Who doesn’t like Starbucks coffee? Starbucks has become a permanent fixture of our culture, so much so that other countries have decided to open franchises and overcharge their people for coffee as well. Recently, Starbucks brought back “Happy Hour” which means that during the hours of 3pm to 5pm, a frappuccino blended beverage is only half price! So, during these two wondrous hours, Starbucks is only half screwing their customers. Of course, what is most certainly to follow is absolute madness for those two hours at your local Starbucks, right? Far be it from me to miss out on this opportunity.
Last week, I decided to take the plunge and arrived at a local Starbucks a couple of minutes before 3pm. Yes, people were already forming a line. There were a couple of high-school girls waiting for their drinks, and the barista already had about 27 cups lined up. I took my place in line and began to watch the madness. As the barista finished up one of the drinks for a high school girl, she looked at it disdainfully and said, “Put more whipped cream!” The barista, wanting to make sure he had the correct drink, pointed to the cup and asked, “This one?” She replied with even more disdain, “Yeah!” as though he was supposed to know which one out of the 27 other cups needed more whipped cream. It wasn’t like he was stressed out about the other orders or anything. He kindly added more whipped cream and then handed her the drink. She grabbed the drink and walked out in a hurry without saying anything. Stay classy John Glenn High.
As I watched this scene unfold, I thought to myself, “Maybe she was waiting for her drink a very long time. Maybe she had a rough day and just wanted some extra whipped cream to take the edge off. Or maybe she was just rude.” When I got to the counter, I told the barista, “I guess they don’t teach the words ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ in high school anymore.” He chuckled and said, “No comment.” “Don’t worry.” I said, “I’ll speak your mind for you.”
Before being able to place my order, I also had to wait for the lady directly in front of me who apparently had decided to order enough drinks for three different generations of her family and was extremely particular with how each drink was prepared. She examined each one of her 80 drinks to make sure they were done correctly and sent a few back because they weren’t. Sweet! Look, by this point, I wasn’t thrilled at waiting for a solid 23 minutes for a frappuccino that normally takes 37 seconds to make any other hour of the day. Considering the circumstances, however, I figured I needed to be more patient. It would be like going on the freeway during rush hour and being upset that there is traffic.
Adding even more intrigue to this adventerous trip to Starbucks was the random guy who entered the store and walked right to the front of the line while everyone, including myself, had a “What in the heck is he doing?” look on our faces. As it turned out he was looking for some paperwork, which he had forgotten at the store the last time he was here and was asking if they had found it. I thought to myself, “You came at the wrong time.” A moment after, I’m pretty sure the manager told him the same thing. The line was already out the door, everyone looked angry, and it wasn’t even 3:30 yet. Apparently he didn’t have the Starbucks phone app that notifies you when there are promotions going on at Starbucks.
When I finally got my drink, I told the barista “Thanks, man. You have a nice day.” He didn’t really have time to respond, which is understandable but I have no doubt he appreciated a customer being polite and showing him a shred of dignity under probably the most stressful time of the day. So, two final thoughts; first, if you’re planning on going to Happy Hour at Starbucks this week, just know what you’re getting into. Secondly, if you’re a Christian this is a good opportunity to shine like “stars in the heavens” and be “pure children of God” (Phil. 2:15) by simply NOT being a jerk.
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