Behind the Green Apron

By Riki Farrar

Many people see or hear the customers side of the story when something goes wrong, but what does the other side look like? What does the employee see or hear? Let's flip that table. I wanted to share my stories and experiences from behind the famous green apron. Making drinks for almost 13 years, I have seen and felt a lot of changes within the company and the customers,  more noticeable during and after Covid.  I wanted the book to be relatable, lighthearted, slightly sarcastic and hopefully educational for future customers. It's 188 pages.   

• Language: English
• Publisher: Riki Farrar
• Release date: Dec 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798223386735

Book preview

Behind the Green Apron

Riki Farrar

Published by Riki Farrar, 2022.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

BEHIND THE GREEN APRON

First edition. December 12, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Riki Farrar.

Written by Riki Farrar.

BEHIND THE GREEN APRON

It’s just coffee, right?

R.L. Farrar

Copyright 2022

Forward

I first have to thank my incredibly supportive husband who was always on my side and listened as I ranted on about all the crazy customers and experiences of my day at work. To my niece who was with me who helped come up with a theme to my book and get the wheels turning. To my family and friends for also supporting me and my book. It was fun to watch all the surprised faces and expressions from you all. Who would have thought right?

To the very patient, kind and understanding customers I have seen all these years. You are part of this journey and this book, and I appreciate you all. And lastly, to the crazy, demanding and entitled customers who gave me content for this book. It would be nothing without you. I thank you.

My So-called Starbucks Life

Thanks for choosing Starbucks. What can we get started for you?

I feel like I am a subject in one of Pavlov’s experiments. The sound of a ding will elicit an automatic response from me with the greeting I opened up with. Sometimes just hearing one of the ovens beep will cause me to answer the drive-thru.

Thanks for choosing Starbucks—oh, it’s just the oven.

Ding.

Thanks for… Just the butt of a truck. I wish I knew how many times I’ve said that phrase in the past decade or so of my Starbucks life. A million? Sounds like a high number but it feels like it is possible. It feels like an unconscious response when I say it because I can say it and still do five things at once.

When I meet someone new, they always ask where I work, and I say, I work at Starbucks. The most common reactions of people are how fun, or you must see a lot of crazy orders, and, of course, I love Starbucks. And I agree with all those statements. I have had some really fun times, worked with some great partners, some not so good, and yes, I do see a lot of crazy, if not unbelievable, orders and customers. These are very much you had to be there moments at work. What comes out of some people’s mouths or how they choose to conduct themselves is quite entertaining. Ones that make you scratch your head in wonder at how someone can behave that way when it’s just coffee. Especially more so now than years prior, I would say. One day, a customer came through the drive-thru, and as I was finishing the transaction, she weirdly realized how much Starbucks was an addiction for her, and it honestly made her disappointed in herself. I just agreed but not in a serious way—it’s just really good, and you want to drink it. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. It’s not an illegal drug or anything. I did not think too much about it, but as I sent her on her way from the drive-thru, she was still talking to herself, and I was thinking, ‘I hope you find your way.’

So, here I am. For twelve years, I have been making drinks for the masses, and I’ve begun to wonder what did I get out of all this. I’ve been committed to this company, and after all is said and done, what next? What do 15-20 years get you? Some companies offer retirement packages. I never thought I would stay as long as I have; should I have chosen a different route? I’m not really sure, but I’d like to think my work was for something in the end—besides messed up wrists and shoulders. How many 8lb gallons of milk can you lift every 30 seconds for 3 hours straight for twelve years and not be damaged? Was it all for this book? You never know what’s in store for you.

I will often relay certain happenings of my days at work to my friends and family, and they laugh or will just be in disbelief. Many have told me that I should write a book. I thought about it for a while, but I just didn’t see myself actually committing to the process, and who would actually read it? I mean, they found it entertaining, but I don’t know if it’s everyone’s cup of tea.

So, one day, I just recorded myself talking about the day we had at work. There’s usually a lot I can talk about after a rough day. Talking about annoying people always gets people interested right.’ Then I began to think about some of the things that have happened over the years with customers or what other partners shared with me, and I noticed some patterns of behaviors in customers. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was possible to put something together. To the best of my ability, here is a compilation of what I have experienced.

What I am sharing is what I’ve seen, heard, and experienced. Most of the instances mentioned in this book are my firsthand experiences, and some I have heard throughout the years from my co-workers. I’m sure other baristas who will read this book will be able to relate to a lot of what I’m writing about. And I’m sure there are some partners or baristas out there who have no idea what I’m talking about—good for you, you lead a privileged Starbucks life. It’s hard to encapsulate all my interactions, so these are the ones that have stood out the most from my time. It’s almost tough not to keep writing, as each workday that comes and goes, there’s just always something new that we have to deal with or go through. I didn’t want to make it a burn book or any sort like that, so I kept it short and sweet. Well, maybe bittersweet.

I remember in my first year of working at Starbucks, I asked one of my co-workers how long she had been working here, and she told me ten years. As a little green coffee bean myself, I couldn’t imagine working at Starbucks for that long. It seemed like an eternity. I wasn’t one to stick around for a long time working at the same company, and yet, here I am.

We all know or have seen a customer lose it every now and then. Those are extreme, and I can’t say I have ever seen those customers. What we see more of are the ones who are just simply ridiculous via their actions and words to the point where you want to ask, You’re an adult, right? It’s very entertaining, at least to me, and I hope to you. Just a little inside look at what it’s like dealing with Starbucks monsters—I mean, customers. Though, I have said many times that Starbucks created monsters. This book is not only about the customers, the good and the bad, but also what it is like working for the company and how they interact with us, particularly at my store. I cannot speak for all, just my experiences. I think that as it is just coffee we deal with, it makes what we go through that much more unreal.

As you read this story, you may say, Well, that sounds familiar, or wonder, ‘Am I like that?’ You may agree or disagree with me. This is not directed as an insult to the company or any particular customer or partner; I’m simply sharing my experiences. These occasions are what I have seen, heard, and experienced when just doing my job.

A customer said it best when we started using video on our drive-thru screen. She pulled up and said, Oh, wow. I can see you now. I’m talking to a person! Yes, believe it or not, we are real. When I heard that, I thought, ‘Wow, what a profound statement. I appreciate your acknowledgment that, yes, we are humans behind these green aprons.’ Sad to say, I don’t think it's just Starbucks employees who feel this way. We’ve all seen those YouTube videos of customers losing their minds over what they didn’t get or how they felt they were treated at different food chains. Even flying the friendly skies, or not-so-friendly skies, during Covid was very turbulent. My goodness, people. Get a hold of yourselves. I wonder if any of those people feel ashamed after making a complete fool of themselves and mistreating everyone around them. Some of those are just frightening. I wonder if they have any relationship with any other human being at all. You live on Earth, right? Because sometimes I wonder. And how do their friends or family feel after seeing them behave like that? Embarrassed, I’m sure. I know I would be.

First off, round of applause to all our sweet, nice, patient customers—you know who you are. When we are down and out, they keep their cool, they let us know they appreciate us, and that makes the job rewarding. They bring us donuts, treats, and goodies, and they are absolutely amazing. I’d like to recognize them as well in this book. Perhaps our nice ones can give advice to the not-so-nice ones.

It must be noted too, that Starbucks has done exceptionally well at creating an environment and product that keeps people coming back for more. A lot of people come here to do schoolwork, conduct business meetings, or just hang out with family and friends. I’ve even seen a few family/friend reunions in our store. Customers starting their vacation at their local Starbucks. Going on road trips with their favorite beverage in hand to help them get on their way. Early morning airport runs. Sleepy eyed passengers on those red eye flights coming in for that boost to help them get through the rest of the day. Or even just being the place, you know you’ll have a clean restroom to take care of business. Starbucks provides it all. I too am all of those customers. I have honestly enjoyed seeing all these moments from my end. All this to say, as you read this book, it is to be taken with a spoonful of sugar.

I think being in the customer service or hospitality industry, or anywhere you are dealing with the public, isn’t always easy. It has its great moments of bonding and seeing the good that people can be and getting to know them. But it also has this dark side that doesn’t happen too often, but when it does make an appearance, you recoil and think twice about your job and humanity. I don’t know if I’m the only one who feels this way, but after Covid, when stores began opening up again, people seemed a little bit more on edge. Less tolerant and more impatient and entitled. I consider myself to be a patient, helpful, and understanding human being. I don’t get upset very often, and it takes a lot to ruffle my feathers. What still surprises me is how some customers choose to treat people, especially when there are so many bigger issues people are dealing with just to get by in life. Freaking out about a coffee shouldn’t be one of those instances. Like our recent sugar packet customer. The customer actually threw sugar packets at our partner in the drive thru because the customer was mad about her drink or something, which we said we would fix. Not good enough, I guess. Someone like that is a suitable candidate for not being allowed in our store. At least it wasn’t hot coffee which I have heard happens. Crazy right? But here we go.

The Entitlement

Customer: Do you have any napkins?

Barista: Yes. They are on the condiment bar.

Customer: Uh, no.

An actual interaction that occurred one day at work. The customer refused to walk twenty feet to get her own napkins and instead walked out of the store. I remember her ordering; it wasn’t anything out of the norm, and she seemed ok. However, that changed when she wasn’t personally handed napkins. She seemed so bothered by it. The other barista and I just looked at each other and did the whole raised eyebrows kind of look—confused, I guess you could say. So, you didn’t need any napkins? This is what it has come to, folks. Someone won’t walk twenty feet to get their own napkin. Would you like us to fold it into the shape of a dog or elephant for you, too? If it’s out and accessible to the public, grab it yourself.

When we think of the word ‘entitled,’ it definitely comes with a negative connotation. But it’s not necessarily a