To refuse coffee someone else rejected?

[36Camelliasandcounting]

It’s happened several times recently. The barista has made a drink that wasn’t the right specification for whoever ordered it. One of those things right? It happens.

Except several times recently, the barista has then poured that rejected coffee into a takeaway cup from the ‘having in’ mug and tried to serve to me. I’ve refused and been met with a fair bit of eye-rolling. Most recently I just asked for a refund and after I left a review online stating the incident had happened several times recently including twice that week and as a result I wouldn’t be going back.

The manager has since replied stating it’s policy and widely appreciated by customers to minimise waste?!

AIBU to think no one wants someone else’s rejected coffee?

YABU: I’m happy to take other customers rejected coffee.

YANBU: No. Even worse if the coffee isn’t the right spec and/or has been stood on the side whilst the original drink was remade so is then cold when presented to you.

If it is the same order as yours, or even something you like, whyever not? Or should we all just kill the planet a bit more?

This has happened several times? Where are you buying coffee?? They sound extraordinarily incompetent.

But it’s still just been made, would you prefer they throw it away?

I mean, I guess if it had just been made, was still piping hot, and was exactly as I'd ordered it, I probably would. But if it had been sat there cooling and wasn't the same sort of coffee, then I wouldn't

If my order was a skinny latte and the rejected coffee was a skinny latte, I'd just be pleased I got my coffee a bit sooner tbh.

It's not like the previous customer took a sip out of it and then refused it 🙄

Well my order is always a decaf oat milk iced latte with vanilla syrup, extra ice so I don’t think it would be one of those, so I’d reject it

Well if it's the same as your order I genuinely can't see why you'd say no. It's not like it's been sitting there for ages going cold?

If you saw all this unfold then I presume the rejected coffee was a maximum of 1 minute older than it otherwise would have been?

I wouldn’t be happy if they served me immediately with a coffee that had been sat for several minutes on the side. But if Jim ordered a flat white and you ordered a cap but the barista accidentally served Jim and cap and it was immediately noted that it is the wrong drink (so Jim never accepted it at all) and that was straight away passed to the next person who had ordered a cap, then I really don’t see the problem. If you’d ordered an extra hot cap, or specified skimmed milk, or something, then no I don’t think you should accept it just because the barista made a mistake.

Ive seen this happen before. It feels a bit shit when it costs so much

I probably wouldn’t love the pouring into a take away cup but I’d live with it provided it was the same order!

It's not saving the planet, it's literally a cup of hot water with some flavourings in. Costs them pennies and they charge a fortune. Nah, if I am paying for a luxury for myself then I want it made by hand, for me, just the way I want it. If they want to drink the rejected drink, that is a fair perk of their job.

Oh actually I’ve just realised a bit of detail that maybe changes my mind. Your order was to take away whereas the original drink was made to have in…. So the pouring into another container. To my mind, that is a bit shit because proper barista coffee is often seen as a bit of an art form (for want of a better word, I don’t actually take it that seriously!) and so pouring from one to another does ruin the frothiness to some extent. What’s the point in making a perfectly frothy cappuccino and then dumping it into another container and loosing half the froth….? And when it is expensive as well!

I was thinking this 😂 how hard is it to take a coffee order and make the right thing.

in answer to your question OP, if it had literally just been made I’d have it. If I hadn’t seen it be made I probably wouldn’t as it might have been hanging around a bit.

I agree with this. Wouldn't go back there Op - vote with your feet!

With the hundreds of coffee options, I am genuinely surprised that this could even happen once, never mind several times. What are the chances?!

New summer staff. Massive staff turnover happens around this time every year, but this is the first time I’ve had this.

The word “rejected” is doing a lot of work here.

If someone “rejected” a coffee because it’s not what they ordered, there isn’t anything wrong with it.

If it is what you ordered and still hot, I don’t see why you’d be precious about it. i would accept it.

What's with these places not giving us what we paid for and being funny when we complain? It's not like we are paying 50p anymore is it?

Last night I went to a dessert shop whilst waiting for our food to be ready and I paid £6 for a milkshake, the place was boiling hot and when we got into the car it tasted really sour. The after taste was gone off milk. My DD had one too and she mostly drunk hers but she said yeah I thought the same but didn't want to complain so I took it back and the woman was almost calling me a liar. She was like well il make you a new one but it's all a fresh batch yesterday... That doesn't mean it's not off love!!
I had literally had a bit from it so I wasn't just trying to get a fresh one. But now I won't return again just coz of her attitude. I'm paying £6 I expect what I paid for. If it was £1 I wouldn't have bothered going back in.

Sometimes it's how the staff manage the situation. Maybe if they said to you.. this is the exact same do you mind having that . We've lost all customer service everywhere but the prices have shot up and I feel a bit hard done by when spending my money now.

I really don’t understand the problem - person A doesn’t want the coffee and they’re offering it to you? Why would that be an issue?

@EveningSpread the coffees aren’t hot. By the time they’ve come back from the table, waited in the cup for the right drink to be remade, the right drink served and then it’s been filled into a paper cup for me they’re stone cold.

That’s also not the point. Tipping a coffee from a proper mug into a paper cup changes the texture of it - the cappuccino loses all the fluffy foam and just turns the regular milk. So it’s not the drink you ordered. And even on the rare occasion it is hot, it’s bloody disgusting because the texture is wrong - it’s no longer creamy but just like drinking tea. I’m not paying £4.50 for that!

Nah probably costs pennies to make. I make my own coffee at about 98% cheaper than the slurry the coffee shops churn out 🤣

If I had seen it being made AND it was already in a takeaway cup, then I would be fine with it.
But unless its an Americano, it’s not going to transfer nicely from a sit-in mug, so no.

I think Op from your updates, sounds like there are a lot of mistakes and management have been pulling them up on it.

If it was a drink with froth or something on top then it'll be ruined by pouring it into another cup.

Yanbu and I drink a lot of coffee out!

If it was like for like I.e. takeaway cup for both customers then I would be fine, but pouring it from a cup to takeaway cup isn’t right and would annoy me too. The milk froff would be mixed in with the rest of the coffee. And if a latte for example then you expect the coffee at the bottom and milk with froff on top kinda thing.

I don't see the problem if the drink is freshly made. No good if it's been hanging around getting cold. Quite likely it was made for you and the wrong name put on it.