First day back to work and I get called a racist.

Well it is official Val’s little vacation is over, so it is back to work and back to dealing with the customers I love and the customers I love to hate so so much.

A general rule is that the crazies always appear within the first hour of my shift, because they have a secret sixth sense that knows their craziness is going to ruin the other seven hours of my shift if they appear in the first. (this is of course what seems to happen most often, crazies appear at any time but the ones that come within an hour of me being at work seem to stick in my head for a long long time.)

Said crazy man lets call him H (for hispanic, because he was hispanic and told me I am racist to his people). So H came in, acting like a normal customer, the kind that does not say anything but the drink they want. No Hi or Hello when I greet H just the drink order. Whatever most customers do this so the pissed off part of my brain does not even care anymore.

H orders an iced venti extra sweet black tea lemonade. Cool. As I am making it, in the shaking container we use to well… shake the teas he yells AND MAKE SURE YOU SHAKE IT. And I let this slide… the yelling which was totally unnecessary because I was not even done making your drink. But part of me understands, a lot of starbucks’ take short cuts and do not shake their iced teas which really impacts the flavor and temperature of the drink.

Anyway I hand H his drink say thank you and have a nice day and he grabs it out of my hand and storms off.

Well this is a regular customer interaction sadly… rudeness, yelling etc etc… but what made this very interesting was when he came back.

H = Hispanic man
V = ‘racist’ valerie verona?!?!?!

And this is what went down…

H = I want another one (I hold out my hand for the cup and he puts it on the counter leaving my empty hand oh so lonely)

V = (being as I was the only one on the floor, my other barista was washing dishes, I made the drink and then I proceed to ring him up) Sir your total is $3.10.

H = what? No you are wrong THIS IS REFILL I PAY FIFTY FIVE CENTS!

V = Im sorry sir but our refill policy only covers regular iced teas not iced tea lemonades because the lemonade is expensive.

H = NO YOU ARE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WRONG. I SEE ALL OF YOU DO THIS FOR THE WHITE PEOPLE AND YOU KNOW I AM HISPANIC AND I GET FIRED A LOT BECAUSE I AM HISPANIC AND I HAVE TO GO TO END OF LINE AND THIS IS REFILL I GO TO OTHER STARBUCKS BEFORE AND I PAY FIFTY FIVE CENTS.

V = Sir, im very sorry you feel this way, but the fifty five cent refill policy is only given when someone orders a regular plain iced tea, not with lemonade. That is the policy. If you paid fifty five cents in the past, at the other starbucks someone was doing you a favor… but 3.10 is the correct price… you gave me your cup so the only discount I can give you is .10 cents for bringing the cup back.

H = NO YOU ARE RACIST AND FINE I PAY THE MONEY THIS NOT ABOUT MONEY BUT YOU ARE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WRONG. MY PEOPLE THEY ARE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW WRONG YOU ARE. AND I WANT THE PHONE NUMBER FOR YOUR MANAGER.

V = (takes the 3.10 from him) ok just give me a second and I will get you my store managers card. (does that).

H = AND I WANT TO SPEAK TO WHO IS SUPERVISING YOU RIGHT NOW.

V = That would be me sir.

H = (exiting, still screaming) I WILL BE BACK.

***

Meanwhile… there is another shift in the store, the one who is handing over the store to me and another barista who were saying I just should have given him the refill price… but this is why I refuse.

I dont appreciate being SCREAMED at
When I try explaining the correct pricing, dont tell me how I am 100% wrong. I happen to know the refill policy very well, I have been working for this company for four years.
I dont appreciate being called ‘racist’

So the store phone rings and the other shift answers it. (On my store managers business card it has the store phone number), the other shift told him to come back and he would get a free drink coupon.

30 minutes elapse, other shift has left, I am pissed because I dont think he should get one but whatever. Im tired of dealing with people who think they know how pricing works and im an incompetent retail servant. A racist one as well apparently. And in walks H.

H = DID YOU GET TOLD YOU WERE WRONG?

V = No, but I will give you a free drink coupon so that your next drink will be on us. (I hate to say it but the sarcasm was clear in my voice, I had had it with this guy).

H = NO I JUST WANT MY MONEY BECAUSE YOU 100% WRONG

V = Sir I am not wrong, but I will give you back your money. Here is your 3.10

H = AND NOW YOU RING ME UP CORRECT FOR FIFTY FIVE CENTS

V = I cant do that thats not the price of the drink you ordered. So just take your money and I am going to have to ask you to leave the store because you are making me feel uncomfortable with all of this screaming.

H = YOU KNOW I SHOW YOU WHY YOU ARE WRONG (leaves)

V = ?

5 minutes later….

H = (comes back throwing whole foods sandwiches on counter) SEE I BUY WHOLE FOODS NOW BECAUSE TWO YEARS AGO I LIKE STARBUCKS SANDWICHES AND NOW I DONT.

V = Ok sir, im going to ask you one more time to stop screaming. Im sorry you are no longer satisfied with our sandwiches but that has nothing to do with me charging you 3.10 for your tea lemonade.

H = YES BECAUSE YOU GIVE THE WHITE PEOPLE IT FOR FIFTY FIVE CENTS

V = Our policy is for regular teas, no lemonade. If you want a regular black iced tea, no matter who your are, race, gender, class it does not matter you get charged the same exact price.

H = THE OTHER STARBUCKS NOT RACIST

V = sir the other starbucks was charging you incorrectly.

H = FORGET IT YOU ARE RACIST WHITE GIRL (throws 55 cents on counter and storms out…. Finally… hopefully to never return again).

***

Cute huh? Thank you “the other starbucks” for not following the correct refill policy and causing this crazy man to go off on me about how I am racist because I want him to pay the price everyone who comes into my store pays for iced tea LEMONADES.

I also had to bite my tongue so bad to not scream at this man about racism. Because my grandmother has worked her whole life as a domestic servant because of NINA (no irish need apply) sure that was decades ago, but it still effected her life up to a year ago when she retired. Also my Italian grandfather and French grandmother have told me stories about how when they came here it was difficult, people refused to help anyone who did not speak english. And while I dont mean to go on a rant about racism because it is rampant… you have no idea a persons personal history. You have no right to call someone racist unless they are blatantly being racist. My charging you is capitalism. Not racism.

(although one can argue they are intertwined but that was something I worked on last semester in school, nothing do to with a 3.10$ black tea lemonade)

Xoxo
Valerie