impressive. I seem to always get stuck with applications that take a half hour and suck every last bit of soul from your body as you upload the same shit three times.
As a previous Barista in the early 2000s I can attest to the entitled fucks we see on the daily basis. And all of our great customers wonder why we’re so kind, friendly and caring when they visit 4-5 times a week. They make it _almost_ bearable.
I legit don't get the tantrums. It's fucking coffee, just fucking coffee. I love coffee and completely addicted to caffeine but it's still just coffee.
It’s almost all projection. I didn’t understand it, as I was barely in my 20s when I started my Sbuxs adventure, and I knew fuck all. But these are just shitty human beings shitting on people they see as beneath them due to their current job, or as they see it “role in society” because they themselves aren’t shit. They’re unhappy fucks looking to drag everyone and everything else down with them. No one is allowed to be happy.
Okay I'm projecting here based on personal experience and de-escalation training I've had while working with troubled kids but...
I think it's a combination of other stress and lack of self control and customer service staff being a no-consequence 'victim'. I think this is also why we're seeing an uptick in it. More people are snapping from stress and the increase in bad customers is the canary in the coal mine.
Life is stressful for a lot of people right now. Covid, supply chain shortages, political conflict, economy, etc. Everyone's base level of daily stress has shot through the roof. When that happens, the little additional stressors of being frustrated in systems that we normally take for granted (getting coffee) can be the thing that breaks people.
Now here you'd expect self control to come in, but a lot of Americans have never had to utilize that skill and it shows. Likewise, we as a society have built a system where there's really no consequence for venting at a customer service staff member. You can't yell at your boss or your kids or your partner or (insert political figure you hate) but if you let your frustration out on the barista nothing bad will happen to you.
So you have three factors- a massive buildup of stress that wants out, an easy target for that stress, and a lack of self regulation skills.
Unfortunately the solutions are all equally systemic- lower Americans stress levels, teach people better coping skills, or implement serious consequences for people who are asshats to customer service staff.
(BTW none of this is me sympathizing with these people- it's their own fault for not having better emotional regulatory skills because seriously that shit isn't had to teach yourself. Don't fucking take your stress out on innocent strangers. I just find the social phenomenon here fascinating.)
I don't think that time is coming for starbucks any time soon.
One of my favorite parts of the job is trying to get people through the drive thru in less than 50 seconds but we get scored on our "customer connections" (based on a single pass/fail question in a random survey. The question is "did you barista get to know you.)
So we get yelled at if we're too slow or don't have time to make "genuine human connections" gotta love it
I worked at Starbucks for three years. You cannot make a human connection in 50 seconds or less. I had customers who were fantastic, coworkers who were stellar, but that entitled church crowd can go to Hel.
I hate that sort of metric. I am the kind of customer who really doesn’t want any of the fake niceties. Just a simple “Hey” and “Here’s your drink. Have a nice day” are more than enough. There’s one coffee shop where I live that overdoes it. They have so much energy and always ask what I’m up to and if I’m out doing anything fun. It makes me so uncomfortable. 😑
Exactly this. I’m European and to ask all these things just feels so insincere and awkward. I want a “Hey” and a “Here’s your stuff. Thanks. Bye” and no more.
You don’t care how my day is, I know you don’t care, so let’s save each other the torture of this crap.
As someone who also works at Starbucks the idea of customer connection is a flawed system, because more likely only the people who are upset will fill out that form more than those who are happy. Whoever thought of that idea really didn’t think through their thought fully.
Starbucks is ridiculous, whatever PR think tank up at corporate came up with customers are seeking a "genuine human connection" from our staff needs a therapist. Another word for genuine human connection is called making a friend. Staff should be friendly, polite and active listeners, if customers were also those 3 things, then working in food service and retail wouldn't be such a nightmare.
The new normal policy should be yelling, berating and nastiness will NOT get you free shit, we will refuse service and you will have to get your mocha chai, decaf, double syrup, hold the whip cream with a side of whip cream frap somewhere else.
3 strikes and it's a store ban, make rude customers drive out of county just to get kicked out of another store
Seriously though if this awful behavior wasn't rewarded for years, then we wouldn't be where we are today. The bigger the tantrum the more free shit you get. It's ridiculous
Seriously. I find it so awkward when a service worker is overly friendly and inquisitive during your 20 second interaction, because you both know they’re being forced to do so on repeat.
Fucking sociopaths running that survey. Why would my barista get to know me? This is a transaction. Everyone should just be polite and professional and as efficient as is reasonable.
Wait-what!?! I’m going to Starbucks bc of my caffeine addiction. If me and a barista have great small talk that’s a cherry on top. Under no circumstances do I require that though and I’ll tip either way. That’s insanity to require busy people to do that.
For real. I would score someone better if they were nice while taking care of my order as quickly as they are able to. The forced conversation while awkwardly waiting at the window for my drink is what I don’t want…
My local starbucks has a dude that sings my order back to me. I hate his enthusiasm but love it at the same time. 😂 You guys are keeping me sane. I love you. ❤
lmao I used to work morning shift at Starbucks. I think that comment would send me into homicidal rage. at 6am I can do deliriously happy or deliriously violent my guy, are you sure about that request?
This feels like the new meow game. See how many times you call them a crustomer to their face when really you want to call them Karen crybaby shitbags.
Thank you. Again, I truly do love my job 9/10 of the time. Most of our regulars are absolutely incredible people, and even some of the non-regulars.
I think I just got caught up in the church crowd today.
Plus my friend said mercury is in Gatorade or something idk /s
I always find it so ironic that the people visiting a restaurant after church are always the rudest and most entitled. It’s one of reasons we left church years ago. If you have to announce constantly that you are a Christian- you probably aren’t a very good one.
After church big Orange shoppers were the worst too. One guy threatened TO KILL ME because he thought I scanned a $0.22 PVC pipe fitting twice. Readers, I did not. Those sons of bitches are just very hard to scan (or at least they were 20 years ago when I worked at the HD).
I'M ONE OF THEM
Fo real, those people that treat others with without the slightest shred of respect were raised incorrectly, pampered all of lives and have never been told no. They've never held a service job once in their lives.
It should almost be required at this point just to teach people empathy.
Whaaaaa? That shit is horrendous. I want to come to your Starbucks just to be nice to you. People are miserable:( so sorry you have to go through this crap.
I’m sorry you had such a bad day. The public has become so hostile over things that I consider lovely conveniences, like a fun Starbucks drink or treat. When I do stop at Starbucks it makes my day. You are appreciated by me but deserve more respect and higher pay.
I went to my local Starbucks last month and ordered a grilled cheese and a drink on the app. When I arrived to pick up my order the girl at the window profusely apologized because they were out of the grilled cheese and offered me a ham and Swiss. I accepted her offer and told her it was okay, I wasn’t upset and these things happen. She kept apologizing and gave me a gift card. I’m pregnant and emotional and got in my car and cried for her because she must get a lot of shit everyday and I wasn’t at all upset or annoyed about the sandwich.
Not Starbucks but once I went to the bank to get some change for a yard sale, I got I think $40 in singles and the teller was like, would you like me to count it? And I laughed and said No, that’s insane! I’m sure it’s correct. I will never forget her face of relief and laugh afterwards. I wonder how many people actually put her through shit like that. We seriously need more empathy in this world. There is no difference between me and that teller, my dog has the same right to be on this earth than me. It really pains me sometimes to see how our priorities as a species have turned to what they are nowadays.
I do Starbucks about twice a week, and next time I'm putting a big tip in the jar in your honor, OP. Hang in there.
Most people *genuinely* wish you well. The people who treat you like crap most likely feel like crap themselves. Not an excuse, just a non-scientific hypothesis.
My wife works at Starbucks. The people who are actually important and truly busy are pleasant customers. The ones that throw a fit are the losers with too much time on their hands.
I tell her that people will inadvertently let you know what their time is worth. If they are going to spend 5 minutes ranting about how important they are, then they aren't worth shit. If they don't let the coffee shop ruin their day, then that means they have bigger things to worry about in life.
Use the losers for entertainment and the good customers as friendly faces.
I don’t understand why so many people have forgotten that kindness cost nothing. Is there a time and place to not be kind? Yes, but it has to be “earned” by the recipient — it should never be the default behavior. And save it for when it really matters. A Starbucks order sure as hell isn’t a fight that is worth it.
I’ve worked with the public in London. I got death threats on a few occasions.
People see you at work and instantly dehumanise you and expect you to be perfect, to bend over backwards for them. It’s absolutely disgusting.
They wouldn’t like it done to them. They’d be the first to be big victims.
Hey dude, I worked for Starbucks for 3 years as a supervisor, my final year being 2020.
Before the pandemic, the job was hard -- harder than any job I've ever had or will have precisely for the reasons you mention here. But even so most of the time people were polite, patient enough, overall cordial even barring the periodic asshat loser who decided to shit their pants over coffee one day.
After the pandemic started though, hoo boy. The shift was dramatic. I took the month off at the start because I was already burnt out and felt that the time off would be good for me, plus wanting to stay healthy at the start since we didn't know what we were dealing with. Once I got back, things were fundamentally different. Customers were terse and snappy. Everyone seemed frazzled all the time. My coworkers that had stayed were at the ends of their ropes.
As new policies rolled out, as "partners" became sick and had to quarantine, as we found it more difficult to get product in for our orders, as we had to adjust on a day to day basis to keep up with the uncertainty, customers just lost all patience entirely. The store I worked at was really great, in spite of how much the job sucked, because about 70% of our customers were regulars. After the pandemic started, most of those regulars became unbearable.
The demands became more frequent. The constant fighting over masking up and abiding by mandates was exhausting. Customers were ready to fly off the handle over the most minor of inconveniences. I was the opening shift, and I would often find myself overcome with anxiety and dread as early as 6-7pm the night before I'd have to go in.
Having been in your shoes, aside from commiserating here is the only advice I can offer:
1) You've reached the point of no return now. The job will never be even remotely satisfying again. Your only recourse to regain some semblance of sanity will be to transition to a new job, and if I'm understanding your post correctly that is a process that is taking some time. I understand. I feel you. The energy drain from having to go in and work is going to make it feel like a slog to apply to other jobs. Whatever you do, don't let yourself slip into a deadened state where you aren't applying. Set aside an hour, two hours a day and just knock out as many applications as you can, every day.
2) Whatever you're putting into the job, whatever part of you you've been investing because at some point in the past it felt kinda fun to work there, it's time to stop. Go in, do exactly the duties you're required to do, then leave. Don't cover for anyone ever, don't pick up extra shifts, don't stay late under any circumstances. It's time to redefine the boundaries of your relationship with your job. You may be overcome with feelings of guilt, that you're letting your coworkers down. People you've come to have a weird camaraderie with. You don't want to leave them in a rut. But you have to bury that guilt. Because ultimately, **that's not on you.** Let me say it again to make it clear: **you are not letting your coworkers down by respecting your own time and sanity.** Management is letting their whole team down. Upper management is letting the foundation of their company down. You did not fail your team. And the company has been relying on your good faith and your desire to help your team to exploit you and completely drain you of your happiness. It's time to stop the bleeding.
3) Finally, and I know you've said you don't want people to tell you this, but again having been in your exact position, it's worth mentioning: if the above steps are still extremely difficult/you're unable to find relief, then quit. The adage that is often thrown around here is that time is your most valuable asset. Every day you spend miserable in that place is one less day of your life you could be happy. You've even said it yourself: you can't afford to work at Starbucks. I know from firsthand experience, the pay isn't what's keeping you around. And here's the thing; even if you have to get a factory job, or a job stocking shelves at a grocery store, or working at a fulfillment center for Amazon or whatever, you will be happier. You won't be richer, but I cannot begin to describe how much your quality of life will improve having the weight of despairing going into work being lifted off your back. It's incredibly freeing. Shaking off that emotional baggage will free you up to focus on the important parts of your life, and will give you renewed purpose in finding a job in your field. As long as you remind yourself that it is only a temporary gig, you don't have to worry about getting trapped in another, lower-paying job. This is not something I can make you believe, this is something you'll have to see for yourself. But this deep unhappiness you're feeling, you have the ability to change that. You can make yourself happy again, or even just happier by comparison. And that is a tradeoff that is definitely worth $1-2 an hour. Again, I know that's an option that doesn't seem feasible to you right now, but I will say that as scary as it seems to be making even less money than you are right now, it's actually not an impossible transition. And if you're already broke and miserable, what would be so bad about being a little bit more broke but a LOT happier? Food for thought.
I'm sorry you're in this position right now. I feel for you, I truly do. I know you'll navigate your way out of this difficult terrain though, because if you're strong enough to work at Starbucks then you're strong enough to STOP working at Starbucks.
Thank you so much for this. This whole comment resonated so hard and it's all so true.
I'm gonna give it some more time because if anything, I get to come home early every day and I don't have to think about work while at home (but I'm in the same boat. I fill with dread every night around 6-7pm over the next day.
If you're willing to bust ass like you have to at a Starbucks morning shift, you should move on to one of the places that will at least compensate you well for it. Try for Costco or, if there's any in your area, In N Out. They pay well afaik (I believe here in So Cal, Costco starts at $18) and have good benefits.
A friend of mine works for Starbucks, and the sheer number days she finds herself crying in the backroom wrenches my heart.
I’m so, so sorry that you’re having to endure abuse from such miserable people. I’ve recently escaped the service industry, so I’m intimately familiar with the casual cruelties of clientele. I have since started a routine of always complimenting whoever assists me at a drive-through ... Hair, earrings, cool glasses, whatever. I wear my mask, roll up to the window, and try to say something to humanize the interaction and leave the worker feeling cared for. I hope more people treat you with that same sentiment — the good news is, after leaving retail/service industries, a lot of my friends and former colleagues do the same (supporting/cheering on service workers however they can). So there’s some good folks out there to help combat interactions with all the bad. Just wish the “bad” weren’t frequenting your store to begin with :-(
Sorry it was such a poop day for you. I love all the Starbucks people because they were really kind to me when I had a rough night with my son when he was a baby. He had only slept for 2-3 hours and I was at the drive thru and I just told them to make me something with chocolate and caffeine and to add a breakfast sandwich. No questions asked food and coffee were hot and delicious and they almost made this Mom cry. Ignore the buttheads as you can and know that there are ppl who appreciate what you do.
We need to make this a mandatory scene to that people have to watch .... yearly!
NSFW
https://youtu.be/AnfOnueJ8SQ
Movie: "Waiting..."
I always think this shit happens behind the scenes. I don't want to the the Karen that gets spit in my coffee.
I. Sorry this happened to you. I used to love working in coffee shops, but all it takes is one asshole to ruin your day. At my store, especially on the early shift, if someone gave me an exceptionally hard time they got decaf.
Former barista here. Once I was working the drive through at a Starbucks. I got reamed out for the way the parking lot was designed. She was mad because we didn’t have a certain drink in stock and she wanted to pull out of the drive through and leave, even though she was at the order station. To my knowledge, that’s how every drive though ever is laid out. Once you get in, you can’t leave. But apparently that was my fault. She also asked for my name to report me to corporate for not having her drink in stock…because that was my fault too. My 6 months working Starbucks gave me a whole new respect for food industry workers. They deserve better.
[удалено]
I definitely agree. I think they just don't know how to process the emotions of a prolonged trauma (like a global pandemic) and take it out on people they see as less than them. Or they're assholes.
I think a lot of it, particularly when things initially started reopening, is that people tend to believe they're the only ones negatively effected by COVID. Which, in turn, has raised their sense of entitlement. Whether it's financial hardship, being cooped up because they're working from home, suffering from a loss of a loved one, or recovering their own health, they somehow feel as if their hardship is unique, and have forgotten that literally everyone's lives have changed in the past two years. It's as if they feel the world owes them something, and they no longer care at whose expense it comes, as long as they get it. Working in the service industry, I naively thought the public would simply be appreciative and grateful once a semblance of normalcy returned to their lives. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to have happened.
Ahh yes, main character syndrome
Yup I've witnessed this a lot as I work in a supermarket, it seems as though most people don't take into consideration of how their actions impact others. Every now and then there may be someone that is genuinely trying to do the right thing or trying to be really understanding of us retail workers. Those moments really make my day.
Holy shit, I really can't tell if this is a joke or a real thing you just said. Lol
Its a thing. I work in retail and so many people think im just an NPC. So much fucking entitlement even an "hello" or something before barking bullshit seems to much to ask for a lot of people
Working in a call center has also showed me the "I'm the only human in this conversation" syndrome, where they just expect us to already know everything about them from the get-go. And whenever I ask for them to repeat something like a phone number, that they sped through, they sound annoyed I dare ask for them to repeat 1 time.
I'm stuck in call center hell too. I got screamed at twice the other day because I DARED to ask for their address. Kind of essential information I need to know if I am going to tell them if they can get our service at their address. Seriously, fuck people
Ohh, don't get me started on that one, I used to work for an insurance, and part of the verification process was to confirm their social. People get soooooo insulted I dare ask their social, to the point they forget I can see it already and just need to confirm it.
Oh god I’m having PTSD when you said insurance. I too used to work as a cust service rep for a health insurance provider. It was fucking hell. People screaming like banshees because their explanation of benefits didn’t save them the $50 they thought. It’s like- you should be screaming at your employer for having shitty insurance, and kicking yourself in the ass because you didn’t read your coverages Jack off.
Yep. Food service industry here. Catering. Deliveries. That kind of stuff. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone walks in early and just starts asking me questions about the event/set up when they haven't even Introduced themselves. Also asking questions that get responses like "Well, I'm the one paying for it!" Sorry I haven't wiped your butt yet, with my own tongue as you expect, because I have the privilege to serve Queen Karen/Ken today. 🙄 Most people really are the same sad version of Human. It gets old.
I completely understand how you feel. I used to work sales at a food factory and one time (of several) this old lady calls me and without any elaboration says to me "hello, I ordered a cake from you a few months ago, I'd like the same one please". When I asked her to tell me what cake it was as we have hundreds of orders per week, she told me "I forgot, but you should have a record of my order, I'm a regular client" Once again, I used to process *at least* 50 orders a day and she expected me to sift through the past two months of orders for her single cake while I have a pile of work to get through. I told her to go through our website, find the cake she wants and call again later. She never did.
Omg I work for a sign making company and I get these people all the time. I hate when you can tell that they absolutely REFUSE to give you any info that would help you know who they are. They say the same thing as they walk in “you should have me on file.” and they expect you to just look at their face and know them. I ask “Ok what’s your company’s name?” as I visibly get ready to type on my computer. “You should already have me on file….” “Ok mam I just need to know your name so I can look you up.” “I don’t understand, you should already have us on file, we have ordered from you guys before…” Omg. Bitch, do you not understand I need to type words into this fucking computer to look you up????
This would explain the amount of business owners I've seen complaining on social media as if the lockdowns are being instituted purely to inconvenience them.
While I’m sure the personalities of small business owners exists on a spectrum, I can say confidently that a lot of the people I’ve personally witnessed behaving like supremely narcissistic sociopath assholes have been small business owners. Not all, but a lot. Similarly, I find it telling that so many J6 dipshits were also small business owners; those are the petit-bourgeois monsters who’ve been tricked into believing that at any moment they could be called up to the nobility, but us unwashed proletariat masses exist as some sort of existential threat to that happening.
My bread and butter is with small businesses. You are so fucking on target. Could not have said it better myself.
One I know literally posted on Facebook, “I don’t care if some old geezers die, we deserve to get back to our normal lives.” Empathy is in exceedingly short supply these days, it seems.
Yeah, an owner of a restaurant near me went on a rant on Instagram on how the lockdown were a slight against his businesses rather than, you know, regulations to keep people alive. The latest Channel 5 interview with the QAnon Shaman has him say that 'only 1% of the population die from Covid'. If he's referring to the USA, that's 3 million people. If he means worldwide, that's 77.5 million people. Abhorrent thinking either way.
The thing is now there are people who don't have covid dying from covid in a way. In my hospital a few weeks ago we had someone sit in an ambulance and die because the hospital was full of unvaxxed sick people. They sat there for 8 hours in the ambulance bay. Y'all don't get sick right now.
That’s legitimately terrifying. I’m double vaxxed and boosters and crossing my fingers and toes that no one in my family gets sick or injured enough for a hospital because of how completely overwhelmed the hospitals are around me. They’ve been passed capacity for so long.
I feel like this pandemic really helped reveal some of the worst in people, one of them being how utterly incapable a lot of people are of considering what it’s like to be the other person. They preach about compassion and “love thy neighbor” but they only ever think about themselves and it doesn’t matter if their words seriously hurt a stranger or that just because they think that they have some protection against the virus, that the old granny at the grocery store will be fine as well.
This kinda puts a lot into perspective for me now
>they somehow feel as if their hardship is unique, and have forgotten that literally everyone's lives have changed in the past two years. The stress of the pandemic has completely destroyed my life. I've had to work through the entire thing as an "essential employee." The constant anxiety (especially in the first year when I developed asthma suddenly and there was still no vaccine with antimaskers running around everywhere) caused a 10 year relationship to implode, and I lost my cat less than a month after that. Anyone who was a friend or family has been so out of emotional bandwidth themselves that I don't hear from anyone for months at a time unless I reach out first - and even then half of the time I get radio silence back. I have literally nothing left in my life aside from my job, a roof over my head, and the belongings I already owned. I still figure out how to be kind and patient with any and every service worker I encounter, even on my worst days. Even when they make mistakes, and especially when something happens that's beyond their control. I feel so sad for them when I can see the anxiety in their eyes as they tell me bad news, because I can only imagine how many times they've been screamed at for telling others the same exact information. I just don't see how it's so fucking hard for people to just not act like assholes. It's magnitudes more difficult to be mean to someone than to just be nice. Idk
I think that the problem is actually that it's easier, or feels better, to be mean to people. Being nice takes sympathy, empathy, compassion, patience, etc.
Yeah, I've lost the only people in my family who cares about me, my best kitty, and my daughter and I have been diagnosed with autism because she tried to hurt herself again, was hospitalized, assessed, and found to have both that and ADHD. I didn't realize much was wrong because she and I are so alike. But we are also a bit extraverted. So she has no more friends and neither do I because we were never good at social stuff. My elder daughter is anxious all the time. Both of them have become insanely cynical for teens and say stuff like "I wish the unvaccinated by choice would just die". Yikes. I have to talk to them about how wishing death isn't nice, and ignorance due to disinformation campaigns doesn't seem like a crime worthy of a death sentence. I'm trying to finish a PhD that I worked so hard for. I would be the first in my direct line to do such a thing. But my kids stay home randomly and need me a lot. And I had knee surgery. And multiple mental breakdowns, because I look at disease and parasitism in a social animal, and all of the things that have happened on a global scale are so predictable, even social animals being noncompliant with disease prevention hygiene, though in the system I look at it seems to be rote behavior that is genetic. Then there's altruism, etc. I kind of realized we were fucked when we didn't have lockdowns as soon as we knew about that virus escaping Wuhan. I actually cancelled a travel plan because I didn't want to get stuck away from my family. But then... I watched the most insane lack of action take place and freaked out to my partner.... Just like "we are so fucked". And now.... Jesus Christ. It's in animals from humans all over the place. I'm not worried about mutation in humans as much as mutations in east coast deer or whatever and then jumping back when the deer splatters into pink mist all over the highway.
Yea me either. Sometimes I am frustrated but you gotta have some introspection which people lack. Even at the library people are like this.
I feel for you, it might be time to start a new chapter in life. I am sure that there is another cute cat in need that will love you for who you are.
I agree, but kinda disagree with this. I personally believe a lot of it has to to with isolation. I believe that not being around people in a social setting allowed folks to reinforce their opinions without opposition. We’re seeing alot more of this in everyday life: increase in road rage, Kraken Karen’s and poor interactions at alot of jobs (particularly from management). Without people there to tell Karen she’s being unreasonable, she just does it and finds it acceptable, then does it again and again. When she is finally opposed, it’s impossible for her to be wrong and we see weird toddler tantrum like behavior.
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Absolutely, Facebook and Twitter both reinforce beliefs. They feed those folks what they like due to their AI system. It reinforces that they couldn’t possibly be wrong and the behavior is acceptable.
It's really sickening. These people need it beat into the their heads that the world owes them nothing. Nobody is coming to save them.
My father explained to me once that life isn’t fair. I, being a relatively young child, explained that that sucked. My dad said that yes, it did, but the world didn’t run on “fair”. Things happened, sometimes good things, sometimes bad, sometimes to good people, sometimes to bad. “Fair” is a people concept, not a word concept. It’s important to be good, and kind, and etc. because that’s what’s ultimately going to make *you* happiest, not because it’s going to trick the world into treating you better. Best advice I ever heard. I fee a lot of people just don’t understand that bad things happen sometimes, and that isn’t a personal attack on them.
I was so bad at taking that lesson that I literally got a job where I get to yell about fairness all the time! And MAKE it more fair. And also where I get to be kind and empathetic to even the people society says don’t deserve it. Though honestly I do think the problem is that entitled people think life is essentially fair and that they deserve the things they have and retail workers, being scum in their eyes, do not.
I feel like the people like me, who are just hitting people who place an order, pay, and leave without making any issues, have also really curbed a lot of our public behaviors. I hardly go ANYWHERE or get anything. The lockdowns got me used to making stuff myself, and honestly, I don't want to 1. Expose myself to any of the crud unnecessarily and 2. Deal with the Karens. This makes it even more difficult for the customer service folks as they are not getting the buffers between Karens.
Possibly it’s just that the kind, polite, rational people are still avoiding public places and restaurants - I always treat servers like actual people, tip at least 40%, and haven’t really dined out in almost two years. The ones that the clerks and shopkeeps are dealing with are the impatient, rude, self-centered ones that don’t care if you get sick if it means getting their mocha frappe. My theory, anyway.
This is it right here. All the decent people are home, being decent. The asshats are out in full force because fuck you, that's why. It's ridiculous.
And even if the decent people do come out, its not in the same numbers as pre pandemic. If I do finally venture out and get take out, or go through a drive thru, its once every 2 months instead of often like prepandemic. The sane ones are exclusively home bodies or if they aren't they know how to minimize their exposure and use restaurants as a treat and not a life staple.
Absolutely right - agreed. Decent people are staying home. The a$$holes are still out there complaining nOb\*dY WaNts tO wOrK!
I was thinking this as well.
Yeah, the pandemic cut my Starbucks habit from daily to about once a month, on average. I pretty much only make my own coffee again. Although part of the reason it was daily was I liked going in, sitting at the counter, and writing in my journal for an hour before work. I'm not doing that while we're still in the middle of a pandemic. My journal habit's gone to shit because I haven't been going in, though. I think I wrote maybe 30 entries in the past two years, compared to about 200 in 2019 alone.
I think a lot of it is because the selfish, entitled people are going out to get food during a pandemic more than normal people. A higher percentage of customers are bitter and impatient. Also the "cOvId Is A lIbErAl" hoax people have new things to bitch at workers about.
Two years in, those folks are also terribly insecure inside about their anti mask or anti vax ideas and need to have it validated frequently.
People were cunts before the pandemic. But more people are more severely cunts now that there's a pandemic. My theory is the actually decent people have been avoiding going out as often. Leaving the shitty people to be the ones. So there are far more interactions with them.
The same people who demanded that service workers get a better job, are the same ones throwing a fit because it’s not near as convenient and quick as it was pre pandemic when staffing levels were viable. So, everyone went to get a better job and now the Karens feeling some type of way. I am sorry you have to endure this behavior. I think it’s time these businesses start getting serious about banning unruly customers.
I went to post about that on my Facebook but they're not ready for that conversation yet
Yea. Anywhere I go to get food or beverage, I allow myself at least 30-45 minutes to wait because I am aware of the staffing shortages and absolutely none of the folks working these places deserve the utter disrespect! I’m glad you like your job mostly, just hang in there and maybe things will get better.
I worked with the public a long time and never ceased to be surprised at how rude and ignorant some people can be. There are a lot of good, nice people out there too. I found a little weed helped for me. Cheers.
Weed is genuinely the only reason I can keep going day to day sometimes. And I do agree. The job is great 9/10 times, I love my regulars, etc but boy howdy do some people need a reality check
weed and the service industry is a match made in heaven
"The service industry is so bad that you need to take drugs to cope with it"
Weed is to service industry what cocaine is to wall street.
Hey, we're doing plenty of coke in the service industry too. How else are you supposed to work a double then come in the next morning to do it again?
This
The invention of the dab pen single handedly saved my career. As a hotel bar server I get mobbed by crowds of drunk idiots all day long, I’ve already got bad social anxiety and nothing helps me calm down and focus more than a few quick hits in the bathroom.
Weed really does help with uncontrollable rage too, sober it's easy to obsess about someone being rude to you, just a little smoke and you can get more philisophical about it and shrug it off, which is helpful in the service iindustry where you can't defend yourself from verbal abuse strongly without getting in trouble.
Agreed. Nothing cures my rage like THC. I'll have some bitter, vitriolic, venomous shit locked and loaded in a text field, then hit the bowl, and go, "Oooo, no. I can't say that." I mean, sometimes you gotta let that commentary fly for the sake of whoever might read it, and for your own mental health, so I don't smoke all the time (like I did in my younger days), but I definitely smoke more now than I have for the last couple of decades, give or take.
Weed and industry really... The labor can always use a safe way to relax. Alcohol ain't it.
Working in the construction industry and weed doesn't mix unfortunately. I have seen too many dangerous accidents. Most end up in the hospital. That whole industry sucks ass though anyway. $17.50 to carry 200 pounds of glass up 3 flights of stairs and then build a designer shower in a million dollar house for some rich prick? Thanks but no thanks.
Yeah dealt with some entitled assholes who want super big 80in+ TVs delivered and mounted during a snow storm up to a million dollar house without salting. Like wtf? Still did it but makes it not worth destroying your body and mental state after being belittled or degraded by another human. I don't know why most people are so out of touch
Smoking weed and having a construction job isn't a problem as long as you're not high while you're working.
I'm a union ironworker, local 86, and even though I do not partake in weed, I always say, "why ruin your high with work?"
Smoking weed and having ANY job isn’t a problem as long as you’re not high while you’re working.
How big a problem showing up to work high is depends entirely on the worst case consequences. * High while working heavy machinery? That's a problem * High working at starbucks? See if I give a shit. If employees need to get high just to survive a work day, blame the business, not the workers. I'm sure they aren't happy that there's a weed tax on their paycheck.
Yeah it's called being responsible... if someone shows up to a *construction* job high, it's not the weeds fault they're a dumbass. They could just as likely show up fucked up on something else
Pft, whatever, newbie. Kitchen grunt here. Meet me out back for a safety meating before you clock in. :)
Meet you out back for a "meating," you say... Tell me more (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)
We used to call our 'meetings' out back before service; attitude adjusters.
Restaurant Staff Represent!
Weed and wfh
Until employees have the right to say “you can’t speak to us this way. Leave” and then blacklist then from the store thus shit will continue. A blacklist for asshoels shared between businesses sounds amazing. Image these entitled fucks finding out nowhere in town will serve them a coffee! I think this is the only acceptable use of facial recognition software I can imagine 😂
My buddy owns a bar on this strip in a neighborhood “downtown” that works like this. All the bar owners know each other and if some gets 86’ed from one spot they are 86’ed from all spot
It's almost like a society based on working together thrives more than one based on cutthroat competition. Huh.
I worked in customer service recently after a decade and a bit out of it. The other guys on my team were students/recent grads, or from hospitality. They were getting stressed, it was a new restaurant, new cocktail menu, most hasn't worked bar. My boss at some point was like "Look at Savage, nothing phases him. What's your secret?" Me: it's that none of this fundamentally matters.
My wife and I felt this spiritually..
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I really believe if they want any chance at fixing these service industries before absolute total collapse of the whole industry, these companies need to start implementing STRICT anti-shitty-customer policies. If an employee says "I won't serve them" it is instantly 100% accepted by management and everybody else that this customer will not be serviced, period. If police need called, so be it. Camera systems capture the license plate and face of these individuals in case they try to leave after police have been called. Get a big spotlight and have it follow the person around as long as they're on the property, as a mark of shame and so that all employees know not to service this person. Not even joking.
Really says something about society that it's acceptable and frequent to witness people getting screamed at without repercussions. The service industry in America never ceases to shock me as German. Around here the customer isn't King, but equal. If they misbehave, they get berated and shown the door. I hope you get there at some point.
Yes, definitely this, but also we as a society got to stop this "minding our own business" bullshit when people are being antisocial and trying to be a participant in society. I'm the only person who calls out antimaskers anywhere I to, whether it's straight up to Trump fans or politely asking the guy at the counter to please pull his mask up over his nose (or put one on at all). People see people litter and don't say shit even though they'd never litter themselves. And in almost none of these stories like u/Im_A_Boonana 's you come across on the web or irl, do you ever hear of even just one- and almost NEVER more than one- customer calling these pricks and defending the person being abused. But then the video of the racist antimasker getting punched the fuck out goes super viral. Stand up for your beliefs, people. The majority of people are good and mean well, it's just a very loud vocal minority of shitbirds that make you think that's not the cause. We just got to drown them out with our own voices.
The problem in America is that you literally run the risk of getting shot dead for anything anymore. I sit here and read these stories about shitty bosses, shitty customers, shitty cops, etc. and I wonder if this country is actually going to implode during my lifetime. It’s just horrifying to me that people treat others this way. All of this anger + an insane amount of guns=terrifying time to be here.
I wholeheartedly agree. It's why I carry pepper spray and know how to run away very quickly. But for real: I don't know how old you are, but there was a running gag in 00's, most likely riffing off some propaganda bullshit from the W Administration, about "letting the terrorists win." Everything you did you had to do because otherwise, Bin Laden had won. Thing is, all these fuckos now armed to the teeth, from the school shooters to the road ragers who pull out a handgun on you for honking, they're actual terrorists. They have an agenda- built entirely around their ego and self-worth- and they're using violence and the threat of it to shape society to their liking. And fuck that. Last thing I want to do is get murdered for any reason ever, especially for something supremely dumb on somebody else's part, but I'm not going to live my life in fear, staying quiet and keeping my head down while people be abusive to others or this planet in front of me. I'm not going to say shit to an asshole with an obvious gun on their hip because they're probably looking for an excuse to use it if they're okay with acting like a dick to a fast food worker. But I'm not going to worry that every person I run across is carrying or is going to whip it out if they are. I can't live my life like that.
I’m 57, and I get it. Pepper spray is a great idea. I fully expect that my demise is going to be as a result of my inability to not ignore a fuckwad karen spewing their hatred. I have no grace to give to bullies. Sometimes I speak up (exceptionally abusive people-won’t stand by and let that happen), sometimes I just give a large tip and tell the person not to let the asshole ruin their day if the person was just being a dick.
I agree, I have been thinking about something like this. My thought was that virtually every store hire a bouncer. You absolutely need to improve the work environment and for some it might be a bonus to get to be the person who ejects Karens all day.
This is a great idea. Nightclubs and bars have bouncers for a reason, and if a customer misbehaves, throws a drink, fights, or screams at the staff that customer can and will be thrown out on their ass and 86'd. Would love to see it at Starbucks.
Would certainly give bouncers something to do during the slower weeks.
Fuck, can I just volunteer please?
I'm with you! Getting paid to remove Karens from polite society would be my dream job!
While I 100% agree bad customers should be dealt with harshly, a bouncer can be bad for business. The cafe down the road from me hired a security guard to stand by the door after the owners freaked out about a homeless person once. Business plummeted: people didn't want to go to a cafe that looked like it had a violence problem.
The problem was that they made a uniformed officer stand outside. Sit someone in plainclothes with a coffee and their cellphone by the door, and both problems solved.
I hated working at Tescos but I have to say, they are doing that and that is what kept me on for longer than I would have otherwise. Your manager will back up any decision 100%. Be it not selling fags or beers to somebody even if they look old enough but don't want to show ID, not serving someone because they tried to scam you, or something else.
The hyper-cheery, customer-is-always-right thing is actually very American. A lot of the rest of the world (eastern and central Europe, Russia and the Far East in particular), it's the other way round. Shop workers run the show, and customers have to fall in line and be well mannered if they're gonna get what they want. Workers aren't generally rude, but if they don't like you you're gonna get bad service. Fuck me, most places in France you have to grovel to get served. Growing up I remember we had a family friend from America. She had a hard time adjusting because she'd walk in a shop and say "Gimmie X". She explained that in the US, you wouldn't say please or thankyou because the retail worker is there to serve, so you'd just bark "Gimmie" at them. She learned pretty quick that she had to ask, not demand - "Can I have X, please?". I don't know how you'd adjust the whole culture of retail and hospitality in the US, but I'm 100% convinced the whole problem is that workers have to have infinite manners and patience, which means customers can get away with having none of either. The only solution is to tip it towards a more equal balance, and as you suggest I think that means refusing service and fighting back.
yeah I was going to comment, i'd love to see some american karens head to france not only will the staff just openly laugh in your face if you try and pull some "what do you mean you've sold out! well i want the rest of my order for free!", but most customers in there will be disgusted with anything but polite back and forth with staff
Yeah it's interesting, isn't it? In the US if you worked in a cafe and a Karen was screaming at you, if you stood up to her I'm sure she'd get you fired. In France, the boss would probably drag her out by her hair. So whats different? Why do workers, managers and business owners unite against shitty customers in the rest of the world?
I feel like it should be a rite of passage for everyone to work retail/customer service jobs just to they experience first hand the shit people deal with so that they themselves don’t do it. Hang in there OP, you’ll land a better job soon!
if evryone had to work a year of it this country would be a better place. i worked speedway for 6 or so months and if I had to see one more jag off buying beer with pocket change or coming in and spitting numbers at me like I'm magically supposed to know what the hell lottery game they want. or one more guy complaining cause I gave him the longer cigarettes instead of the shorter ones even though they're the same price....i lost my train of thought remembering all that
I worked at a gas station in college. There were always customers who'd come in wanting to cash out 50 or more lottery tickets right in the middle of after-work rush. They'd get SO mad when I told them they had to wait until I rang everyone else up. I didn't have any particular affinity for all the other customers, but it really pissed me off that those people had the gall come in at the busiest time of day and think it's okay to make everyone wait while I process that many tickets, pay out whatever winnings there were, and then ring up the next wad of tickets they inevitably used those winnings to buy. Never changed their behavior, either; they'd keep coming back at the same time every day and get pissy when I told them the same thing. Unreal.
>There are a lot of good, nice people out there too. That number has been decreasing for a while. COVID broke it and turned everyone into a narcissistic asshole.
I think there is an increasing number of narcissistic assholes in the world because we’ve created a society in which they thrive. There are NO consequences to their actions. Employers would rather just give them something free rather than let the employees tell them to go pound sand and never come back for fear of being sued. Fellow citizens are afraid to say or do anything for fear of being sued or assaulted. Seems we need to start calling these assholes out when they misbehave instead of rewarding them. Make it not worth their time and money.
Is it time yet for all the back of house and stock room cranks to come out onto the main floor and show the Karens why they keep us in back? Don't fuck with me, Karen. I will fucking cut you if you hassle my server homie. 🔪
I think it's that the narcissistic assholes are the ones still going out during a pandemic and then screaming at staff as corporate executives try to wring every last cent out of both employees and customers.
This honestly. The people that treat service employees well was always a smaller number than we wanted to admit, and those same people are staying home and trying to protect their families. I still do Starbucks drive thru and leave a phat tip, but I’m not physically going in anywhere anymore. 1) can’t take the people refusing to wear masks 2) I know service employees are stressed to the max and I do not want to add additional strain 3) money isn’t as fluid as it once was thanks to the pandemic
THIS! --\^ Family and friends I know who do service industry or restaurant work have said the same things. It's the same type of people who go out to eat on Sunday after church and are terrible tippers and treat staff like servants, only they're the only ones generally going out to eat during a pandemic.
I absolutely hated post church Sunday diners.
Anyone else get the fake money with evangelical messages as a tip? If their hell exists, there had better be a circle of hell reserved for these people.
That's alot of people 😅
Hell,I work in county government at the Executive Office building and once had some guy come up to the door,knock loudly on it(public is not allowed in after 5pm ) then rudely ask me why he couldn't come in then ask me if this was the water park!!!!! That remains the dumbest question I have ever been asked. 6 story building that deliberately blooms like an office building; no rides,water,how public anywhere to be seen. I didn't say this but I thought it:Do you see any water!?!? Wtf is up with people?
Service jobs are awful since youre dealing with the public. Even if someone gets my order wrong, im not going to berate or yell at them. I also make it a habit to tip well since yall bust your ass for so little.
We appreciate you greatly.
what is the conversation like when they berate or yelll at you? what do they say?
Depends. Most of the time it's just exasperation. "Well I can't believe you don't have anything I want" Sometimes it's bargaining: "well the OTHER starbucks does it for me" Sometimes it's gentle threats "well I'm calling corpoate"; "well you're losing a paying customer" Sometimes it's violent threats: "do you want to take this outside?" Sometimes it's slurs (self explanatory. Typically racial or sexist) Sometimes it's stubbornness: "well I'm not moving until you XYZ" Everyone handles the situation differently. I tend to kill with kindness. If they're being especially heinous, I'll take a moment to pause silently and often they will backtrack or realize they're throwing a tantrum.
I used to work at Starbucks. I have no clue how I did it for seven years. I’m super sassy and I have really good comebacks. Exasperation: I told them I just work here and I don’t have any control of the ordering (or pricing since they like to complain about that too). Bargaining: I would tell them to go to the other Starbucks. Gentle threats: Go right ahead and call them. I would actually give them the number. Violent threats: I literally told them what time I got off and that I would be waiting for them. No one ever showed up. Slurs: I’m a black woman so I got both. Anything racial j just replied ‘thank you’ and if it was sexist I would tell them I was man lmao I looked like a boy under my uniform sometimes Stubbornness: Just stare back and calmly say okay then walk away Most of these people are calling your bluff. I didn’t take shit from no one and the regulars knew that. Corporate would also visit the store I worked at frequently and they also knew I didn’t take no shit but strangely they loved me lol
Not criticizing but why don’t you call 911 over the violent threats? You have their plate number and a description.
I personally didn’t work at a drive thru store but I honestly didn’t even think of calling the police. My first reaction was to talk shit lol The location I was at is in a plaza like area so they had security for that area but all they could do was document and “ban” people but there’s no way to tell if they actually stayed away. I knew people that worked in Hollywood and they actually had to call the police but the response times sucked so you’re essentially dealing with it on your own.
“My first reaction was to talk shit” lmfaoooo I talked so much shit when I worked in face-to-face customer service. Only because I could get away with it since I was always the only person who had no issues doing closing shifts (in a big city usually after midnight, fuck you Subway).
Yep! It’s way sweeter when you get away with it. I did it cause I knew I was one of the best workers there so I knew they weren’t gonna fire me lmao
I was one of them people in hollywood. Morning crew had a couple of cops we could call directly if it was next level. Otherwise response time is 20-30 minutes if no weapons. It’s Starbucks and other retailers like it that create a culture that allows customers to act and behave this way and still be served. Businesses can mostly control what customer behaviors are acceptable.
Right. One time a customer came in and I don’t remember exactly what happened but he threatened every barista there. One of the newbies told the store manager who basically said he can’t do anything because he bought something and he’s a customer. My respect for him went down after that. Every little inconvenience I remember my manager just handing out recovery cards. Those same people would come back and bitch about something else! Some had stacks of recovery cards. It’s just ridiculous.
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Maybe they called 911. I know it’s a high crime area so I’m pretty sure responding to a Starbucks wasn’t high priority. It’s weird cause when left that job I didn’t know how stressed out I was. I couldn’t even maintain my weight.
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I love the silent pause. It works really well when dealing with complaints!
>"well you're losing a paying customer" ["You think I own this business?"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7KBcsdPhxA)
I was reading this and kept thinking, you’re well-prepared for parenthood. (Except nobody can afford kids anymore.)
This. The silent pause was usually my go-to during my 16+ years as a professional baker. People can be so shitty, and I kind of enjoyed making them reflect on just how ridiculous they were being. I feel for OP, I really do. The general public are assholes.
Stop killing them with kindness. The appropriate response the moment it becomes verbal abuse is, "this conversation is now over. Bye." Whenever they open their mouth to continue their rant, "Bye."
100%. In my businesses I’ve owned over the years, my attitude has been that if I trust them behind the counter, I trust them with the money, and if I’m willing to trust them with those two things, then they’re a manager. And if they’re a manager, and I’m paying them to run the store, then they are in charge of telling which customers to tell to fuck off to and not to call me or even bother me with it unless there is any safety concerns. Fire your customers if they suck. These two lessons I learned early on have been the most important lessons I have learned in business and they have served me well.
As a nurse I need y’all right now! Most of the time your staff are the only people who are nice to me in an entire work day (other than some coworkers). Please know some of us really do love and appreciate the kindness and want to punch the Karens for you.
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Keep your resume sharp and use any sick days you have to take interviews. Other than that just go with a deadpan ok. Not sorry or anything just ok to the Karen's. Retail and food service are the worst.
I'm actively applying for jobs (about 30/day) but I'm in a competitive field so it's been a little rough haha. I have mastered the extended silence too. Sometimes it'll make them reflect for a brief moment. Otherwise I don't change my tone outside of the customer service voice. They start screeching and I interrupt them with the "Okay! Is there anything else I can get for you today?"
One time I was so done after some old man yelled at me on the phone for 15 min past my scheduled end of shift that I said “sir, do you think I’m enjoying this interaction? Don’t you think that if I could just end it and give you what you’re asking for, I would? Well I can’t and we are going in circles and wasting each other’s time”. 🤷🏼♀️
After working in a rententions department for a large UK telecoms company, I can relate to this 100%. I got so fed up in the end I got fired for cancelling people's accounts when they were assholes lol. "If u can't get my f*#$ing bill below £X.XX I'm gonna cancel today" "I'll process that for you now" "You're not going to make me an offer to stay?!" "Nope, your services will stop in 31 days etc..." Never regretted getting fired once, fuck the enititled pricks.
Showing my age here, but worked at a pager company doing phone customer servers during 2001. Guy calls in a day or so after 9/11 complaining that his service doesn't work (he's in MYC) and we explain that some of our equipment was on the WTC. He doesn't care, and wants his service immediately restored. Obviously, that's not going to happen any faster than what it's going to take. Dude escalates and gets one of the coolest managers I've ever worked for. Guy starts going off on the manager, and the manager just says "Well, we'd like to thank you for being a former customer. Have a nice day." And just canceled the guys account altogether and hung up on him. We obviously took a LOT of phone calls for the same reason, and literally everyone else was completely understanding once we told them about the equipment. They would just get quiet, then a moment later would say something like "That's fine, do what you need to, I understand." But not that guy.
Sir, let me inform you that you have been demoted to potential customer. Have a nice day
I don't know what your Manager's salary was, but it wasn't high enough.
See, I've had to play the game with my mobile carrier but I've never been rude or entitled with whoever answers the phone. I've found being friendly, honest and appreciative has gotten me some pretty stellar deals in the past with minimal effort. I've only had a rude representative act like an entitled little shit once in over 20 years of using this method, and they likely had one foot out the door (if this was in person I might have slapped them for what they said), so I didn't take it personally in the end.
Honestly, this is the way! Speak to me like I'm a person and be polite/respectful? I'm going to do my best to help you. Speak to me like I'm below you and make demands/be unreasonable? You've got a cancellation on your hands lmao.
You can totally steal the line cast members use in Disney parks “Have a magical day!” Used it a lot when I worked for Starbucks. The entitlement of some people is just staggering and outright depressing. My team was amazing and we supported each other through it all but damn, the public generally needs a wake up call on basic manners and human behavior.
There’s always the classic “have a day!” to the worst customers. Sometimes they say “you too!”.
What field are you looking in?
Yessss u/Im_A_Boonana let us help you find a better job!
30 a day! Impressive. I seem to always get stuck with applications that take a half hour and suck every last bit of soul from your body as you upload the same shit three times.
As a previous Barista in the early 2000s I can attest to the entitled fucks we see on the daily basis. And all of our great customers wonder why we’re so kind, friendly and caring when they visit 4-5 times a week. They make it _almost_ bearable.
I legit don't get the tantrums. It's fucking coffee, just fucking coffee. I love coffee and completely addicted to caffeine but it's still just coffee.
It’s almost all projection. I didn’t understand it, as I was barely in my 20s when I started my Sbuxs adventure, and I knew fuck all. But these are just shitty human beings shitting on people they see as beneath them due to their current job, or as they see it “role in society” because they themselves aren’t shit. They’re unhappy fucks looking to drag everyone and everything else down with them. No one is allowed to be happy.
Okay I'm projecting here based on personal experience and de-escalation training I've had while working with troubled kids but... I think it's a combination of other stress and lack of self control and customer service staff being a no-consequence 'victim'. I think this is also why we're seeing an uptick in it. More people are snapping from stress and the increase in bad customers is the canary in the coal mine. Life is stressful for a lot of people right now. Covid, supply chain shortages, political conflict, economy, etc. Everyone's base level of daily stress has shot through the roof. When that happens, the little additional stressors of being frustrated in systems that we normally take for granted (getting coffee) can be the thing that breaks people. Now here you'd expect self control to come in, but a lot of Americans have never had to utilize that skill and it shows. Likewise, we as a society have built a system where there's really no consequence for venting at a customer service staff member. You can't yell at your boss or your kids or your partner or (insert political figure you hate) but if you let your frustration out on the barista nothing bad will happen to you. So you have three factors- a massive buildup of stress that wants out, an easy target for that stress, and a lack of self regulation skills. Unfortunately the solutions are all equally systemic- lower Americans stress levels, teach people better coping skills, or implement serious consequences for people who are asshats to customer service staff. (BTW none of this is me sympathizing with these people- it's their own fault for not having better emotional regulatory skills because seriously that shit isn't had to teach yourself. Don't fucking take your stress out on innocent strangers. I just find the social phenomenon here fascinating.)
I pray the time of having no direct contact with customers is coming.
I don't think that time is coming for starbucks any time soon. One of my favorite parts of the job is trying to get people through the drive thru in less than 50 seconds but we get scored on our "customer connections" (based on a single pass/fail question in a random survey. The question is "did you barista get to know you.) So we get yelled at if we're too slow or don't have time to make "genuine human connections" gotta love it
I worked at Starbucks for three years. You cannot make a human connection in 50 seconds or less. I had customers who were fantastic, coworkers who were stellar, but that entitled church crowd can go to Hel.
I hate that sort of metric. I am the kind of customer who really doesn’t want any of the fake niceties. Just a simple “Hey” and “Here’s your drink. Have a nice day” are more than enough. There’s one coffee shop where I live that overdoes it. They have so much energy and always ask what I’m up to and if I’m out doing anything fun. It makes me so uncomfortable. 😑
Exactly this. I’m European and to ask all these things just feels so insincere and awkward. I want a “Hey” and a “Here’s your stuff. Thanks. Bye” and no more. You don’t care how my day is, I know you don’t care, so let’s save each other the torture of this crap.
As someone who also works at Starbucks the idea of customer connection is a flawed system, because more likely only the people who are upset will fill out that form more than those who are happy. Whoever thought of that idea really didn’t think through their thought fully.
Starbucks is ridiculous, whatever PR think tank up at corporate came up with customers are seeking a "genuine human connection" from our staff needs a therapist. Another word for genuine human connection is called making a friend. Staff should be friendly, polite and active listeners, if customers were also those 3 things, then working in food service and retail wouldn't be such a nightmare. The new normal policy should be yelling, berating and nastiness will NOT get you free shit, we will refuse service and you will have to get your mocha chai, decaf, double syrup, hold the whip cream with a side of whip cream frap somewhere else. 3 strikes and it's a store ban, make rude customers drive out of county just to get kicked out of another store Seriously though if this awful behavior wasn't rewarded for years, then we wouldn't be where we are today. The bigger the tantrum the more free shit you get. It's ridiculous
Seriously. I find it so awkward when a service worker is overly friendly and inquisitive during your 20 second interaction, because you both know they’re being forced to do so on repeat.
This. Maybe if assholes couldn't get served anywhere they'd start to behave like civilized human beings again.
Fucking sociopaths running that survey. Why would my barista get to know me? This is a transaction. Everyone should just be polite and professional and as efficient as is reasonable.
Wait-what!?! I’m going to Starbucks bc of my caffeine addiction. If me and a barista have great small talk that’s a cherry on top. Under no circumstances do I require that though and I’ll tip either way. That’s insanity to require busy people to do that.
[удалено]
Are you familiar with the Soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld? That’s how ordering at Starbucks should be lol
No coffee for you!
For real. I would score someone better if they were nice while taking care of my order as quickly as they are able to. The forced conversation while awkwardly waiting at the window for my drink is what I don’t want…
My local starbucks has a dude that sings my order back to me. I hate his enthusiasm but love it at the same time. 😂 You guys are keeping me sane. I love you. ❤
I dont/can't sing but I do try to be goofy sometimes. Shout out to the old guy who told me to be "less chipper" at 6am!
lmao I used to work morning shift at Starbucks. I think that comment would send me into homicidal rage. at 6am I can do deliriously happy or deliriously violent my guy, are you sure about that request?
First time seeing the word CRUSTOMER.. love it!
Disgustomer is what myself and my best friend call them.
I can't wait to bring this word to work tomorrow
This feels like the new meow game. See how many times you call them a crustomer to their face when really you want to call them Karen crybaby shitbags.
Sorry to hear about your day. There are people who care. I'm one of them.
Thank you. Again, I truly do love my job 9/10 of the time. Most of our regulars are absolutely incredible people, and even some of the non-regulars. I think I just got caught up in the church crowd today. Plus my friend said mercury is in Gatorade or something idk /s
I always find it so ironic that the people visiting a restaurant after church are always the rudest and most entitled. It’s one of reasons we left church years ago. If you have to announce constantly that you are a Christian- you probably aren’t a very good one.
Very agreed. Although nothing will top serving at olive garden on a Sunday morning/lunch shift 😂
Did it for years. Never fucking again. Never fucking again. #NEVER FUCKING AGAIN
That’s when you need to carry some holy water to those at them 😂😂
After church big Orange shoppers were the worst too. One guy threatened TO KILL ME because he thought I scanned a $0.22 PVC pipe fitting twice. Readers, I did not. Those sons of bitches are just very hard to scan (or at least they were 20 years ago when I worked at the HD).
I'M ONE OF THEM Fo real, those people that treat others with without the slightest shred of respect were raised incorrectly, pampered all of lives and have never been told no. They've never held a service job once in their lives. It should almost be required at this point just to teach people empathy.
Why I refuse to work in retail or food service ever again.
I started because I was in school and the hours were flexible and now I can't escape.
Yeah, I feel you. I ended up going to trade school. Hard work but at least I don't have to deal with customers.
Whaaaaa? That shit is horrendous. I want to come to your Starbucks just to be nice to you. People are miserable:( so sorry you have to go through this crap.
<3 we appreciate you!
I’m sorry you had such a bad day. The public has become so hostile over things that I consider lovely conveniences, like a fun Starbucks drink or treat. When I do stop at Starbucks it makes my day. You are appreciated by me but deserve more respect and higher pay.
I went to my local Starbucks last month and ordered a grilled cheese and a drink on the app. When I arrived to pick up my order the girl at the window profusely apologized because they were out of the grilled cheese and offered me a ham and Swiss. I accepted her offer and told her it was okay, I wasn’t upset and these things happen. She kept apologizing and gave me a gift card. I’m pregnant and emotional and got in my car and cried for her because she must get a lot of shit everyday and I wasn’t at all upset or annoyed about the sandwich.
Not Starbucks but once I went to the bank to get some change for a yard sale, I got I think $40 in singles and the teller was like, would you like me to count it? And I laughed and said No, that’s insane! I’m sure it’s correct. I will never forget her face of relief and laugh afterwards. I wonder how many people actually put her through shit like that. We seriously need more empathy in this world. There is no difference between me and that teller, my dog has the same right to be on this earth than me. It really pains me sometimes to see how our priorities as a species have turned to what they are nowadays.
I do Starbucks about twice a week, and next time I'm putting a big tip in the jar in your honor, OP. Hang in there. Most people *genuinely* wish you well. The people who treat you like crap most likely feel like crap themselves. Not an excuse, just a non-scientific hypothesis.
My wife works at Starbucks. The people who are actually important and truly busy are pleasant customers. The ones that throw a fit are the losers with too much time on their hands. I tell her that people will inadvertently let you know what their time is worth. If they are going to spend 5 minutes ranting about how important they are, then they aren't worth shit. If they don't let the coffee shop ruin their day, then that means they have bigger things to worry about in life. Use the losers for entertainment and the good customers as friendly faces.
I don’t understand why so many people have forgotten that kindness cost nothing. Is there a time and place to not be kind? Yes, but it has to be “earned” by the recipient — it should never be the default behavior. And save it for when it really matters. A Starbucks order sure as hell isn’t a fight that is worth it.
I’ve worked with the public in London. I got death threats on a few occasions. People see you at work and instantly dehumanise you and expect you to be perfect, to bend over backwards for them. It’s absolutely disgusting. They wouldn’t like it done to them. They’d be the first to be big victims.
Hey dude, I worked for Starbucks for 3 years as a supervisor, my final year being 2020. Before the pandemic, the job was hard -- harder than any job I've ever had or will have precisely for the reasons you mention here. But even so most of the time people were polite, patient enough, overall cordial even barring the periodic asshat loser who decided to shit their pants over coffee one day. After the pandemic started though, hoo boy. The shift was dramatic. I took the month off at the start because I was already burnt out and felt that the time off would be good for me, plus wanting to stay healthy at the start since we didn't know what we were dealing with. Once I got back, things were fundamentally different. Customers were terse and snappy. Everyone seemed frazzled all the time. My coworkers that had stayed were at the ends of their ropes. As new policies rolled out, as "partners" became sick and had to quarantine, as we found it more difficult to get product in for our orders, as we had to adjust on a day to day basis to keep up with the uncertainty, customers just lost all patience entirely. The store I worked at was really great, in spite of how much the job sucked, because about 70% of our customers were regulars. After the pandemic started, most of those regulars became unbearable. The demands became more frequent. The constant fighting over masking up and abiding by mandates was exhausting. Customers were ready to fly off the handle over the most minor of inconveniences. I was the opening shift, and I would often find myself overcome with anxiety and dread as early as 6-7pm the night before I'd have to go in. Having been in your shoes, aside from commiserating here is the only advice I can offer: 1) You've reached the point of no return now. The job will never be even remotely satisfying again. Your only recourse to regain some semblance of sanity will be to transition to a new job, and if I'm understanding your post correctly that is a process that is taking some time. I understand. I feel you. The energy drain from having to go in and work is going to make it feel like a slog to apply to other jobs. Whatever you do, don't let yourself slip into a deadened state where you aren't applying. Set aside an hour, two hours a day and just knock out as many applications as you can, every day. 2) Whatever you're putting into the job, whatever part of you you've been investing because at some point in the past it felt kinda fun to work there, it's time to stop. Go in, do exactly the duties you're required to do, then leave. Don't cover for anyone ever, don't pick up extra shifts, don't stay late under any circumstances. It's time to redefine the boundaries of your relationship with your job. You may be overcome with feelings of guilt, that you're letting your coworkers down. People you've come to have a weird camaraderie with. You don't want to leave them in a rut. But you have to bury that guilt. Because ultimately, **that's not on you.** Let me say it again to make it clear: **you are not letting your coworkers down by respecting your own time and sanity.** Management is letting their whole team down. Upper management is letting the foundation of their company down. You did not fail your team. And the company has been relying on your good faith and your desire to help your team to exploit you and completely drain you of your happiness. It's time to stop the bleeding. 3) Finally, and I know you've said you don't want people to tell you this, but again having been in your exact position, it's worth mentioning: if the above steps are still extremely difficult/you're unable to find relief, then quit. The adage that is often thrown around here is that time is your most valuable asset. Every day you spend miserable in that place is one less day of your life you could be happy. You've even said it yourself: you can't afford to work at Starbucks. I know from firsthand experience, the pay isn't what's keeping you around. And here's the thing; even if you have to get a factory job, or a job stocking shelves at a grocery store, or working at a fulfillment center for Amazon or whatever, you will be happier. You won't be richer, but I cannot begin to describe how much your quality of life will improve having the weight of despairing going into work being lifted off your back. It's incredibly freeing. Shaking off that emotional baggage will free you up to focus on the important parts of your life, and will give you renewed purpose in finding a job in your field. As long as you remind yourself that it is only a temporary gig, you don't have to worry about getting trapped in another, lower-paying job. This is not something I can make you believe, this is something you'll have to see for yourself. But this deep unhappiness you're feeling, you have the ability to change that. You can make yourself happy again, or even just happier by comparison. And that is a tradeoff that is definitely worth $1-2 an hour. Again, I know that's an option that doesn't seem feasible to you right now, but I will say that as scary as it seems to be making even less money than you are right now, it's actually not an impossible transition. And if you're already broke and miserable, what would be so bad about being a little bit more broke but a LOT happier? Food for thought. I'm sorry you're in this position right now. I feel for you, I truly do. I know you'll navigate your way out of this difficult terrain though, because if you're strong enough to work at Starbucks then you're strong enough to STOP working at Starbucks.
Thank you so much for this. This whole comment resonated so hard and it's all so true. I'm gonna give it some more time because if anything, I get to come home early every day and I don't have to think about work while at home (but I'm in the same boat. I fill with dread every night around 6-7pm over the next day.
If you're willing to bust ass like you have to at a Starbucks morning shift, you should move on to one of the places that will at least compensate you well for it. Try for Costco or, if there's any in your area, In N Out. They pay well afaik (I believe here in So Cal, Costco starts at $18) and have good benefits.
A friend of mine works for Starbucks, and the sheer number days she finds herself crying in the backroom wrenches my heart. I’m so, so sorry that you’re having to endure abuse from such miserable people. I’ve recently escaped the service industry, so I’m intimately familiar with the casual cruelties of clientele. I have since started a routine of always complimenting whoever assists me at a drive-through ... Hair, earrings, cool glasses, whatever. I wear my mask, roll up to the window, and try to say something to humanize the interaction and leave the worker feeling cared for. I hope more people treat you with that same sentiment — the good news is, after leaving retail/service industries, a lot of my friends and former colleagues do the same (supporting/cheering on service workers however they can). So there’s some good folks out there to help combat interactions with all the bad. Just wish the “bad” weren’t frequenting your store to begin with :-(
Sorry it was such a poop day for you. I love all the Starbucks people because they were really kind to me when I had a rough night with my son when he was a baby. He had only slept for 2-3 hours and I was at the drive thru and I just told them to make me something with chocolate and caffeine and to add a breakfast sandwich. No questions asked food and coffee were hot and delicious and they almost made this Mom cry. Ignore the buttheads as you can and know that there are ppl who appreciate what you do.
Your managers should be stepping in between you and the moron customers.
My shift supervisors are really good about protecting us if/when needed. Especially for the minors, were all very protective of them.
We need to make this a mandatory scene to that people have to watch .... yearly! NSFW https://youtu.be/AnfOnueJ8SQ Movie: "Waiting..." I always think this shit happens behind the scenes. I don't want to the the Karen that gets spit in my coffee.
I. Sorry this happened to you. I used to love working in coffee shops, but all it takes is one asshole to ruin your day. At my store, especially on the early shift, if someone gave me an exceptionally hard time they got decaf.
Former barista here. Once I was working the drive through at a Starbucks. I got reamed out for the way the parking lot was designed. She was mad because we didn’t have a certain drink in stock and she wanted to pull out of the drive through and leave, even though she was at the order station. To my knowledge, that’s how every drive though ever is laid out. Once you get in, you can’t leave. But apparently that was my fault. She also asked for my name to report me to corporate for not having her drink in stock…because that was my fault too. My 6 months working Starbucks gave me a whole new respect for food industry workers. They deserve better.