To think fussy people ordering coffee should always be in a separate queue

[HarveysPJs]

Drives me mad. I just want to buy a sandwich, and in front of me is someone ordering 4 coffees with very exacting requirements.

@thenightsky - as mentioned before, Wet means I want more liquid, less froth. The barista knows what it means and I get my coffee how I like it.

It’s the ditherers who just claim they want ‘a normal coffee’ and then get huffy when questioned what a normal coffee is.

If I want a cup of full flavoured filter or percolated coffee with a splash of full fat cows milk, what should I ask for?

Yanbu, then just when you think they’re finished they start pointing to different cakes or something. I just want to scream, “just let me pay”.

“If I want a cup of full flavoured filter or percolated coffee with a splash of full fat cows milk, what should I ask for?”

‘Good morning/afternoon. Can I have a coffee with milk on the side please’

Rolling in with an attitude and declaring ‘I want a normal coffee, no questions’ is really rude. It’s not the baristas fault that there are other options on the menu.

Am I too late, did someone post this already?

In defence of the ditherers, maybe it's their first time in a coffee shop in a long while and then they're faced with all the different choices. I personally find it quite daunting going in to a coffee shop as it's something I do very rarely.

Sh05

Sorry, that now brings us here

Sh05 but you’d be polite about it though wouldn’t you. You wouldn’t demand no questions and then get arsey when the barista just wanted to clarify so that they could make you the drink you want.

*I will repeat that it cannot have dairy or lactose or nuts.

Not because I'm showing off but because if they get that order wrong I will go into anaphylaxis and I can assure you OP, that will make it far more difficult for you to get your 'coffee'*

That’s a lot of faith to place in a teenager on minimum wage.

That’s a lot of faith to place in a teenager on minimum wage.

Yes, because every teenager on minimum wage is incapable of following health and safety procedures such as this that are drummed into you. No more so than a middle aged person on 10p more an hour.

I want a special queue in supermarkets for people who wait for everything to come through and then pack it all up and only then start looking for their purse, as if paying were an alien concept.

What about those with special dietary requirements/allergies?
I need to explain that I can't have any dairy or dairy cross contamination and this takes a while.
Others may need low calories options for health reasons e.g. diabetes
Special requests aren't always people being prissy so YABU

TBH I always ask for a cappuccino and I’ve never been asked anything except regular or large.

@arizonarobbins
It is but what would you like allergy sufferers to do? We have to live our lives too, its not a choice to be allergic to something :/

@Bwlch

It’s the ditherers who just claim they want ‘a normal coffee’ and then get huffy when questioned what a normal coffee is.

If I want a cup of full flavoured filter or percolated coffee with a splash of full fat cows milk, what should I ask for?

Tbf ours does filtered code so you'd ask for that and they'd ask if you wanted milk or not. But it's never hot enough

@eaglejulesk

Ha you would all hate living in Australia.

And NZ - coffee drinking is a serious thing here too!

But it is in France and Italy as well but you don't get this sort of thing.

Ha you would all hate living in Australia.

Ever since moving here I always have to ask for a one shot coffee. You guys make your coffee so bloody strong, it makes my head spin.

Yes, because every teenager on minimum wage is incapable of following health and safety procedures such as this that are drummed into you. No more so than a middle aged person on 10p more an hour

I’ve worked in coffee shops. You’re having an actual laugh if you think this anywhere near what it needs to be.

I’m not saying allergy sufferers shouldn’t go out for coffee btw. I don’t particularly care either way. I’m just saying if you could literally die I probably wouldn’t take the chance. I wouldn’t trust anyone enough.

Ditherers on the other hand, they do annoy me because they get to the front of the queue and seem surprised they have to order something from the board they've been staring at for the last 10 minutes.

Don't forget the shock of having to pay.

@SwedishEdith

But it is in France and Italy as well but you don't get this sort of thing.

I think the problem is that in France and Italy (and Australia/NZ) coffee drinking is much more of a "thing" and we all know what we want, and understand that people in our queue will be ordering many different types of coffee. Not so in the UK, where many people just want a more basic coffee and therefore are not as tolerant of anyone ordering something different.

[quote eaglejulesk]@SwedishEdith

But it is in France and Italy as well but you don't get this sort of thing.

I think the problem is that in France and Italy (and Australia/NZ) coffee drinking is much more of a "thing" and we all know what we want, and understand that people in our queue will be ordering many different types of coffee. Not so in the UK, where many people just want a more basic coffee and therefore are not as tolerant of anyone ordering something different.[/quote]
Don't know about the other countries, but in Italy there is really no such thing as queues full of people ordering 100 different variations on coffee. At least 9 times out of 10 'coffee' means espresso. You might have a macchiato if you were feeling adventurous, or a cappuccino for breakfast (no Italian orders one after lunchtime or even mid-morning) but anything exotic would raise eyebrows and very likely not be available.

@HarveysPJs

Drives me mad. I just want to buy a sandwich, and in front of me is someone ordering 4 coffees with very exacting requirements.

Haha...yeah. Drives me nuts too! Especially in Costa Coffee (where the service as hopelessly slow at the best of times). These people who order such complicated coffees to such specifications - I wonder how many of them acutally make the same kind of coffee when they're alone at home? Reminds me of when I used to work in a really pretentious office with 3 girls who insisted on using big caffitieres when brewing up. Why not just put a teaspoon of coffee granules into a mug and add boiling water instead of faffing about with a damn caffitiere?? I'm sure they did it on purpose to make themselves look somehow more "sophisticated" to our Italian and French clients who were always in an out of the office lol. Drove me nuts to the point where I stopped taking my turn to brew up, just starting taking a can of coke instead.

These people who order such complicated coffees to such specifications - I wonder how many of them acutally make the same kind of coffee when they're alone at home? Reminds me of when I used to work in a really pretentious office with 3 girls who insisted on using big caffitieres when brewing up. Why not just put a teaspoon of coffee granules into a mug and add boiling water instead of faffing about with a damn caffitiere??

Probably very few of them can make the coffee to their exact specification at home - it takes a pretty expensive machine - which is exactly why they think it's worth spending the money to have one out? I personally think it's weirder when people pay £2.50 for a tea bag and some hot water.

And if you can't taste the difference between instant and cafetiere coffee and think the only reason someone would find the latter preferable is to show off: there is something very wrong with your taste buds!

I can't actually understand why you think it takes so long to order 4 different types of coffee, no matter how exacting their requirements OP. The person taking the order only has to write down what they ask for, and presumably use their own version of shorthand to do so, it really shouldn't take very long at all.

Exactly @IcedPurple. If in France or Italy I ask for un café/un caffè. And that's it.