i love customers

Dear loyal, somewhat loyal, one time, and first time customers of Starbucks,

Let me preface by saying that this particular letter is directed to specific customers of Starbucks located in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago, and not necessarily every customer of every Starbucks location. Having said that, and having worked in numerous Starbucks locations in the city and in the suburbs, I am well aware of the fact that the issue, or shall I say... behavior, in which I am about to address does not solely pertain to the customers of the Lincoln Park area, but any customer who enters a store with the assumption that the people who wear aprons behind the counter aren't actually people and therefore deserve to be treated as less than.

Let me start of by introducing myself. My name is JJ Barrows and I have worked for Starbucks Coffee company for almost three years now. For my first two years I worked in a cafe/drive-thru store, and yes, I wore a headset.

Now, I realize that my green apron, or my battery pack hanging off the back of my pants, or my ability to steam your milk exactly the way you want it may not impress you, but don't assume that I am uneducated and incapable of human connection and conversation simply because I am on the other side of the counter.

First of all, it's called eye contact. I learned this at a fairly young age, but seeing as how my lovely state of South Carolina has been ranked 49th in the nation for education, what do I know? Now, I'm sure your phone call is important enough for you to walk up to the counter and tell the person behind the counter to hold on instead of the person you are talking to, but may I suggest the idea of not walking up to the counter if you are not ready to order. Second of all, when you do walk up to the counter, HANG UP THE PHONE!

As for people going through the drive-thru on their cell phones... in my opinion, there should be a law against it, and you should be arrested. If you would have actually been paying attention when you were ordering and listened to the person on the headset recite VERBATIM what you ordered while you were taking your important phone call, maybe you wouldn't have to insult the barista for making the wrong drink when really he or she made exactly what you ordered when you weren't paying attention. Also, could you wait for the voice over the intercom to finish what they are saying before you drive away? I realize you are interacting with someone working in a drive-thru, so it makes it a bit harder to show some respect, or even the bare minimum... being polite, but once again let me remind you, we are people too.

I know, I'll give you time to take this in. It's a lot.

Third of all, or fourth... I don't know, I can't keep count, I failed math. Just because the C.E.O. of the company decided to change the name of the size in which you order your drink does not mean that we have no clue what "small, medium, or large" is. Therefore I would appreciate it if you would keep your smart-alec remarks (that we've never heard before) to yourself and just order your drink. Don't worry, if you don't know how to read, we know how to translate.

I'm gonna go with fourth. Fourth of all... the pastry case. I understand that we are running a business, and cleanliness is as important as customer contact, I won't dispute that in America. But when you see one little fruit fly and make a fuss over how gross that is (because we've never heard that before), I would like to ask you to calm down, and visualize this...


Do I even need to add the fact that this child is smiling?

So here we are on this privileged continent of ours with, let's keep it at the minimum, access to food and clean water, and we're throw in shelter. And education. And shoes, and clothes, and a car, and a cell phone, cause who could survive without that? And a computer, and a camera, and an ipod, and a playstation. Not to mention the ability to shower, do laundry and have the choice of going out to eat or dining in.

And then there's a larger portion of the rest of the world without food or clean water. Without shoes or even a change of clean clothes. Without security. Without protection. Without hope. Surrounded by death and disease. And where orphans outnumber families.

One fruit fly. Are you kidding me?

So your foam isn't perfect. Are you serious?

So it cost four dollars for a cup of coffee? DON'T BUY IT!

I can not even begin to tell you how many customers come in and make a big deal out of the cost of their drink, or the thought of being charged for something extra. The funny thing is, in my almost three years of working at Starbucks, I have never once seen anyone twisting any one's arm to go into Starbucks and buy coffee. It has only been out of sheer choice. So next time you choose to spend your money on an expensive cup of coffee, or a latte, or a low fat raspberry muffin... don't complain to the person behind the counter who has nothing to do with the pricing in the first place and is only doing their job by charging you the price that is listed. Choose not to get it. Otherwise, suck it up, and leave us a monetary tip in the jars provided.

Fifth, the bathrooms. We have a saying in the south that goes like this... "if you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be sweet and wipe the seat." I understand it is a public restroom and the thought of sitting on said porcelain is grotesque, but ladies, if you happen to miss while you are hovering high above the germs, please be sweet and wipe the seat. As for the men... if you can't aim even with the seat up, don't bother coming in because you might as well relieve yourselves outside. At least then you would aim more carefully in fear of being caught.

In addition, try saying "thank you" when you walk into a public restroom that actually has a porcelain pee hole, especially when it's clean, because it could be worse...

(feel free to ask me about my time in Africa.)


While on the bathroom topic, I would like to address the young man in high school who came into our Starbucks a few weeks back and decided to be passive aggressive by peeing all over the floor in the men's room as a response to being asked to leave... don't worry, I, probably much like your mother, cleaned up after you. I also noticed that though your pee smelt like asparagus, it's bright yellow color indicated you are not drinking enough water and are in need of healthier eating habits. Oh and one more thing, please tell your middle and high school friends that they don't look cool standing outside of the store smoking and swearing. I myself went through a phase in high school where I thought to be cool meant you had to smoke, but now that I have seen all of you doing it, I realize how absolutely ridiculous I looked and laugh at the very thought of it. End lecture.

Trust me, I could go on. I could make a movie with all the crazy stories I have from working at Starbucks, but I'll save that for later. I would rather you take some time to allow all that has been said to sink in, and maybe think about your next interaction with anyone other than the people that matter only to you. The person in the drive-thru, the person ringing up your groceries, the gas station attendant, the construction worker you almost side swiped the other day... these are all people who are worthy of eye contact and a simple hello. Maybe even go way out of your way and ask how they are, but I don't wanna push it.

If you have actually taken the time to read this far, I would like to thank you for your time as I know it is of the essence. I would also like to apologize for my attitude towards you because although I stand firm in trying to make a point, I realize that you are people too with hurts like the rest of us. Everyone we come across is fighting in some kind of a battle, and my desire is to desire to fight with you, not against you.

Sincerely, but under construction,
Your Starbucks barista and bathroom cleaning lady, who is also a college graduate, grad school student, daughter, sister, proud aunt, friend, best friend, and girlfriend (of someone you should ask me about sometime),

JJ Barrows