Finally, a company that says what it means! No lame corporate-speak here. We need more business owners like this!

me winner?

The whole world turned brown and chunky for a second. Flecks of corn floated past my pupils, and it took me a second to blink it all away.

That's funny. Sophomoric, but funny.

arson? When did Jeff mention arson?

ghetto latte
n. a purchased espresso to which is added a free dairy condiment such as milk, half-and-half, or whitener.

I hope this guy goes out of business like the 600 starbucks.

At least he's honest. I'm going to side with the owner here, especially since the iced-coffee-guy threatened arson.

I kind of feel like Jeff was the instigator here. I think children are the people who are told they can't do something, than blatantly do it in your face or swear at you for it.
Bring on the dick punches.

Ah yes, the infamous ghetto latte. I hated when people did that if only because I had to immediately go refill the creamer pitchers after those assholes used it all.

I'm not a coffee type of person, so maybe someone can explain to me a little better.

Well first, I did google "ghetto latte" - which is basicly a drink where people will add their own dairy condiment (milk, half & half, etc...)

So what does that have to do with getting a coffee over ice?

I would think the store would MAKE MORE MONEY since ice (water) will take more room in the glass - meaning that they will use LESS of the more expensive coffee.

So why would the store not want to do that - nor care if a customer does this after they sold it. (since I would think they would have also charged for a glass of ice also)

When the guy ordered Espresso over ice, why didn't the barista just offer him an iced Americano instead, since it's the basically same thing?

Annoying prick with a blog meets pretentious coffee house asshole, hilarity ensues!

I'm no Nick's side. He's the owner/manager and he can make up whatever rules he wants as long as they're not illegal. Nick was also very reasoned in his response.

Jeff can choose to buy coffee there or not.

Besides, threatening to punch someone in the d*ck is so low-brow, but absolutely hilarious.

Rude customer gets cockpunched. Film at eleven.

Oh yeah, I'm with the owner on this one. People who do that "ghetto latte" thing are usually obnoxious assholes who think they're getting one over on the system. Milk costs something, and it's just a dick move to take advantage of that loophole, especially to a small business. Can you do it and get away with it? Sure. But you're still kind of a loser for doing it.

Seems like the customer instigated this one, and while I don't approve of dick-punching in general, I think the customer is wrong, and I dig the honesty on the part of the owner.

For the Simmermon-dude to write that crap on that dollar bill waived his rights to any civility.

Not only is this guy on a seemingly steroid-fueled power trip, but he's also an expert on civil rights.

Back when I lived in DC, Murky Coffee had another location that was shut down in February because Nick, the asshole owner, didn't cough up over 400K in back taxes. Do we really want more owners like him?

[www.washingtonpost.com]

This was Eastern Market's hipster coffee shop - and although I like the little guy infinitely more than the chains, I would get my fix from Port City Java simply because the staff was nice, product was superior, and I didn't have to deal with self-entitled staff anytime I needed caffeine.

I think it's Nick that needs punched in the dick.

seems like two asses to me

@Veeber: First paragraph in the linked post on his blog:

"Maybe condescending service from a patronizing millenial at a DC coffee shop isn't news to anyone else. But the only way I'm ever coming back to Murky Coffee in Arlington is if I'm carrying matches and a can of kerosene."

@coan_net: People will get a cup of ice and espresso filled maybe halfway (since you can't very well just give someone a giant cup of espresso with a few ice cubes floating in it), and then add their own milk instead of paying for an iced latte or whatever. It saves the customer maybe 50 cents or $1.

@coan_net: It actually loses them money because while yes, ice is extremely cheap, and yes, coffee is more expensive than ice, dairy is much much more expensive than both. Coffee really isn't all that expensive.

@coan_net: Although I'm not a coffee type of person either, I will assume that people use A LOT of the creamer (see morganlh85's comment), and then that costs the place money and time (to refill the picture).

This is strange for me, but yeah, I'm siding with Nick here. Jeff was acting childish ('I didn't get what I wanted, I'm gonna kick and scream') and threatening arson, which is illegal. I'm sure he wouldn't actually do it, but Nick is just being better safe then sorry.

I don't care anything at all about coffee, but I'm a huge fan of this murky coffee owner. The original customer was perfectly free to go to another store, but he had to get his nuts in a twist over this and act like an idiot.

You'll get what I give you, and you'll like it. Nice.
Jobs like this would be great if it wasn't for the customers.
I can't take a side in this one. I wonder what will replace "Murky Coffee" when it goes under?

It's friggin' coffee ...

The owners a snob.
The customers rude.

Their both idiots.

@coan_net: i think for people that actually give a damn about what they serve, it really does ruin the integrity of their product. kind of like taking a piss on a good steak. i don't even drink coffee because it's already ruined for me, but i can see why the owner was so passionate about it. i can also see why the purchaser was dismayed to be told not to drink it the way he liked it--who does have the right to tell you how to correctly consume something you bought?

eh, man drama!

@TheLemon: Might want to look up the difference between civility and civil rights.

This is ridiculous.

The owner is a penny-pinching coffee elitist.

While I will say it's childish on both sides with the threats of coffee-immolation and dick-punching I side with Jeff, he just wanted his coffee the way he likes it and Murky Coffee wasn't able to provide it the way he did.

Why it is that putting your latte on ice is "really, really not okay" is beyond me. I'd like to bring up something that is "really, really not okay."
Rape. Rape is really really not okay. Putting your latte on ice is just not that big of a deal.

I agree the customer isn't always right, but that doesn't mean the owner should be such an elitist prick.

This is really a great story. Man feels slighted, takes non-physical juvenile cheap shot. Other party hangs mouth open, aghast that someone could act in such a way. Then they retreat to their respective blogs.

It's a modern-day duel. It's so amazingly pointless on both sides, and I love it.

The moral of the story? Don't drink Coffee, it's for girly men.

So, not only a bunch of assholes, but dumb assholes with penis-size issues. On some cosmic level, clearly Jeff and Nick were made for one another.

Easy fix to stopping a "ghetto latte" Use a small cup.

I used to work for a snowboard shop called "Cool Runnings" outside of Philadelphia. In addition to snowboards, we also sold clothes and skateboards. Once, a customer came in looking for those mini-skis that make doing ski-tricks easier. I told him that we don't sell "fruit-booters," as was the common name for them. Angrily, he demanded the owner, Jaime, and asked him for the mini-skis.

Jaime replied, "I am sorry, sir, we don't sell fruit-booters."

The guy left in astonishment. Although Jaime's a professional and would never threaten to punch a customer in the dick for liking "fruit-booters," he nonetheless chose to run his business as he felt it should be run.

@coan_net: The owner is saying that hot espresso over ice is bad because it makes bad flavors. Americano is ok because pouring into tepid water doesn't form those compounds, or whatever.

Sounds like a load of BS to me, but, if it's true, then the customer would have gotten a nasty cup of iced espresso and at that point it would be a blog post about how horrible the coffee at Murky Coffee is.

If I had a restauraunt and my reputation for good food is a priority and a customer asks for mustard to add to his pancakes, I'd probably not want him to do it for fear that it would reflect poorly on the pancakes.

Of course, it's mostly about keeping people from making ghetto lattes, so, I'm just a 799 lb. elephant in the room.

Okay...

This guys gets some "bad" customer service and is a little pissed about their coffee policy.

So he makes a threat of burning the place downs and writes a snide comment on the dollar bill as a tip. Then goes posts on his blog how's he's "rebelling" "bad businesses" and expects admiration and support from the community?

This dude needs to GROW A PAIR OF BALLS.

@hubris: That should have been read with sarcasm. My apologies.

Im with the owner on this one. Its his shop if he doesnt want to sell/give out cups of ice its his policy. Sometimes I feel people on this blog think they deserve special treatment because they choose to shop some place. This guy probably could have went to ten other coffee shops in stones throw.

Ah, summer romance. I'm really kind of rooting for them. Nick and Jeff have such a passionate relationship! It will never work though; the inevitability of their breakup, that's where the tragedy comes in.

This may also be stated: entitled dickwad + snobby douchenozzle = blogfight! Somebody bring the popcorn.

"Every customer is a welcome guest."

I'm not a guest. I'm a customer. There's a difference. Guests don't pay, but customers do. Referring to customers as "guests" is one of the most offensive things that's ever happened to retailing. Retailers seem to think that if they use feel-good, but ultimately deceptive, terminology it will make extracting money from them a little easier. The same goes for referring to clerks as "associates". It's just obfuscation of the real retailer/customer relationship.

This story is amazing - and hilarious. It's like a very rude and potentially violent episode of Seinfeld.

LOL

The owner says that customers who were making the ghetto latte added 8-14 ounces of milk to their espresso over ice orders...My main question is this, how is there that much left over room in their cups? Was the owner was giving those customers two cups or very large cups? I can understand making a policy where you wouldn't give someone an extra "ice" cup or a larger cup than needed. Just make sure when you poor the espresso over ice you don't put it in a cup where the customer has the ability to add 8-14 ounces of milk or creamer or whatever. I'm sure the number of customers bringing in their own cups wouldn't be so large that they would take away a big enough profit from the shop.

This is fun and I side with the owener. Its his store and he sets the rules. You do not like it get the fuck out. I also agree with ghetto late. I do it all the time. Order an Americano put some Half and Half and sugar. Why? Since the damn lates have so little coffee or expresso. Besides, that is how I drink my coffee, but again I do not put half of gallon of milk and a pound of sugar. The END.

Thanks for all the replies to my post - the original story has been added to since I posted, so that answered some of my questions.

Even though the story never mentioned he was planning on adding tons of milk or whatever (and if he was, then that sounds like a different topic) - but just because the owner does not like the taste of coffee poured over ice does not mean that everyone else has the same sort of taste - so in my opinion if that is the reason, if the customer wants bad tasting drink - then they owner should sell it to them.

As for the dairy bar & people abusing it, heck - I would think they should keep all that stuff behind the counter and add that stuff for an additional cost. That is my opinion about that. Sit the stuff out as a free then some people will take advantage of it - heck, for many years in collage I never had to buy a bottle of ketchup at home because of the wonderful world of free packets.

Can we talk about how the owner got his Eastern Market location shut down because he owed over $400,00 in back taxes? No?

@AMetamorphosis: "Their both idiots." and whats that say about you?

i love the internet! spelling and grammar errors abound!

dick-punching and blog duels everywhere! humanity wins!!!

@B: The Americano also has water in it, which takes some of the bite away from straight-up espresso.

But I wonder what would have happened if he ordered a no-water Americano?

@misterdisco Er, $400,000.

Go read the Washington Post article that Misterdisco posted. This café owner is in deep financial trouble. He hasn't paid his sales taxes regularly for years and owes tax money to DC and Virginia. He's also being sued by his landlord for unpaid rent. And his wife left him because of money problems.

And his attitude is - it's no big deal, it's just a little financial mismanagement, it's really all about the coffee.

This country does NOT need more businessmen of this ilk

Did that backflow use "millenial"? Cockpunching is the least that should have been done to him.

Coffee really brings out the best in people.