I'm A Former Barista & These Are The 11 Most Annoying Things Customers Do

The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

When you work in the customer service industry, you meet a lot of personalities and let's just say that not all of them are winners. I was a barista for over three years at two different businesses and had my fair share of annoying things I had to put up with.

Like a lot of people, I picked up the barista gig while in university to earn some extra money. It was great in many ways, allowing me to work between classes, and it taught me life lessons that came in handy. One of the biggest ones was how to deal with people who are annoying AF.

I worked as a server in a pub for a little while and was making tips left and right, but baristas aren't given that same amount of cash. Serving was probably tougher but being a barista still meant dealing with all the difficult customers without the money to soften the blow.

If you're stopping by your local coffee shop on the daily and any of these things ring a bell, just know that you're probably giving your barista a headache.

Complaining about the price

Coffee shops can be expensive, I get it. But for all those who seem to be confused about this — your barista probably doesn't own the business you're at and can't change the price.

People would constantly come to the cash register and do anything from comment on the price to outright refusing to pay, and it's always awkward.

The only upside is if people decided to leave, I'd get to drink the coffee that was already being made for them.

Having the most complicated order ever

To be honest, I'm one of these annoying customers because my go-to order is a decaf iced oat milk latte with light ice.

Believe it or not, I have seen much worse. As a barista, it was always hard to remember every detail of an order. Unlike Starbucks, we didn't have the stickers with the order on the cups, so it was all on us to remember it all.

It might not seem bad to have one complicated order, but when it's busy and orders are backed up with drinks like "one double-shot espresso latte with half-whole milk, one quarter 1%, one shot of vanilla and two shots of hazelnut," things get overwhelming.

You're paying for it, so order what you like, but let's be honest, you probably won't miss that one shot of vanilla.

Staying past closing time

GTFO, everyone, we want to go home!

One of the cafes I worked at was open until 11 p.m., serving desserts and coffee, and it was painful after a long shift to watch semi-drunk people roll in from dinner 10 minutes before closing and spend an hour enjoying their treats.

We would always hit them with a polite heads up that we were closing, but often people didn't care and would take their sweet time.

Always try to be respectful of the fact that your server has likely worked a long shift and wants to get some shut-eye.

Ordering a tall, grande or venti

Obviously, if you are at Starbucks, this isn't annoying. But I'd always roll my eyes when someone would come in and order a grande at a local shop. It's called a medium everywhere else people!

Thinking that every menu is like Starbucks

Unfortunately, Starbucks comparisons didn't end with sizes. People would come in asking for Frappuccinos and Mango Dragonfruit Refreshers. The worst was when I told them we didn't have them, they'd sometimes ask me to "just throw one together," as if we had those specific ingredients lying around.

Talking on the phone while ordering

This was always super awkward, especially when they had headphones in.

You can't always tell if they've hung up or if they are talking to you, and it's just confusing. Sometimes you have to do it, I get it, but I always felt like it was pretty rude.

I mean, how hard is it to just call the person back or ask to mute them for a minute?

Over-sharing

Don't get me wrong, I love a friendly, chatty customer. Sometimes though, it can be a bit too much.

Especially when you have a lineup of people and drinks to make, there's nothing worse than someone going on about their family drama and expecting you to be able to listen.

Your barista is not your therapist.

Claiming a table all day and ordering one black coffee

There were always a few students or remote workers who came in, ordered the cheapest drink and then spent all day working from the shop.

As a remote worker, I also love going to coffee shops to mix things up, but I always make sure to order things throughout the day, so I'm not just using it as a free office space.

If you're going to go and take up a table all day, be prepared to be a paying customer.

Specifying the temperature they want their drink

We used a thermometer to know when the milk was ready but had a routine system. Every now and then, a customer would ask their drink to be heated to a specific temperature of their liking.

The busier we were, the more annoying this was.

Critiquing latte art or lack thereof

Look, I tried my best to make you a pretty heart for your Instagram story, but baristas don't get paid enough to practice foam designs in their free time.

Missing their drink being ready

In most coffee shops, the barista will yell out the order for the customer to come and get it.

I can't count the number of times I would have to repeatedly yell out to a person standing right in front of me, distracted by their phone. We didn't have names like at Starbucks, so I'd be left saying, "hey you, in the green sweater, look up!"