In the era of sports Tivoing, Starbucks baristas are powerless to avoid having the game ruined by thoughtless, chatty customers… or are they? Apparently, one Boston-area barista is fighting back. Do think this worked?
The sign reads:
Customers,
Please try not to talk about the Celtics game. I am recording it and watching it when I get home tonight. I would really prefer to not know the outcome ahead of time.
Thanks.
An extra bold request [Passive Aggressive Notes]
(Photo: Passive Aggressive Notes )
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Back in 2001 when the Red Sox were playing the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS, my brother and I decided that even though we are die hard Sox fans, we decided that we would purposely NOT watch the game because of all the suffering in the past (Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner)and we didn’t want to be heart broken again. We went to a Barnes and Nobles at 8:00 and quietly read and shopped for books. We decided to get a coffee at the instore Starbucks and while in line a huge roar went up in the back room! Johnny Damon had just hit a grand slam and all the employee were in the back room watching it on portable black and white TV! Boston fans and baristas are very passionate about their sports, and the Sox went on to win their first world series a few days later.
Wow, some people are mean. Let the guy enjoy life.
@danno99:
Boston fans may be passionate, but you should recheck your sources. The Sox won the series in 2004, not 2001.
@notallcompaniesareevil:
I had the 2004 series taped but didn’t get around to watching it yet. Thanks for spoiling the ending.
@sophistiKate:
I think there’s a huge difference between “don’t talk about a topic I don’t like” and “Please let me watch a specific event without spoilers”. I’ve found that I get better customer service by being a good customer than by assuming I’m the most important person in the world because I’m buying a $2 cup of coffee.
I need to try this next week,
“Dear Customers,
I do not have cable, and as such have to wait until somebody uploads the latest episode of ANTM onto Surf the Channel. Now while I hope to God that bitch Whitney gets sent home, I would prefer it if you did not reveal who was eliminated thise week.
Thank you. (Team Anya!)
@BoilerBob: I disagree. I don’t think his reason for not wanting to hear the topic is relevant given his position.
I actually wrote that note. It worked. I had headphones for the T to and from work, which I think was key. It was the game 7 against Atlanta, so I was happy when I watched it after returning home.
http://www.roomofzen.com
LOL.
Dear Starbucks customer: I may be the one getting paid out of the two of us right now, but do not inconvenience me with your talk of sports or any other topic of interest to you. You must command to my conveniences or else I’ll piss in your vanilla caramel macchiato.
Also, in all of these stories that have been written about it, I have read a lot of negative comments saying that I was rude to customers and that I should be punished. I would just like to point out that I talk sports with our regular customers everyday, so this was not suprising to them. And, many of them thought it was funny. It actually got a lot of customers who usually are pretty reserved talking and joking with us. It wasn’t taken as a hostile sign at all. In fact, there are many customers that I interact more now because of that day.
I cannot believe that so many people, here and elsewhere, feel like they need to ruin someone’s day just because he works behind a counter. Too many times with this site, as soon as someone puts on a literal or figurative employee hat, he is no longer human. Why do we not feel the need to treat people with respect just because we are paying them for something? If they are jerks to you first, by all means, go to town. But if they make a request to simply delay talking about something, is that so much to ask? Is that really a huge sacrifice? Too much of a sacrifice to ruin someone’s day over?
you go barista!
@LaRocque:
I’m happy that it worked out for you! There are some truly spiteful and rude people on this board who would spoil a game for their own personal amusement.
To those who say the sign itself was rude: get over yourselves! It’s up to the customer to decide whether or not to comply with a polite request (which is a far cry from a mandate). That’s why the title of this post is misleading (PLEASE and SHUT UP! are two entirely different things).
To those who say it’s just a game: would it have been any different if someone tells you not to ruin the ending to a book? Do you think that people who like sports are beneath those who enjoy literature? What about people who like both? Grow up and act your age.
@LaRocque:
LaRocque, I’m the one who took this picture! I thought it was hilarious, and was not put off in anyway. I just can’t believe how many people were annoyed by it!
Don’t ruin it for the Celtics fan! The Lakers will do that for him when they meet in the finals!