Bad-Mood Barista

I was not in the best of moods at work this morning, which was unfortunate because, well, it just was. Last night's shift [the one I mistakenly thought was in the morning] was one of the most overwhelming ones I have had yet! I had absolutely
no idea how busy a Friday night would be. The weekend mornings I work are usually extremely busy and the weekday mornings I work are usually extremely dead. I figured that since it was night time and since it was between 4:00pm and 10:00pm, there wouldn't be as many customers.

As usual, I was wrong.

It's fine if it's a busy day and I'm with someone else to help take the pressure to make drinks faster away from just me. But if I'm all alone, have cars at each window with four drinks each, and a man walking up from a car behind bitching at me to go faster because he'd been waiting "for FIF-TEEN MINUTES!!" it kind of bums me out.

Oh, and when one truck pulls up with a couple drinks and their friends behind them immediately pull up beside them and say, "I don't want to wait anymore. Order our drinks together!" ...and there are two blended coffee drinks, one hot cider, a fruit smoothie, and an iced coffee drink [note: all different types of drinks with all different ways of making them meaning that they will take longer to make] and whilst making them, I hear some girl in the car on the side say, "Well she's taking her sweet ass time in there!" I'd like to see HER make all of these drinks any faster.

Butthole.

So, after this, I get a phone call from the girl who was supposed to relieve me at 10:00 saying that she was taking her son to the hospital and would be a bit late. I have absolutely no problem with staying later or cover shifts when necessary, but I was just overwhelmed with how busy it was. I didn't have a clean pitcher in sight, I had empty milk jugs all over the counters, syrup bottles I didn't have time to put back away, and for about 20 minutes before my relief got to the stand, I didn't have a register. I was giving away free drinks and about to just lose my mind before the other girl got there.

I was tired, overwhelmed, stressed without a register, bummed about the rude and impatient man's attitude and the rude and impatient girl in the car's comment, missing Andrew, and not looking forward to the lack of sleep I was about to get [leaving the stand at 11:30pm and having to be back around 5:00am or so], I slumped into a rut of bad-mood-ism.

I got home and passed OUT! It was the fastest I think I've ever fallen asleep.

I woke up at 4:30 and was out of the door in less than 15 minutes. No make-up, no brushing of hair, just a presentable and acceptable appearance in uniform [guys' jeans, tennies, a sweater, and a sweatshirt because I was super cold at the shift the night before]. Good thing I chose that outfit because it was low 30s out and I was freezin my nose off! I should have worn my sweet "Fargo" hat, a scarf, and my wool mittens. Next time. Tomorrow morning.

I got to work, clocked in, and was not in the mood for a rush all by myself again. Fortunately, it was steady traffic and I wasn't by myself until the next person came in, like I normally am. All in all, with two people and steady customers, my mood finally broke about 10:30am. I think I was just OVER the stupid customers and looking forward to relaxing at home.

1.) Miss Scraggley Walk Up: Kiara is cleaning a window and I am spacing out, trying to psyche myself out of my mood. Neither of us see the woman approach, so she rat-a-tat-TATs on the window [not the walk-up window, but the drive-up. Whatever]. I open it and ask how she's doing. Cutting me off, she orders her drink. [Murphy just farted and it's unbearable]. Anyway, Kiara makes her drink, I ring her up, and she hands me a $20. I give her the change and she suddenly has some coinage that she wants to put toward her total. She was 27¢ away from the nearest dollar so she kept the bills and she handed me a quarter. I got out the coins and she said, "It should be something else." So I look and say that she needs two more cents to reach a dollar. She hands me a bunch of coins and tells me to keep the change. So I take the dollar and extra cents and set it aside. She then yells/grunts at me, "I should have gotten a dollar back!" Well good LORD lady! If you want to make everything complicated by adding the wrong coins at the end and saying, "Keep the change," [which 99% of people saying that mean "Keep the left-overs," and I double-check just to make sure that's what they mean] then by all means, make everything complicated. Just don't get pissed at me when you are a Scraggley Walk Up woman. I don't care if you don't want to tip us all that much; just tell me what you are TRYING to accomplish by digging out some extra coins. Oh, and PS, the very NEXT customer did the same thing with adding coins after the total was rung through with her bills.

2.) Windows are closed for a reason: it's cold out. Freezing. A tit bit nippley. Anyway, when we open the window and go to say something, it's extremely frustrating when someone disregards us as human beings and rattles off their drinks. I'm not a slave; yes, I'm here to serve the customer and make them the product that they want, but at least treat me in a dignified manner. Yea, it's basically bullshit to me right now in my career as a barista to make small talk because A.) I don't know the customers intimately yet, B.) I don't know which people like to talk and which ones don't, and C.) at the moment, I'm more focused on getting the drinks perfect [and in a timely manner]. BUT, if I ask someone how their day is going or whatever version of that I decide to spew out, it's good to reply. It's respectable to reply. It's NICE to reply. Be human for a minute. Please.

3.) I made five hot chocolates for this one car, FIVE hot chocolates: THREE 16oz ones and TWO 20oz ones. I don't think I've made more delicious drinks FASTER in my barista-life. I got everything correct, straws and great customer service... ...and no tip. It's just sad to make so many drinks for one vehicle and not get anything. I don't expect it, but if it's 3+ drinks, c'mon. 50¢ isn't going to kill you, especially because I forgot to ring up the "breve" or the "extra flavour" you so desperately needed.

I'm worn out. I'm trying to stay awake until about 10:00pm or so, go to bed HARD and FAST like last night, and get some good, deep sleep, but my eyes are closing and not just to blink. I wonder if a dog would want to snuggle with me and watch Sex and the City whilst we wait for Andrew to come home from work?

[Update: Murphy's fart is no longer present. Don't sent a search party; thanks].