Last night we took the kids bowling for Steven's birthday (because he was supposed to have a party but two weeks in a row his mother flaked on attempting to plan one, so Daniel decided that we'd just take care of birthday fun-time) and I didn't bring my camera. I suck so bad I didn't even remember to bring my phone... thus no photographic evidence of the guy with a mullet halfway down his back, wearing a "Rodeo Paramedic" tee shirt, Wranglers, one of those wallets that are extra long so that the bolo tie looking fringe-y thing sticks out of your back pocket... playing the "BUCK HUNT SAFARI" shooting game in the arcade.
On the way there I had another Beans and Brews customer service experience, during which I finally freaked out on the kids working there. I've had issues there before, but it's so close to my house that I sometimes accidentally go there, secretly hoping they've gotten their act together. They haven't yet, hence my near-screaming-fit. It's really, really hard to support the little guy, to buy local, etc. when the local little guy can't seem to comprehend the concept of customer service or a quality product. The shop never seems to be fully staffed, and the staff never seems to be fully trained. They can't seem to get anything right, and it always takes forever. When they first opened they had a sign on the door explaining that they were new and if the drink was wrong to let them know and they'd fix it. Who has time to wait for them to fix it after already having waited forever the first time around? Not me. Here's how last night's adventure went down: We walked in, and there was one car in the drive-thru. The kid behind the counter proceeded to take a new drive-thru order while I was standing there, and then another one. He took my order (an iced coffee, so pretty much all that was involved was him turning around and operating a dispenser) and then without moving to fill my order, told the girl working the drive-thru to transfer the order being made to his headset so that he could take it. I said "No, you need to get my coffee" and he started to explain what some drink was to the person in the drive thru. I interrupted him, telling him again that instead of taking more orders, he needed to get my coffee. He said "There are like 8 orders in front of you, you need to wait." To which I replied "No, I am standing in front of you. I got out of my vehicle and entered this establishment when there was one car in the drive-thru. You need to get my drink." He said "We're really busy and we have to help the orders that were before you." I told him again that I was standing there while he TOOK the other orders, so they were NOT, in fact, in front of me. At this point the girl who was working got involved and told me that she was sorry, and that they were really busy and they'd be right with me. I then proceeded to tell HER... "No, I am in here, in front of you, and you need to get my drink now, I shouldn't have to wait for all of those cars." After telling me "You need to wait, we'll get to it." and having me explain again that "No, I do NOT need to wait, YOU NEED to get my coffee before you help those other people", she could not argue against my case, because she knew I was right, so she got my coffee for me (complete with half&half from a cardboard carton that was sitting on top of the counter for who-knows-how-long). So here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. If yours is a customer service based business in an industry that isn't doing very well, you should probably spend some time training your employees on not only basic job functionalities, but also basic rules of customer service (like how lines work... Most people grasp that by about second grade) and possibly encourage stellar behavior such as not arguing with customers.
2. If you work in a shop that supplies something that is necessary to sanity and survival (coffee) you should probably not test the irritability of your customers.
3. If you are in a coffee drive-thru, you should know what you want and not have to have the concoctions explained to you.
4. If you are making a coffee run and ordering "like 8" drinks, don't do it through a speaker, go inside. and
5. If you are me, consider this a lesson learned (again) and just stop going to the Beans and Brews on 9th east and 5400 South because it's obviously hopeless.
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3 comments:
I sorely disappointed you didn't get a picture of the mulleted hottie. Please tell me you gave him my number?
You should send your frustration to Beans and Brew in a letter. They need to know how bad they're sucking. Maybe you'll be rewarded with free, shitty customer-service coffee? Oh, the joy!
hah! strange.. I have a similiar post about beans and brews on my blog. They are horrible and I have not given them my business since the last time I paid $6 for a cup brown ice piss.
If you have another shitty coffee experience at the Brew or anywhere else, I'm taking you out for coffee.
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