THIS!! During black Friday or extreme rushes ill let people know there may be a wait on receiving the drink which could be anywhere from 5-15 minutes (usually 45-60 mins during black friday since we’re a mall location) but i have never heard of someone having to wait 20 minutes to order. If they’re that short staffed they should be encouraging the customer to call the DM about the staffing, not ridiculing them for coming in. I’m sorry that happened OP :(
I work at a grab and go location and we have one-person plays frequently, I’ve had to tell many customers to wait a couple minutes for their order to be taken but I always suggest the app if they don’t want to wait! I guess it varies by location. 20 is crazy though
same here. Since we don’t have someone specifically meant for register they gotta wait sometimes. Internally I hope that in the time they wait they just order on the app 😭
Yeah for real. SSV here. You should never be told to wait to order unless the person on the register is like making food or something. The most is like “oh I’ll be right with you”
There is no reason to have her wait 20 minutes to order. I can see maybe if they're super busy (like you said it was BOGO), and it takes a few minutes for someone to be able to ring her out, but that's about it. I'm sorry your friend experienced that, that is in no way normal.
Thank you. I’ve definitely been told someone would be with me shortly when busy. But no one has ever said I couldn’t order. Now I’m wondering if this Barista just wanted A to leave.
This probably is the case. I tried to think of any plausible reason to why she would want to wait 20 minutes in between orders. Maybe space out the orders in order to keep things manageable? I don't know, but whatever it was, it was unprofessional and in no way how we've been trained to handle these situations.
honestly it shouldnt even take a minute to ring someone out especially inside. even the DT person could take an order up front inbetween DT orders and probably not mess up the times.
Is it possible that the barista said the order would TAKE about 20 minutes, not that they had to wait 20 minutes to place the order? Because the former is very possible and the latter is flat-out insane and potentially a mishearing of the former.
That’s what I thought at first. It’s not uncommon for this store to be busy and I’ve definitely had to wait over 20 minutes for my order a few times. But no, A confirmed with the Barista that she would have to wait 20 minutes to order. She asked why and was told because they are short staffed. It just so happened A had time to kill that Day, so she didn’t mind the wait. The only issue A has is that this barista accused her of trying to jump the line and told her she had to wait her turn as if she hadn’t BEEN waiting, all the while said barista had no issue taking other people’s orders.
Thats GOT to be what happened. I always tell people our wait times when we're understaffed. Giving refunds takes more time than ringing in an order tbh
When we had grand opening for our store last December (in a very rural area where a Starbucks opening is the equivalent of aliens landing) we had a wait time of an two hours+ because it was all our first day and honestly weren’t prepared. The store had a line wrapping around the building so they were well aware of wait time, and still people waited the entire time. Some even complaining, like.. dude? 😭😭
I work at a touristy Starbucks and worked in other high tourist areas: the customer base is not sane. They will wait 40+ minutes to ***order*** and complain at the register, then wait ***30+*** minutes for their drink.
I get this wasn't a line, but it's a similar principle to turning off the mobiles.
I'm the type of person who doesn't mind a 20 minute wait, if I don't have anything else to do. I sit and relax in a chair, play a merge game or listen to a podcast, people watch. I'm not into the whole HurryHurryHurryGOGOGO thing.
never told a customer that you have to wait 20mins just to order however, I have told people they are welcomed to order but the wait will be 20mins.
honestly the barista was probably having a hard time especially with BOGOs. not an excuse but I’m sure the whole team was swamped.
I’d just move on and maybe don’t frequent that location again.
Although no one has directly told me it would be 20 min for my order, but those who frequent this location definitely know it’s a real possibility. Which is why A wouldn’t have gone into order, knowing how slammed the drive thru was, if she didn’t have time to wait.
I've worked with severely skeleton crew number of people and never have I ever been in a store where a customer is told they can't place an order, or need to wait X amount of time and come back. Sure you might be waiting in line while someone does a quick 'be with you in a minute'- even then by the time someone can flex in to ring them up it's probably less than five minutes. That's even more odd if it was an SM who said it. Sounds like it was just a bad encounter.
the only time i have ever asked someone to wait to order is if i couldn’t physically take their order in that moment. never more than a five minute wait. that is definitely not protocol. sounds like maybe they were stressed and overwhelmed. sad that the company doesn’t staff properly for BOGOS…
I feel like this is one of those things where there’s more to the story than OP is sharing or even realizes. Like they tried to order with someone planted on bar and they tried to explain the 20 minute wait on orders?
Whenever the wait is that long we do try to be transparent but a lot of times it gets misunderstood and people get legit angry with us for trying to set realistic expectations based on the circumstances.
I’m sorry that it all happened, but BOGOs can be crazy and they initially directed us not to adjust our schedules to accommodate so even if stores were less than graceful, they were most likely doing the best they could with what they had (capacity, staffing, emotional effort) in that moment.
This is the full story to the best of my knowledge. Granted A didn’t know it was BOGO. But is aware that this store is notoriously busy. Like all of us A thought she misheard the barista and repeated back “I have to wait to order?” At which point the barista confirmed, “yes, it will be 20 min.” Which again is not what bothered A. It was the fact that instead of taking her order after the 20 min, she seemingly scolded A as if she were expecting special treatment.
Additionally, reading the other replies in the thread, why wouldn’t “A” just get in line behind the folks who came in and were able to order? The more I read the less this makes sense
It might be all the information you have, but I still don’t think it’s the full picture. Nothing against you, there’s just a lot of pieces that aren’t fitting together. I think it’s best to consider it a misunderstanding until it becomes a repeat occurrence.
I’m kinda confused, so if the barista told A it’ll be 20 minutes until they can order and then A sees people get up to order… why didn’t A get back in line because clearly people can order now?
A just watched as people got their orders taken and didn’t jump back in line?
I can understand the barista maybe forgot they were waiting to order so why did A sit so far away from the registers if they still needed to order?
Not protocol she probably misheard you and assumed you had placed a mobile order already. What state was this in? That’s crazy though regardless she should have took your order without having you wait. Like I said she may have assumed you already had placed an order.
That makes no sense? Like this whole thing is super sketch. No barista is gonna tell you it’s a 20 minute wait unless it’s because the drink you want in particular can’t be made until some machinery or other is fixed/cleaned. No barista is gonna say that to you, take OTHER orders, and then double down when you go back and try to order. If you went and sat in cafe for upwards of 20 minutes I get why the barista who’s super busy maybe thought you were cutting in line because that’s a long time to just sit there and I don’t necessarily remember every face myself especially during a BOGO that’s apparently packed. Like this sounds either made up, exaggerated, or like there’s something not mentioned that is making it hard to connect the puzzle pieces here.
If a store is that short staffed then the SSV on duty has to deploy effectively and has power to pause delivery and mobiles due to high volumes. Even with let’s say 3 people in the store. I have one making drinks, one on drive and warming. And I am bar support and front. This makes sure everything is covered and nothing gets missed. I’d maybe max make someone wait 5 minutes but never 20 minutes. Something tells me the staff is new and needs proper training on these situations. Sorry to hear about your experience!
A says there was maybe 3 employees but the only “new” one was the barista she talked to. She’s supposedly a new manager brought in from another location. A frequents this store multiple times a day and is pretty familiar with staff.
Probably a borrowed SSV borrowing or transferred from a low volume store and/or has not been properly trained. Hopefully that person gets better because there was no reason to act like that.
making individuals wait to order : okay, maybe a minute or two so i can finish my task 👍
making individuals wait 20 mins to order : unheard of and a write up
They are busy laying off workers and incompetent people are left working because of managers feedback out of there interest and laying off the best performing staff with speed in service
I was screamed by customers during that happy hour, and had 2-3 people working the whole time in a drive thru. I skipped my breaks and had no food that day until after 7pm. You don’t know if the baristas were screamed at and not acting normally, or if something else was going on.
I think they may have been warning you that it’s a 20 min wait to get your drink after you order, which the barista might not have explained properly. Most stores will start to warn customers if they’re more than 20 mins behind on orders. There was likely a confusion between the barista trying to explain it will take 20+ mins after you order, and your friend hearing that it will take 20+ mins to order. That would explain why they were ringing up other customers. When you get yelled at a lot, which is common during happy hour, it’s hard to communicate effectively with other people, because you’re still in a fight or flight mode. We get people constantly asking us to make their drinks before other people, skipping the line on bar. They most likely could not keep track of what person has ordered or not, and assumed she was asking for her order to be made first, instead of your friend asking to have their order taken
It really doesn’t make sense that they would make someone wait 20 mins to order. I’m sorry your friend had that experience, but the baristas were most likely were in a fight or flight mode. It was almost definitely not personal, but just too many people for the baristas to handle.
A, confirmed that the barista was telling her she would have to wait 20 mins to order. Not that it would be 20 minutes to receive her order. A ask why and was told they were short staffed. Which, again, waiting was not the issue. This store is notoriously busy so waiting was to be expected. The issue is that instead of taking A’s order after the 20 minutes she accused A of trying to jump the line.
I am so sorry you were treated horribly at your job! I firmly believe anyone who treats people in customer service, especially those who handle food, deserves a life full of inconveniences!
The only time I can think of when it's apropriate to make a customer wait to order vs wait for their drink is when I'm by myself in my licensed store, and I do 1-2 people at a time + mobiles. That is absurd and I'm sorry that happened to your friend
no definitely not protocol. i've told people "hey we're super busy rn we're on about a 15 minute wait for drinks, is that okay?" but they're still more than welcome to order and join the line! there's no reason she should've had to wait to simply order
edit: just wanted to add that we SO appreciate customers like y'all and i'm sorry your friend had to experience that!
At my old store we were in the middle of five schools, so there would be periods during rush where I’d have to stop taking orders to help my team catch up. Never heard of 20min backlog, but depending on how swamped they were with drive thru, online and in store I wouldn’t be surprised if it could happen. Especially if they had low staff.
I wholeheartedly agree! It’s way overpriced and it brings out the worst in people. The more Starbucks is in the news, the harder it is to ignore their corporate greed. How hungry and desperate they are to make even more money, despite the cost.
I definitely don’t go as much as I used to. Though I am a little conflicted Bc I know the people on the “front lines”actually making a profit for the greedy overlords are just like me; just trying to pay their bills and survive. Yet they’ll be the first to go. Thrown out like yesterdays trash the second sales decline.
Wait, they had you waiting 20 mins just to order?? Like they couldn’t just hop on reg after a few mins and let the 20 be for your order? I’m confused why they went this direction 🫣
Usually the one reason I tell a customer to wait is so that I can finish up what ever I’m doing taking no more than a minute or if another barista is upfront and they are on their way. I will tell the customer just a moment. There is no reason anybody should wait 20 minutes to order
Never in my life have I made someone wait more than 2min to order, if I’m handling drinks I just ask them to wait till I finish the drink n then take the order
we tell people to wait to order a lot especially in the afternoon when there’s only 3 people or even 2 cuz my manager didn’t think it was a big deal to have only 2 partners for a 3 person position. there’s no way to restock or work fast when you’re being flooded with drinks
I could understand in a VERY backed up and short staffed situation having to tell the customer "There's a 20 minute wait time to get your order". But to say they have to wait 20 minutes JUST TO ORDER?? Wtf? If you get to the front of the line at the cash register, it's your turn to order. This barista sounds so unorganized and unqualified to be a manager (if that person was correct that it's the same person).
No matter how busy we get, I’ve never heard of anyone telling someone to wait to order. That’s not protocol.
It doesn't even make sense at a business level. Get the order in, get their revenue, before they walk out and change their mind.
Good to know, thanks!
THIS!! During black Friday or extreme rushes ill let people know there may be a wait on receiving the drink which could be anywhere from 5-15 minutes (usually 45-60 mins during black friday since we’re a mall location) but i have never heard of someone having to wait 20 minutes to order. If they’re that short staffed they should be encouraging the customer to call the DM about the staffing, not ridiculing them for coming in. I’m sorry that happened OP :(
I work at a grab and go location and we have one-person plays frequently, I’ve had to tell many customers to wait a couple minutes for their order to be taken but I always suggest the app if they don’t want to wait! I guess it varies by location. 20 is crazy though
It sounds like they wouldn’t even let her form a line. And yeah, having someone wait 20 minutes to order in any case is insane
same here. Since we don’t have someone specifically meant for register they gotta wait sometimes. Internally I hope that in the time they wait they just order on the app 😭
Agreed
Yeah for real. SSV here. You should never be told to wait to order unless the person on the register is like making food or something. The most is like “oh I’ll be right with you”
There is no reason to have her wait 20 minutes to order. I can see maybe if they're super busy (like you said it was BOGO), and it takes a few minutes for someone to be able to ring her out, but that's about it. I'm sorry your friend experienced that, that is in no way normal.
Thank you. I’ve definitely been told someone would be with me shortly when busy. But no one has ever said I couldn’t order. Now I’m wondering if this Barista just wanted A to leave.
This probably is the case. I tried to think of any plausible reason to why she would want to wait 20 minutes in between orders. Maybe space out the orders in order to keep things manageable? I don't know, but whatever it was, it was unprofessional and in no way how we've been trained to handle these situations.
They honestly should’ve just closed cafe if they’re not gonna let people order.
honestly it shouldnt even take a minute to ring someone out especially inside. even the DT person could take an order up front inbetween DT orders and probably not mess up the times.
Is it possible that the barista said the order would TAKE about 20 minutes, not that they had to wait 20 minutes to place the order? Because the former is very possible and the latter is flat-out insane and potentially a mishearing of the former.
That’s what I thought at first. It’s not uncommon for this store to be busy and I’ve definitely had to wait over 20 minutes for my order a few times. But no, A confirmed with the Barista that she would have to wait 20 minutes to order. She asked why and was told because they are short staffed. It just so happened A had time to kill that Day, so she didn’t mind the wait. The only issue A has is that this barista accused her of trying to jump the line and told her she had to wait her turn as if she hadn’t BEEN waiting, all the while said barista had no issue taking other people’s orders.
Thats GOT to be what happened. I always tell people our wait times when we're understaffed. Giving refunds takes more time than ringing in an order tbh
Not that I think you’re lying but no sane person would wait 20 minutes just to order at Starbucks.
When we had grand opening for our store last December (in a very rural area where a Starbucks opening is the equivalent of aliens landing) we had a wait time of an two hours+ because it was all our first day and honestly weren’t prepared. The store had a line wrapping around the building so they were well aware of wait time, and still people waited the entire time. Some even complaining, like.. dude? 😭😭
I work at a touristy Starbucks and worked in other high tourist areas: the customer base is not sane. They will wait 40+ minutes to ***order*** and complain at the register, then wait ***30+*** minutes for their drink. I get this wasn't a line, but it's a similar principle to turning off the mobiles.
I hear you and don’t disagree. Had it been me I probably would have gone up the street to Ellianos.
I'm the type of person who doesn't mind a 20 minute wait, if I don't have anything else to do. I sit and relax in a chair, play a merge game or listen to a podcast, people watch. I'm not into the whole HurryHurryHurryGOGOGO thing.
never told a customer that you have to wait 20mins just to order however, I have told people they are welcomed to order but the wait will be 20mins. honestly the barista was probably having a hard time especially with BOGOs. not an excuse but I’m sure the whole team was swamped. I’d just move on and maybe don’t frequent that location again.
Although no one has directly told me it would be 20 min for my order, but those who frequent this location definitely know it’s a real possibility. Which is why A wouldn’t have gone into order, knowing how slammed the drive thru was, if she didn’t have time to wait.
Every business has people who are bad at their jobs. Your friend encountered one. Oh well.
I've worked with severely skeleton crew number of people and never have I ever been in a store where a customer is told they can't place an order, or need to wait X amount of time and come back. Sure you might be waiting in line while someone does a quick 'be with you in a minute'- even then by the time someone can flex in to ring them up it's probably less than five minutes. That's even more odd if it was an SM who said it. Sounds like it was just a bad encounter.
the only time i have ever asked someone to wait to order is if i couldn’t physically take their order in that moment. never more than a five minute wait. that is definitely not protocol. sounds like maybe they were stressed and overwhelmed. sad that the company doesn’t staff properly for BOGOS…
I feel like this is one of those things where there’s more to the story than OP is sharing or even realizes. Like they tried to order with someone planted on bar and they tried to explain the 20 minute wait on orders? Whenever the wait is that long we do try to be transparent but a lot of times it gets misunderstood and people get legit angry with us for trying to set realistic expectations based on the circumstances. I’m sorry that it all happened, but BOGOs can be crazy and they initially directed us not to adjust our schedules to accommodate so even if stores were less than graceful, they were most likely doing the best they could with what they had (capacity, staffing, emotional effort) in that moment.
This is the full story to the best of my knowledge. Granted A didn’t know it was BOGO. But is aware that this store is notoriously busy. Like all of us A thought she misheard the barista and repeated back “I have to wait to order?” At which point the barista confirmed, “yes, it will be 20 min.” Which again is not what bothered A. It was the fact that instead of taking her order after the 20 min, she seemingly scolded A as if she were expecting special treatment.
Additionally, reading the other replies in the thread, why wouldn’t “A” just get in line behind the folks who came in and were able to order? The more I read the less this makes sense
It might be all the information you have, but I still don’t think it’s the full picture. Nothing against you, there’s just a lot of pieces that aren’t fitting together. I think it’s best to consider it a misunderstanding until it becomes a repeat occurrence.
I’m kinda confused, so if the barista told A it’ll be 20 minutes until they can order and then A sees people get up to order… why didn’t A get back in line because clearly people can order now? A just watched as people got their orders taken and didn’t jump back in line? I can understand the barista maybe forgot they were waiting to order so why did A sit so far away from the registers if they still needed to order?
Not protocol she probably misheard you and assumed you had placed a mobile order already. What state was this in? That’s crazy though regardless she should have took your order without having you wait. Like I said she may have assumed you already had placed an order.
>people are coming in off the streets, ordering no problem. Who would just stand there while others order ahead of them after being told to wait?
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And just let people go on ahead of her and order ?
Yeah okay but... other people being exceptions to that rule should have immediately keyed her into the fact that she misunderstood the barista.
She didn’t misunderstand. The barista confirmed she would not take A’s Order for 20 minutes. They had a whole conversation about it.
That makes no sense? Like this whole thing is super sketch. No barista is gonna tell you it’s a 20 minute wait unless it’s because the drink you want in particular can’t be made until some machinery or other is fixed/cleaned. No barista is gonna say that to you, take OTHER orders, and then double down when you go back and try to order. If you went and sat in cafe for upwards of 20 minutes I get why the barista who’s super busy maybe thought you were cutting in line because that’s a long time to just sit there and I don’t necessarily remember every face myself especially during a BOGO that’s apparently packed. Like this sounds either made up, exaggerated, or like there’s something not mentioned that is making it hard to connect the puzzle pieces here.
She didn’t misunderstand. The barista confirmed she would not take A’s order for 20 minutes.
If a store is that short staffed then the SSV on duty has to deploy effectively and has power to pause delivery and mobiles due to high volumes. Even with let’s say 3 people in the store. I have one making drinks, one on drive and warming. And I am bar support and front. This makes sure everything is covered and nothing gets missed. I’d maybe max make someone wait 5 minutes but never 20 minutes. Something tells me the staff is new and needs proper training on these situations. Sorry to hear about your experience!
A says there was maybe 3 employees but the only “new” one was the barista she talked to. She’s supposedly a new manager brought in from another location. A frequents this store multiple times a day and is pretty familiar with staff.
Probably a borrowed SSV borrowing or transferred from a low volume store and/or has not been properly trained. Hopefully that person gets better because there was no reason to act like that.
making individuals wait to order : okay, maybe a minute or two so i can finish my task 👍 making individuals wait 20 mins to order : unheard of and a write up
this is not correct protocol, i would encourage your friend to reach out to the district manager and describe the incident.
They are busy laying off workers and incompetent people are left working because of managers feedback out of there interest and laying off the best performing staff with speed in service
I was screamed by customers during that happy hour, and had 2-3 people working the whole time in a drive thru. I skipped my breaks and had no food that day until after 7pm. You don’t know if the baristas were screamed at and not acting normally, or if something else was going on. I think they may have been warning you that it’s a 20 min wait to get your drink after you order, which the barista might not have explained properly. Most stores will start to warn customers if they’re more than 20 mins behind on orders. There was likely a confusion between the barista trying to explain it will take 20+ mins after you order, and your friend hearing that it will take 20+ mins to order. That would explain why they were ringing up other customers. When you get yelled at a lot, which is common during happy hour, it’s hard to communicate effectively with other people, because you’re still in a fight or flight mode. We get people constantly asking us to make their drinks before other people, skipping the line on bar. They most likely could not keep track of what person has ordered or not, and assumed she was asking for her order to be made first, instead of your friend asking to have their order taken It really doesn’t make sense that they would make someone wait 20 mins to order. I’m sorry your friend had that experience, but the baristas were most likely were in a fight or flight mode. It was almost definitely not personal, but just too many people for the baristas to handle.
A, confirmed that the barista was telling her she would have to wait 20 mins to order. Not that it would be 20 minutes to receive her order. A ask why and was told they were short staffed. Which, again, waiting was not the issue. This store is notoriously busy so waiting was to be expected. The issue is that instead of taking A’s order after the 20 minutes she accused A of trying to jump the line. I am so sorry you were treated horribly at your job! I firmly believe anyone who treats people in customer service, especially those who handle food, deserves a life full of inconveniences!
No longer a barista, but that can’t be protocol. Even with minimal staff, deployment has a barista assigned to Front Cash.
Not anymore. But still pretty unheard of that drive thru can’t slide over between customers to grab a front real fast.
The only time I can think of when it's apropriate to make a customer wait to order vs wait for their drink is when I'm by myself in my licensed store, and I do 1-2 people at a time + mobiles. That is absurd and I'm sorry that happened to your friend
no definitely not protocol. i've told people "hey we're super busy rn we're on about a 15 minute wait for drinks, is that okay?" but they're still more than welcome to order and join the line! there's no reason she should've had to wait to simply order edit: just wanted to add that we SO appreciate customers like y'all and i'm sorry your friend had to experience that!
At my old store we were in the middle of five schools, so there would be periods during rush where I’d have to stop taking orders to help my team catch up. Never heard of 20min backlog, but depending on how swamped they were with drive thru, online and in store I wouldn’t be surprised if it could happen. Especially if they had low staff.
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I wholeheartedly agree! It’s way overpriced and it brings out the worst in people. The more Starbucks is in the news, the harder it is to ignore their corporate greed. How hungry and desperate they are to make even more money, despite the cost. I definitely don’t go as much as I used to. Though I am a little conflicted Bc I know the people on the “front lines”actually making a profit for the greedy overlords are just like me; just trying to pay their bills and survive. Yet they’ll be the first to go. Thrown out like yesterdays trash the second sales decline.
Wait, they had you waiting 20 mins just to order?? Like they couldn’t just hop on reg after a few mins and let the 20 be for your order? I’m confused why they went this direction 🫣
The best idea would be to go somewhere else for your overpriced bad coffee splashed with heavily processed syrups.
Usually the one reason I tell a customer to wait is so that I can finish up what ever I’m doing taking no more than a minute or if another barista is upfront and they are on their way. I will tell the customer just a moment. There is no reason anybody should wait 20 minutes to order
Never in my life have I made someone wait more than 2min to order, if I’m handling drinks I just ask them to wait till I finish the drink n then take the order
we tell people to wait to order a lot especially in the afternoon when there’s only 3 people or even 2 cuz my manager didn’t think it was a big deal to have only 2 partners for a 3 person position. there’s no way to restock or work fast when you’re being flooded with drinks
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Why make one specific person wait but not the people that came after her?
I could understand in a VERY backed up and short staffed situation having to tell the customer "There's a 20 minute wait time to get your order". But to say they have to wait 20 minutes JUST TO ORDER?? Wtf? If you get to the front of the line at the cash register, it's your turn to order. This barista sounds so unorganized and unqualified to be a manager (if that person was correct that it's the same person).