AIBU to complain about staff at my local Costa?

[Breathedeeper]

There is a woman who works at my local Costa who is surly and abrasive in her manner. I’ve been in a few times and she’s always the same - can’t be bothered, non-communicative and surly. While normally I tend to go to independent coffee shops, I sometimes go to this Costa because of where it’s located. Today I went in and this lady was just so blunt that I remembered her name because I’m considering giving some feedback about her via email to Costa. AIBU? I would have asked to speak to her manager but I think she is the manager, which makes her disregard for good customer service even worse! I’m aware this is definitely a First World problem, but what’s to be done? I don’t think Costa would be happy with how this woman conducts herself, and if no one ever says anything then she’ll just continue on as she is. Maybe she’s just being rude to me, I don’t know…no one else there at that time seemed too bothered about her, but perhaps we were all thinking the same thing but nobody wanted to say anything. I think she could tell she’d pissed me off because by the time she came to give me my drink she was suddenly trying to be polite. So she can do it, but chooses not to unless she thinks someone is going to complain. Thoughts?

Honestly, working for COSTA is hell.
I've worked plenty of customer service and hospitality roles and COSTA was by far the worst.
Leave the girl to be ragey, you're paying for coffee not her fake smile. If she's not actively insulting you, it's not about you.

No don’t complain. Fgs the poor woman could have anything going on in her life and she isn’t paid enough to plaster a fake smile all over her face for 9 hours per day.

Smile, say thanks, get your coffee and move on with your life.

Sorry but I’ve worked in retail for a long time. Yes it’s mostly shite. Yes customers can be fucking horrible. BUT am I ever rude? No. Because it’s my job. If you don’t like people then don’t work in a customer facing role. Otherwise put a smile on your face and be fucking polite.

OP - absolutely complain about the miserable cow. There will be someone out there really grateful to have her job.

Hmmm there was a TikTok trend a couple of weeks ago about the worst companies to work for - Costa came up a lot. I would assume she hates her job and it’s not personal and let her live her life.

Complain. There’s no excuse for making customers feel unwelcome.

Trivial to you, trivial to the OP, perhaps, but it wouldn't be trivial for the Costa employee if she was reported because she doesn't fawn over the OP in the way she feels she's owed.

She’s not asking to be fawned over. Just some basic customer service would be good, as she is being paid to do but is not.

Massive loss of profits at Coca Cola and they publicly blamed Costa because of it so I imagine it’s not the most pleasant place to work right now.

You are entitled to complain , OP' and are entitled to have your complaint taken seriously.
As long as your feedback is truthful, factual and fair that's fine.

I went into a well-known high street shop a fortnight ago and the manager spoke to me like I was dog muck on her shoe. I put in a complaint to head office and ended it by saying perhaps they could look at more staff training in Customer Care.

I got an apology and a voucher.

If I was going to be cynical about your experience, I would say you deserve it for going into Costa in the first place. IMO the coffee is $h!£ and it's overpriced 😆

I'm a netball umpire. I once had a player complain, totally seriously, that I was "being unprofessional and bringing my personal life on to the court", when I muttered out loud that I was tired, not really intending this to be heard. Her complaint angered me so much that I couldn't concentrate on the next game, and someone had to take over from me.

People who work in any customer-facing role are human like everyone else (and I think that a pre-requisite of being an MP should be previous experience in a customer-facing, minimum wage job, but that's another debate). Fortunately for me, unlike many other customer service situations, the umpire is always right, and that player was told where to go, and reminded that umpires are in short supply; one reason for this is because they regularly have to put up with stroppy players.

Do it. I complained via DM on Twitter to Costa about the appalling way the manager spoke to a young member of staff in one store I went to. I didn't have full details of what had been going on, but what I heard was awful. The manager should have been more professional and needed to treat the staff member with respect. Costa did reply and said they were going to look into it.

I'm not sure coffee shops paying coffee shop wages are in a position to be that fussy.

I wouldn’t waste your time complaining nothing will be done, service in this country is generally awful.
Instead vote with your feet go elsewhere, or alternatively take a flask and save a fortune.

I'd just ignore it.
Sure, it's great when you have a nice, cheery person serving you. But it's hardly a deal breaker to your day.
Go there if it's convenient or go somewhere else.
I'd not make someone else's life more difficult over that.
If they were actively rude, or intentionally ignored you that's different

This reads like it's from a book called "Things annoying men say to random women in public".

The server would be justified in 'engaging with' anyone who said these by telling them to fuck off.

OP has no idea what might be going on in the server's life. She might be, for example, dealing with the terminal illness of a loved one, or health problems of her own.

My thought is that she’s doing a dull and low-paid job and you’re expecting special treatment for some reason.

"Being blunt" is subjective. I can't think of many exchanges that would happen in a coffee shop that would be actually rude if they weren't frilly ' "here is your order" is fine.

If OP can't actually say what she said I'd assume you didn't like whatever expression she was making or the fact she didn't kiss your arse, which is not something to 'report'.

I just wouldn’t bother going in there again I think. Find somewhere that values your custom.

You never know what’s going on in someone’s life, she may be going through a really rough time yet having to face customers with high expectations whilst earning close to minimum wage.
why would you put someone’s job on the line for what can only be a minute or two interaction?

So just being polite is a “High expectation “ - how low has customer service sunk. You’re in a job and just need to be neutral - polite and do the job. It’s the same for all customer jobs.

You could also point out that her face looks a bulldog's trying to lick p!ss off a nettle.
But that's only stooping to her level... 😁

Jesus people set a really low bar for customer service.. you don’t need fake smiles, “ how are your todays “ just a tone that doesn’t say “ fuck off” and a face that isn’t scowling. I’m sure many of us have done shop work / hospitality work in our times and earning lower wages doesn’t entitle you to be dicks to the customers. Being a paying customer doesn’t entitle you to be dicks to the staff either. And honestly if you can’t handle a little bit of a chit chat with someone in the course of your day then maybe stay at home and do us all a favour.

I was served by a rude and unhelpful woman on a supermarket pharmacy counter this week. Maybe she hates her job, maybe she has something going on in her life. In an ideal world we would all receive a wage we can live on and feel our employer values and respects us. In all likelihood this is not the case and the result is staff who don't give a shit about being smiley and cheery to customers.

I work with someone who is classed as ‘miserable and rude’ by customers, except that is literally the personality of the individual. She is honest but doesn’t ‘flower’ her language, people’s perceptions and expectations can be part of the issue.

I think the "fake smile" culture has gone too far. I'm actually suspicious of those who are a little too friendly and smiley, especially if they're trying to sell me something.