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 )
More From Consumerist
-
Starbucks Thinks You Want An Entire Store Of Tazo Tea
-
Why Should Starbucks Give You A Loyalty Discount? You’re Already Addicted
-
Starbucks To Cut Price Of Bagged Coffee By $1 Next Month Because The Caffeine Gods Said So
-
Starbucks Has Discovered Street Corners Without One Of Its Stores, Set To Open 1,500 More
-
Starbucks Baristas Say New Reusable Cups Are Selling Well, But Will The Trend Last?
I’d be the first one to spoil it for the guy
Funny. I’m sure some asshat said something just because he put the sign up though.
I suppose the generosity of the customers depends on the quality of service provided. If I got a cold cup of coffee, I might feel the sudden urge to talk about sports.
There is no way I would post a sign like this if I worked there, because someone is going to ruin it, either because they like making trouble, because they disagree with the sign on principle, or because they’re one of those people who doesn’t read anything.
I respect the wishes of the person who posted the sign, after all, everyone is human and if I’m in there it’s just to get some damn coffee, but I lay good odds that the cat got let out of the bag quickly.
It wouldn’t matter anyway because 95% of the people that walk in the door won’t read the sign anyway.
I know this because I worked at a gas station for a while and on really windy days we would have to put a ‘USE OTHER DOOR’ sign on one of the doors. I would laugh every time someone tried to use the locked door and I would laugh even harder when they tried to use the same door on the way out.
A threat to throw hot coffee in the offender’s face may have helped.
and then he was fired…
I’ll never understand professional sports. Sit there for 3 hours, watching a game. When you could watch sports center, see the highlights, and be done in 30 mins, and on with your life.
I’m wondering if this note is from one of my friends. They are that nuts about sports as well
CELTS LOSE!
I don’t see anything wrong with a polite request & explanation like that.
So what? Appease him. Its a polite note and a friendly request from a fellow person in society. It has nothing to do with Starbucks – except that its a personal note placed in his corporate environment.
I have two co-workers that record tennis matches and go home and watch them. I see the headlines blown up on CNN and Drudge – but I don’t mouth off Andy Roddick’s latest serve to them.
Sure you could go blow it for them out of spite for treating their Starbucks retail position in a controlling haughty manner – but why be a dick?
The barista has his sign but where do the customers get to post a sign:
Please do NOT force me to order in Freitalian and if I ask for a large black coffee, restrain your need to restate my order in Starbucks-speak.
At least they said “Please” and “Thanks”.
The person who does mouth off probably gets an extra ingredient in his or her coffee.
I live in Boston and am curious which store the sign is in.
HAHA Awesome.
@SkokieGuy: Yes, because I’m certain he’s rendering it in SBtalk because he’s an asshole and not because that’s what their computers likely say … oh wait …
Someone puts up a polite and reasonable request and gets flogged for it here. Gotta love slow news days at the Consumerist …
@Bladefist: Well, you COULD watch sportscenter for the highlights, assuming the team you cared about was based in Boston, New York, or Los Angeles. Otherwise, the 40 seconds the use to cover the rest of America is less than satisfying.
@Bladefist: You’re right – forget the great works of Shakespeare – we have Cliff Notes to get us on with our lives!
@Bladefist: I’ll never understand reading books. Sit there for 3 days, reading a book. When you could go to the bookstore, get the Cliffs Notes version, and be done in 30 mins, and on with your life.
You’re not required to understand random_leisure_activity_025 if it’s not your thing…
Beat you to it evslin…great minds, though…right?
It’s a short and slippery slope from “don’t tell me how the game turned out” to “don’t express any thoughts or opinons not approved by the Lord High Censorbarista!”
@bobpence: Bob, you’re right – free-thinking, freedom-loving Americans should have marched to that Starbucks spouting the entire box score!
@InfiniTrent: lol I knew that would get some people fired up. However you’re comparing shakespeare to idiots running around throwing a ball in a hoop.
I’m just messing around. Ignore me.
That’s piss poor customer service.
Playoff season is worse than xmas. In Detroit the stores are dead and the only people shopping are trying to get away while we employees have to be tortured by not watching the game and getting phone calls at the end of every quarter. I would gladly work all the major holidays so the store could be closed on playoff nights. Thank god for west coast games.
I appreciate the spirit of that letter. I’ve had that happen to me when I’ve worked in the service industry. Best solution tho… don’t work in the service industry!
My friend recorded that NASCAR race only to have it ruined by a toll taker! A TOLL TAKER! Crazy stuff…
My co-workers know not to talk about Lost until everyone has seen the most recent episode.
Basketball and NASCAR: Watch the last five minutes and call it good.
@Bladefist: I know you couldn’t be completely serious.
@Ash78: Ash, the last five minutes of a basketball game is the worst part, what, with all the intentional fouling and free-throw shooting in most close games…
It’s the one imperfection in a nearly perfect game, if you ask me. And I know you are!
HE HE HE…Do female sports fans not exist??
and IT’S A GAME – get over it.
@bobpence:
Logical Fallacy
Anyway, I thought the letter was cute. I like running across absurd little notes on doorways.
We are all witnesses… unless you work in Starbucks.
For God’s sake, the place has wi-fi. Set up your laptop in back, go to ESPN.com, or bluetooth your radio.
smart move, barista. everyone knows not to eff with a boston sports fan!
Wow…ballsy….I’m surprised the manager allowed that considering how corporate those places are!
@bobpence: Slippery slope arguments = fail.
Consumerist: Shut up, service workers, we don’t think you’re human!
@VikingP77:
This sign was posted in Boston. They are serious about their sports. So long as he liked the ‘right’ team I’m sure the manager supported ‘em.
If it’s that important, instead of controlling the conversations of all the customers who come in, take the day off.
Some of those customers may actually be pretty excited about the game. “Hey, did you see when he… whoops, sorry, can’t talk about it here.”
That’s funny, because when you post a sign that just makes people more likely to spoil it for the lulz.
@SkokieGuy: Except it seems highly unlikely that the barista either created the Starbucks lingo OR cares to enforce it.
He does (hopefully) care that he gets you what you actually wanted when you said “Large black coffee” instead of ordering based on what the menu says. You’re not sticking it to Big Coffee when you do this, you are just making it harder for the guy who is just trying to do his job.
LoL.. must be one of those guys that go… “LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA I can’t hear you LA LA LA LA LA LA” at the first mention of the basketball or celtics.
The difference is a book is a book with a ton of words that all have meanings and submeanings and is why I reread books. If you really like sports you would be interested in seeing the moves and not care if you knew the outcome just like I generally know that a Mary Higgen Clark books is not gonna end with the main character dead.
But we also have to understand hobbies and that to some people get worked up over a game and as thoe points progresses is their way of relaxing… But in reality get over yourself, you DO NOT have a right to tell people they can’t talk about X in your store, especially a coffee place where generally people will go for a coffee so that they can TALK.
Too bad we don’t know which one it was. My husband is about to be placed in his Boston area store. I’d like to know in advance if he’s dealing with this level of idiocy at his location.
He had to pull aside a barista at one of the locations we were at this weekend because she was such a tool it could not be ignored. I don’t think she’s long for the company.
TIvoing live sports is lame. even if i don’t know the outcome, knowing that the game has already happened makes it less exciting.
just watch it on TV like everybody else, and if you have to miss it, be a man about it.
think of it this way- if your team loses, then you are better off for not having watched the whole game just to be disappointed.
IF they win, they live to play another day, which you can hopefully watch on TV in real time.
@SkokieGuy: When you go to a resturant do you order what the menu says or do you tell the owner to change the wording to something different to suit you? Starbucks partners try to educate their customers on how to order so that the customer doesn’t feel intimidated by the menu.
If you have ever been to a coffeehouse in Italy (which is where the Starbucks CEO spent time before he bought the company)you would see the same wording.
At least Starbucks cares enough to try to educate their customers.
DD’s commercials imply that they think their customers are too stupid to learn the word “Venti”.
It’s obviously a move not approved by Corporate, so I love it!
@Bladefist: Well, good luck getting more than 10 seconds of NHL on SportsCenter, or in any other medium for that matter. Even now during playoffs the coverage is sparse.
In the first round of the playoffs when there were 5 or 6 series that went into 7 games, SportsCenter had a whopping 2-3 minutes of hockey coverage.