A Starbucks Experience

Customer: I'd like a light mocha frappuccino with a shot of sugar-free hazelnut syrup.

Starbucks Guy: Okay. (gets cup, writes stuff on it)

Customer: That's "light," right?

Starbucks Guy: Oh, I didn't get that. Okay. (writes more stuff on cup)

Barista: (few minutes later) White mocha frappuccino!

Customer: Um, I ordered a "light" mocha frappuccino.

Barista: Oh. He wrote "white." Okay, I'll remake it.

Barista to Starbucks Guy: Hey dude, she said "light," not "white."

Starbucks Guy, turning to customer: Actually, you're supposed to say it "Mocha Frappuccino Light." The "light" comes at the end. Not to be rude, but that's the way you're supposed to say it.

True story. This is the same employee that, after giving Karen and I a mint mocha chip frappuccino instead of a mint chocolate chip (creme frappuccino, no caffeine), told us that to order the mint chocolate chip creme frappuccino, we needed to say, "Mint Mocha Chip Creme Frappuccino." We had to point to the menu board and explain to him how his company described its own drinks.

I find this particularly amusing since Starbucks values the customer experience so highly, or claims to anyway. Clearly there are some crucial training sessions being missed.

Like the "Actually Listening to the Customer When He/She Is Ordering". Or the classic "On Not Telling the Customer How They Ought to Rephrase Their Drink Orders." Or there's my favorite: "Mocha = Coffee Drink."