Tagged

Ok, so i've been tagged by the Barista Brat. Therefore heres 6 weird things or habits about myself:

1. I love rain!

2. I went through a stage of trying to do everything I did four times in a row (this was when I was much younger). It was something to do with 4 being (and still being) my lucky number and I had this strange feeling that if I didn't do everything four times something bad would happen.

3. I have adapted to the temperature in my room which can be ridiculously hot (especially in the summer), so much so that it has killed 2 bonsai trees (not that its hard to kill bonsai trees), 2 coconut plants (well they were like palm trees growing out of coconuts) and has given a number of friends nose bleeds after spending the night in it. Btw this high temperature is due to a cupboard in my room containing the boiler for the house.

4. I met the president of the Czech Republic's wife at Prague castle while on a Czech language course. They were filming the event for czech tv (for some reason) and when I went to accept my 'graduation' certificate from the president's wife she said (in czech), 'do you study or do you work?' So I answered (forgetting to conjugate and of course also in czech), 'you study.'

On that course my class was also heard on a czech radio station and on Dobruska TV (Dobruska being the small town we were situated in). My coursemates (and the others on the course who I wouldn't call my mates) were Dobruska celebrities!

5. I find the area of infectious diseases interesting (which is the area I currently want to go into in medicine, who knows if I still will after 5 years of studying the subject). It still feels strange saying that even after all the interviews for medicine. Its just feels wrong to say you have an interest in something so morbid. And even with medical students/doctors, when you ask them why they want/wanted to do medicine you expect to hear something like, 'because I want to work with people' or something more specific such as, 'I want to work with children' or 'I want to work with old people.' But my interviewers heard, 'I want to work with malaria and dengue fever.' Well actually I didn't say that because I don't have a specific infectious disease i'm really fascinated by (and thats not the sole reason I want to do medicine) but you get the point.

6. I used to be part of an acting/singing group..............I can't really sing and I definately can't act. Admittedly it wasn't a proper acting/singing group, just something to occupy children after school and let parents feel proud of their children for doing something productive (even if this meant sitting through, or should that be enduring, plays with little children singing and dancing badly). But I played a zookeeper, a drunken father, Little John (in Robin Hood), a crazy man who lived to kill insects (well that was my take on the character), a rat and a flame. And those are just the parts I remember!

So now i'm supposed to tag 6 other people.............but I don't really know six other people who blog. So James, Nick, Josh and Kura Kura, if you see this and feel like doing it consider yourself tagged. If you see this and think 'theres no way i'd do that' or 'this is like a blog equivalent of a chain letter' then consider yourself not tagged.

Caramel!

Woman: 'I want caramel.'

Me: 'Ok, which caramel drink would you like? Theres a caramel latte, caramel macciato, caramel cream frappacino, caramel coffee frappacino, banana caramel cream frappacino...............'

Woman: 'Yes, I want caramel.'

Me: (I start to wonder if this woman is purposely taking the piss)........um, ok, which caramel drink would you like?'

Woman: 'That one with caramel!'

Me: Yes, there are a few with caramel. Is it hot or cold?'

Woman: 'Cold.'

Me: 'Do you want the caramel cream frappacino?'

Woman: 'Yes, caramel'

Me: (I put down the caramel cream frappacino because otherwise i'd never get around to serving anyone else) Ok a caramel cream frappacino, anything else with that?'

Woman: 'No, just caramel.'

I don't understand some people.

London

My weekend was spent showing a friend (who I met on the Czech course and who is currently working in Manchester) around London. I have to say the two day trip around London really made me realise how much I love it here. Theres so much I haven't seen and really should get around to seeing (and Josh, I was using that guide you gave me for my birthday for a lot of the weekend). And a lot of the sites I had seen i'd seen many years ago on school trips and didn't have a very good idea of whereabouts in London they were. So it was just as much two days of discovery for me as it was for my friend. I now have a much better idea of how certain areas of London connect up together and where certain sites are in those parts of London. But theres still much to see in this gap year.

Summer

Yesterday was the first day of Starbucks summer and the first time we had to wear our summer uniform (which is a yellow t-shirt rather than the black one). We also got some new foods in (most of which involved bananas in some way). I got to sample the new sandwich for lunch which was very nice.

But one of the not so fun aspects of the new foods/drinks launch was that, being the new employee, I was the one who had to go outside the store, walk up and down the road letting people who were walking towards the store sample the banana caramel cream frappacino. To be honest I was just happy they didn't make me wear a banana costume (which was threatened jokingly at the launch meeting last week). And it seems I didn't do to badly. Within a minute or two after coming back to the store to get more drinks for the sampling (since the samples ran out in what seemed like less than a minute) we had at least two customers (who I know about that is since I served them) asking for 'that drink i'd just let them sample' as, in their words, it was divine.

And the day didn't pass without a couple of difficult customers and me doing something stupid. There was a woman (with her husband) who just stared at me with a very grumpy look on her face. She wasn't very pleasant to serve. Her husband seemed to be the complete opposite of her, seemingly all happy. But when I had gotten their order the man said, 'well we wanted that taken away.' I had asked whether they wanted to eat in or take away and they'd said they'd want to eat in. But the man said it didn't matter and then started asking what my name was, saying in other Starbucks they wore name tags. I told them my first name and they asked if I was new at Starbucks. So I answered relatively new and they were a bit friendlier, saying it didn't matter about the mix up between take away and eat in. The woman even attempted a sort of smile.

Then I told the person making the drinks to make them take away drinks instead (so they could have the option to take the drinks out like they said they'd intended to). But when the woman gave the drinks to them they said they'd wanted them to have in the store. Strange people.

And as for the 'me doing something stupid' which I earlier referred to, just before my shift ended (which was the 6.50am start shift) I went to open and rinse a whipped cream dispenser. I thought it was empty. It wasn't quite as empty as I thought. There may not have been enough cream left to dispense onto a drink but there was enough to spray all over the wall next to the sink (and of course all over me). A great way to end a shift.

A hot chocolate, extra hot...................but not too hot!

Another unusual customer yesterday was a man with quite a thick accent of some sort (and I don't mean to imply thats what made him unusual). He made an extremely fast order which all sounded like one word. Then when he repeated it I managed to make out he wanted a hot chocolate, extra hot, but not too hot. I thought that was contradictory but he didn't seem to think so. All he seemed to be thinking was 'i'll keep saying it over and over and over again' because thats what he did, he said, 'a hot chocolate, extra hot, but not too hot' repeatedly. I eventually managed to get it through to him that I understood his order and had already passed it over to the bar to be made and so then he started telling me and the people waiting behind him in the queue about his trip to Scotland for 5 days. I managed to get him to pay and then he went over to the bar to tell my partner exactly what he meant by 'a tall hot chocolate, extra hot, not too hot.'

Yesterday

I didn't get to blog yesterday since I was at work till 11 (pm). We had a meeting (where we learnt about all the new stuff they'll be introducing to Starbucks for the summer). And the meeting ended up with us eating pizza (well about an hour and a half after ordering it since the pizza delivery man got lost and drove straight past the shop).

I now have a new Starbucks top to wear (well its for wearing when the Starbucks summer period actually starts).

On another note I had some interesting customers yesterday (and I mean the word interesting to have negative connotations in this case). The main one that springs to mind was a woman with her two children (who seemed to be around 8-10 years old). I went to serve her and was greeted with a, 'why are there toys in the store?!'

I answered that we get a lot of parents with their children and so we made a little play area for the children. Then she raised her voice:

Woman: 'Well i'm going to ask again, why are there toys in the front of the store?! I come here to have some food in peace with my grown up children and I don't want to have little children playing with toys around me!'

Me: 'Well the middle and back of the store are quieter and they have the more comfortable seats. We've set it out so that people can relax in peace towards the back of the store and so the parents can relax in the front of the store since their children are occupied with the toys. The little play area actually helps make it quieter since the kids are pre-occupied with the toys.'

Woman: 'Well its awful! I come here to sit in the front of the store! You shouldn't have the play area! It needs to be gotten rid of!'

Me: 'Well actually a majority of our customers are parents who come with their children and they're very happy with the addition of the play area. And many of our other customers who aren't parents have commented on it being a good idea as it means there are less little kids running up and down the store knocking over anything they can.'

But the woman didn't seem to actually be listening to my answer to her question.

Woman: 'I still don't see why its there! Its ruined Starbucks for me!

By this point my partner that day got involved. She asked what the problem was and got told the 'problem' and her answer was exactly the same as mine.

Woman: 'Well thats not good enough! I'm never coming here again! You hear me!'

Me and Starbucks partner: 'Okay.'

The woman gave a nasty scowl and gave her order. I served her with a smile, gave her her food and drinks and guess what, today she was back at the store. Luckily though today I didn't have the 'pleasure' of serving her.

And the thing was, at the time she was there, there weren't even any young children present (apart from her own that is). The play area wasn't being used and it wouldn't have affected her Starbucks experience in any way whatsoever.

Why phone now?!

It seems theres a new trend. A customer will queue up, waiting patiently. And then when it gets to there turn they whip out they're phone and start talking to someone, leaving me standing there waiting for their order. I'm not psychic and the customers seem completely oblivious to the fact that there are people waiting behind them.

I just talk over they're conversation and so they still get served quickly. But I don't understand how they can think its ok to just start phoning someone when you're about to be served (especially when you're holding up a queue). Why can't they wait a few seconds until they've ordered and paid and then phone they're friend to bitch about some bitch?

Whipped cream in the face

I've been put on the bar quite a lot recently to get me used to it. I've managed a couple of busy periods (although sometimes my 'partner' has to take over) but today it was going fine.

Then I managed to put a little bit too much drink in before putting the cream on the hot chocolate. This therefore meant that when I put the lid on the drink whipped cream squirted through the little drinking hole in my face (and down my front and even some down my back). A little bit embarrasing.

That brings me to another thing. The hot drink lids hate me. This isn't the first time i've had problems with them. They've broken on me and not wanted to go on the drink numerous times. But i'll show them! Well i've started to show them anyway since I haven't had many problems with them recently..............apart from today.

CCCCCRRRRRRRAAAAAAAZZZZZZZYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

It was a crazy day today at work, well actually only in the late morning. Earlier morning it was very quiet (probably because its half term and most of our customers seem to be parents and children).

After the long morning lull there came quite a heavy storm. There was hot chocolate flying across the floor (as a result of a child throwing it), a caramel macciato gushing down the bar all over the floor (one of my partners wasn't having a good day), queues forming all the way to the door and to top it all off we were visited by the police.

Luckily the police came to help us rather than arrest us. The manageress had called them in after we were visited once again by a group of people we suspect of being bag thieves. We suspect this because 1, they always act really suspicious (they keep themselves covered with caps and stuff, are always looking around nervously and don't look at you when you serve them) and 2, everytime they come in a purse seems to go missing. And when the police came in they, of course, decided it was time to leave. The police caught one of them and questioned him. He then was screaming at the manageress about her 'wild accusations' and all the while we were trying to serve the neverending queue that only seemed to get longer.

So today was one crazy work shift!

Shock

Thats what i'm feeling right now. I did my morning workshift and came home to find a big envelope on the floor in the post. I knew it was the result of my Leeds interview. I felt sick. I opened it and I got an unconditional offer.

It still hasn't actually sunk in that I have finally managed to get a place at medical school. When I was opening the letter I was thinking well at least this time the university actually sent me the letter of rejection instead of leaving it to UCAS to do as I considered the Leeds interview to have been my worst (5am wake up to get the train and having to wait till 5pm to have my interview didn't exactly help the interview to go well). But apparently they saw something in me. Maybe it was my 'joke' (which wasn't intended to be a joke) and if it was I have Josh to thank for it (so thank you Josh for getting lost in the neverending fields of fern near the beginning of our Duke of Edinburgh expedition).

And speaking of D. of E., Nick I have handed in your D. of E. stuff to be sent off (at the same time as handing in my own) although that is old news now (it happened about 2 weeks ago, I just forgot to mention it).

I was just thinking, things always seem to go wrong for me (or I don't quite get what/where I want) when it comes to exams and university places (it happened with my GCSEs, AS levels and A levels as well as the medical schools) but in the end, after a lot persistance I get there. Its irritating but you know what, i'm not complaining. At least it keeps me on my toes.

Whats the point of checking?!

When I have someone making a large order I check that I have it exactly right before taking their money.

So today a woman came in and made a large order with multiple drinks and food products. I went through the list of things she'd ordered before accepting her money and she said yes thats fine. Then a couple of minutes later I have one of my starbucks partners asking me if I charged the woman for a tall latte. I hadn't because I hadn't heard her order it. So the customer made a big deal out of it, saying i'd even checked with her about her order and still not given her her latte. Well you see madam thats because you didn't ask for it when you were ordering as far as I heard, and when I went through the whole list of things you wanted you didn't bother telling me i'd left out a latte! I don't just read out a long list of items because I like the sound of my own voice. I read it out so you can check I have everything! And so when you forget to tell me about your tall latte it is actually your fault for not mentioning it.

But of course there was no point arguing with the woman. She got her latte and made a few disgruntled grunts (and walked back to her seat with a sour face). Then she came back (with an even sourer face) and told me i'd also forgotten to charge her for a newspaper. Well a newspaper I definately wouldn't have forgotten to charge her since I have eyes and would have been able to see the newspaper in her hands, thats if she had actually had it at the time of paying and wasn't blatantly lying.