To think there should be a fast lane in coffee shops?

[vvviola]

I am boring have simple requirements in the morning. I go to the same coffee shop beside my office and get the same order (cappuchino and croissant). I even sometimes have the exact change in my hand. All I want is to get my coffee and get to my desk.

Every morning this week there have been people who couldn't make up their mind, or wanted the staff to make something out of the ordinary. This morning we had "do you do cheese sandwiches, oh, you have sandwiches over there, let me look at them while the people with me are changing their minds 6 times about what scone to have, oh, can you not just make a plain cheese sandwich"

First of all, who on earth wants a cheese sandwich at 9am, and second of all aaaarrrgghh

So. Fast lane for people who don't faff? I may be U as I haven't finished my coffee yet

[Minisoksmakehardwork]

It's not 10am yet. You're forgiven! Dh is unapproachable at work until 10am. When he's had at least 2, probably 3 coffees. But he does take one with him in a travel mug :)

[StillYummy]

I need this to happen!

[Minisoksmakehardwork]

Pay at pump should take all debit cards, or rather banks should given all cards the facility to use them. Mine won't work on pay at pump. It's very frustrating.

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

You'd think so, but as a PP said they provide vending machine tea and coffee - the coffee is vaguely passable but the tea is honestly just dishwater. Ugh.

[MorrisZapp]

Also can we roll out contactless payment for all small transactions? The poundshop especially. Or ask people to carry cash :)

[Melonaire]

Is it a chain coffee place? One of them has an app where you can order and pay through your phone before you're even through the door. I think it's Starbucks.

[TiggyD]

At the Saville Garden snack/tea bar the other day were a couple of people with a basic order.

"I'd like this cheese toasty toasted until totally dry, one tea with every leaf dipped individually, and a coffee which need to be fucked about with for ages please."

It was about 5 minutes per customer. I'd like a law brought in that states that when a queue gets 3 people in it only non-poncy coffee can be served.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

tHere does need to be a make up your mind area, with seperate boards away from they make coffee, with really big writing! None of us can read what they have to offer until we are right at the counter. dd inevitably likes to pick anything that looks unusual, but needs choosing time, she seems entirely incapable of making snap decisions. So Im afraid we/she probably causes a lot of fuming from behind!

[hippowithsuncreen]

Our new coffee has a drive through which cuts the queues for those on foot.

[wasonthelist]

There should be a general ban on people who have no apparent idea that there's anyone else in the world except them.

Yesterday's Filling Station holdup for me was because they are now doubling as a parcels service - so I had to wait several minutes while the cashier went in the back, returned with parcels, then spent ages discussing the bar codes on the parcels and the apparent anomaly between 2 parcels in hand and three shown on the computer.

I see someone's quoted Bill Bryson above - in another of his masterworks he highlighted that curious phenomenon whereby the requirement to pay for goods in any shop is accompanied by apparent surprise and hours of faffing about looking for wallet/purse etc as if this is the first fucking time it's every happened in the history of the universe.

[ChessieFL]

Pay at pump is great unless you need a receipt! Whenever I've tried to pay at pump the receipt printing is out of order. So I don't bother even trying now and just pay at kiosk. I need receipts to claim expenses from work.

[ChessieFL]

I do sympathise with the coffee shop issue but part of the problem is that the menus are all on boards behind the counter and I can never see them properly until I'm at the counter!

[Sparklingbrook]

YY Tesco pumps sometimes can't give a receipt but if you stick the card in another pump you can reprint one. Which is fine if there's a free pump, and does look a bit weird.

Sainsburys ones seem to function ok.

[MadamCroquette]

Yes OP yes yes! Except I would make it:

A lane for people who want coffee/hot drink or toastie warming up etc.

A lane for people who don't need anything making or doing for them, just need to pay for what's on their tray.

M&S and John Lewis cafes are awful for this. You get your lunch on your tray and then you have to stand in a queue for hours behind people who are all waiting to have a complicated coffee made. i just want to buy my lunch! Extra stressful if I have kids with me.

It also annoys me because I don't understand why people have lunch with a coffee. Coffee and a cake, yes. But why do you need a coffee with your lunch? Surely you have it after and it would be cold by then?

[vvviola]

But. But. Chessie do you really need a menu to choose a coffee? I mean I can understand lunch or breakfast or something. But coffee?

[MLGs]

I think there should be a fast lane for people who don't want hot drinks.

I say that as a hot drink drinker, but I noticed when I was off them for a while that it's a right pain waiting for all the hot drinks if you are just getting a bag of crisps or a coke or whatever.

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

Also, in light of the Bill Bryson quote linked to above, I've got to admit what I truly love about Aldi is not the cheapness but the lack of "choice". There's one type of baked beans, one brand of bread with about 5 choices between that, awful crisps so I don't buy any, basic chocolate bars so I'm not tempted to buy 12 packs and so on.

I went to Sainsburys again the other day and was astounded that there was an entire aisle dedicated to condiments. I'd have been quite happy with bog standard ketchup but when there's choice I end up standing there debating the merits of the usual size for £3 or the extra large for £4 which is cheaper by volume, but will it still fit in the fridge, yada yada yada....

[Boomingmarvellous]

Id hate to waste my coffee break in a queue and would probably take a flask and croissant to work, but agree it's a pain to carry.

Totally get the ritual thing though. My cappuccino and cupcake was the only thing that got me through my last (hateful) job.

[HarrysMummy17]

Starbucks are starting to do a pre order system. I believe it's started in London. You order your food/drink on the app. Pay for it, then you get something like 5 minutes to get into the store and pick it up from a separate point rather than waiting in the queue. It will have you details printed on the cup.

[Melonaire]

That's it HarrysMummy. DH uses it from his desk at work and by the time he's walked down to the shop it's waiting for him.

[vvviola]

Oh no, I wouldn't waste coffee break on queuing. Queuing for coffee is strictly a pre-work event in my world. Coffee break is tea from the canteen (which is open by then).

God I'm set in my ways, aren't I

[SignoraStronza]

I've never really understood this UK queuing for coffee business. In Italy, you either stand at the (large) bar, get served pretty much straight away, neck your coffee and go, or sit down and have your order taken at the table. None of this hovering around and hoping there will be somewhere to sit when you've finally paid and got the goods.

[ShesGotLionsInHerHeart]

Fast lane for people who don't want a hot drink!

I only want a Diet Coke but wait for ten minutes whilst they fanny about making confess for the people ahead of me.

[Melliphant]

The problem being, HarrysMummy, that Starbucks is one of the roots of the problem. Before their ilk, people just had a coffee, or a cappuccino if they were a bit flash, and it was all very quick and easy. Because Starbuck's basic coffee is burnt, it's undrinkable without being mucked about with. So the whole process of ordering a coffee becomes one of choosing some hideous sickly flavouring, choosing from goat-tinder which particular goat you'd like to be milked this morning and handing over your CV so they know what to write on your cup.

[Purplecan4]

People just need to behave a bit better and be more considerate. I was in a busy Subway in the queue. In front of me was a woman with 3 boys aged 3-6 ish.

Instead of finding out what the kids wanted whilst queuing, she asked them whilst the assistant was waiting to serve them, holding up the entire queue, the assistant couldn't do anything. They were saying umm don't know what I want. How long do you want the subway - why ask a 3yo such a question?! You know how much he eats, choose an appropriate size for him! Each question the assistant asked was relayed to each boy who didnt know what to answer. Do you want cucumber, do you want tomato , do you want x y z ...if I take my kids, I check in advance what they want and quickly order it.

I didn't say anything but the assistant apologised to me after the woman left and gave me a free cookie!