Starbucks Sued

So Starbucks is getting sued for pooling tips and distributing them evenly between workers and managers. It would seem to me workers need the tips more than managers, but I have no idea how much they are all paid to begin with.

But what I really want to know is - when did it become the customers responsibility to pay their workers salaries anyway? I remember a day when I just bought a coffee and that was it. I didn't need to tip the person that made it, and it wasn't expected that I did.

Why can't these companies (whoever they are), just pay their people enough of a salary that they don't need the tips? I mean after spending $4 on a coffee, I am also expected to leave additional tip? Not to say that I never have left one - because I have when I've gotten great service and I always do for traditional services that require tipping - but when did we start tipping for everything? Shouldn't the cost of each coffee and the volume in which they sell them cover the salaries of the workers?

We now tip the barista, we tip the person scooping ice cream, and so on. It used to be you tipped for a haircut, a manicure, a restaurant, now it seems people are tipping for everything. Should we start tipping the cashier at supermarkets simply for ringing us in? The dry cleaner who hands us our cleaned clothes after I already paid $6 for one shirt to be cleaned? No one tips the workers at - let's say - the Burlington Mall food court for putting their order together. Aren't they doing basically the same thing as a barista? Just putting a drink together and maybe putting food in a bag and handing it to the customer? So why is the barista getting tipped and not the guy in the food court (who probably also makes less than the barista too)?

The reason I thought people tipped waiters was because they were literally coming over, taking your order, checking on you, taking another drink order, bringing out one or more course - they are truly serving the customer multiple times in the course of a meal. And waiters make below minimum wage - so they really need the tips (although I personally think restaurants should pay these workers better - they are surviving on tips alone - putting it in the customer's hands - who may not tip very well). Last time I checked waiters made about $3 an hour - so they really need the tips, while baristas make more than $8 an hour (according to boston.com's article) and perform less service per customer (they don't have to come over to my table and refill my coffee for me, or see how my pastry was, or clean up my dishes after me). Plus my guess is percentage wise the waiters still get screwed in this scenario. Let's say I buy a $4 coffee and give $1 tip that is more than a 20% tip! Now if I go to a restaurant I always tip 20% or slightly more (I've done less when I've gotten really bad service). But my guess is most people tip 15-20% which is then LESS percentage than the barista for performing more of a service to the customer. Which brings me back to why are tips needed/expected when I'm buying coffee?

I worked at a super market as a cashier in high school - it was a horrible job. People are brutal. So I feel for the folks in the service industry, but at the same time it's their job to do these things. They know they are working in the service industry - why is it the customer's responsibility to pick up the slack of these companies and help pay their employees? I don't get a tip from my boss when I finish a project early, or do any other thing that is part of my basic job function. I may get a 'hey good work' but that's about it.

Shouldn't these companies just pay their employees what they are worth and be done with it? Perhaps then the price of an order goes up slightly, but wouldn't that make it easier on everyone?I would be fine if my coffee was $4.50 which then meant the workers no longer needed/expected tips. Wouldn't the employees be happy with a fair salary, and customers happy they don't have to try to calculate tip, or feel like they are getting a dirty look if they don't tip?

I don't have a coffee maker...

Or I should say: I didn't have a coffee maker until last night. I've never had one, and I don't know how to make coffee. I don't know what the proper water/coffee ratio is, and I'm not sure I want to.

I like cappucinos from Diesel in Davis Sq. or caramel machiatos from Starbucks. Or just some plain tea that I brew myself - green tea, pureh, or oolong.

But last night my boyfriend, apparently fed up with my Starbucks habit, decided enough was enough. :( He drove over to the Bed Bath and Beyond and bought me a coffee maker with a brita water filter in it. It's the first time he's gone to a BBAB willingly, I was a bit shocked. And he went to the star market and said pick out some cream you want in your coffee. I knew this was serious.

So this morning he set up the maker and brewed some coffee. I had half a cup. It was ok, certainly not bad, but I like my steamed milk and caramel.

Best Starbucks ever

Recently I switched jobs and my new job was in Woburn - for 2 days - until we moved to Burlington. But during those two days I got to enjoy the nearby Starbucks - which has drive thru! I LOVED IT! Why don't more coffee places do this for commuters? And why don't any of the other Starbucks do this? I know Dunkin Donuts has one on Fresh Pond Parkway but I don't drive by there on my way to work. Needless to say it was a little sad moving after 2 days of drive thru bliss.

Not only was this convenient, the people were actually super friendly. While I was waiting in line in my car after I had placed my order a woman comes over the loud speaker to say "Sorry about the wait, I'm trying to speed everything up, but we just changed shifts so there was a slight delay." I appreciated knowing that - which made me not that annoyed to be waiting. Then I get up to the window, pay, get my coffee etc. and the cashier is so nice. She's chatty, but not in an annoying way. Maybe it was because she said she loved my purse? ;) Then as I am about to drive away she starts to take another order and recognizes the voice and says "is this so and so and do you want your regular?" and they said yes. Pretty cool. I like that kind of service. Too bad I didn't get to become a regular there.

Attention Starbucks: Burlington and Somerville need drive thru... Please! Even if it's only open during the morning commute! ha ha

With a Morning this Good...

It can't get any worse...

While driving to work this morning I was on a street approaching a blinking yellow light. Sometimes there are people crossing there so cars have to stop, otherwise it's usually pretty quick to get through the blinking yellow.

I'm about 100 or 200 yards back (maybe more it's a pretty straight street so you can see far up it) and I notice there is a car stopped at the yellow blinking light. It appears they have been stopped there before I had seen them too because there was no movement as if they were slowing down to stop.

I then look to see if someone is crossing. Nope. Is there another car trying to cross from the red blinking light side? Nope. HMM so it appears this person is a complete fucking idiot just sitting at a yellow blinking light waiting for????? The light to turn green? Someone to invite them across the intersection?

They continue to sit there. Finally I get to the light and have to stop because they are STILL sitting there. If you are this stupid you shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car! I then beep. They sit there. I beep again. The car behind me starts beeping. FINALLY this bozo starts to go. At 15 miles per hour. I really want to scream. Seriously they have PSA's on tv about road rage and say that if you are angry that it's you. No it's really NOT me, it's the idiot that sits at a yellow blinking light for 10 minutes. Where are the police when this kind of shit happens?

We all continue down the street driving slower than I ride a bike at 15 mph in a 30 mph zone. At the next light, which is green, this person starts to stop!!!!! I am about to lay on the horn when they put their right blinker on. They start stopping...... stopping... stop… I am about to flip and THEN turn right. OMFG! How long does it take to turn right on a green light with no one crossing? It’s a perfectly sunny, dry day. No rain, no snow. Nothing!

I then get to Starbucks. I order my usual (make fun if you must) a grande non-fat caramel macchiato with sugar-free vanilla. I like skim milk, and why waste 200 calories on vanilla syrup? I’d rather have something else. Anyway, I order that. It’s not really that complicated. Maybe the barista is annoyed with me for making a complicated order – but it’s the same amount of ingredients it’s just using the low fat and sugar free instead of the regular – they are right next to each other on the counter – it makes no difference.

She puts the coffee (or as my boyfriend would argue: steamed milk with a little bit of coffee) on the counter. I pick it up the coffee explodes out of the top because it’s so overfilled all over my brand new really expensive leather gloves. I’m annoyed. The coffee then flies out of the top as I walk to my car onto my jeans, more on my gloves, and on my jacket. All pretty new and expensive and I would be really pissed if they were stained. I try covering the little top hole with a napkin – that gets soaked quickly from the overfilling.

I drive the rest of the way to work. When I tried to get the coffee out of the coffee holder in my car the top pops off - spilling more coffee on my gloves and now all over my car as well. Awesome. I love when that happens.

Now my gloves are sticky. My brand new $200 leather gloves are sticky. Maybe this should teach me not to buy $200 leather gloves, but I love them. I just wish my latte wasn’t so overfilled it exploded on me. Maybe I should only wear crappy outfits to buy my coffee?

I get into work and have to go straight into a one hour meeting. In which not really anything is decided. I love meetings like that. I feel most productive in those kinds of meetings. Yeaaaaah.. that would be great...

I take my first sip of my coffee… She forgot the caramel. The fucking caramel!!!!!!! THE ingredient that MAKES my coffee a CARAMEL MACHIATO and NOT A LATTE. So I had a latte with sugar-free vanilla.

It’s got to get better right? Certainly there are far worse things that could happen in a day, but it was a pretty irritating morning.