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.

It's a no from me. If I am paying out for expensive coffee I'd like it freshly made as intended please, not decanted from one cup to another. It costs enough!! Make me a fresh one.

Coffee shop owner here:

We don't do this. Unless the thing we made wrong is immediately ordered by the next person the drink will have been dumped or claimed by myself or staff to save wastage. Or offered to another customer for free because why throw a perfectly good drink out.

Happens most commonly with a decaf latte type drink where it was made with regular beans or we got the shots mixed up between drinks (but figure it out before it gets to the customer as decaf smells significantly different to normal coffee)

But to have had it happen multiple times in the same shop to you specifically is too much. It happens maybe once for every 50 drinks we send out (less than that but my staff and my self are human and do make mistakes).

Is it a chain shop or an independent?

I can't see that much wastage happening in an indie shop as it would cripple their margins

We also wouldn't pour from one cup to another unless a customer requested eg ordered to drink in but suddenly had to go with much of their drink left.

What a dumb reason to ruin great coffee

YANBU and I'm quite a tree hugger myself! Offering it to someone else for free? Absolutely fine. Pouring it into another mug for you so there's not even a nice top to the coffee and still charging you £4 for it, jog on.

Only if it's been freshly made, is what you want and it's hot. Even then, say yes if it is discounted. The baristas mistake is NOT your problem.

I hope it's a chain coffee shop you left a crap review for and not an independent struggling to compete with the likes of Starbucks and costa

Letting it sit, pouring it from one cup to another and expecting you to pay full price, no. Why would you put up with that when coffees are so expensive.

@Runrabbitrunrabitrunrunrun

thats irrelevant.. independent or not, this place needs to up their game

As long as it was exactly the same order and the same temperature as it would have been had I personally ordered it then I’d be fine with it.

Once it has left the servers and gone to a table there’s no way a drink can be returned and given to someone else - of course it can’t. Food hygiene nightmare.

and the loveliness of a made coffee poured from a mug into a takeaway cup hold be gone & the drink cooled by the process.

no one wants to spend a fiver on that

Well it's probably right they struggle to compete if they provide an objectively crap service.

Well it's probably right they struggle to compete if they provide an objectively crap service.

If it had just been made in a paper cup it would be different but pouring it from mug to cup would ruin it and you said it’s been sat there a while anyway so I’m not sure why they’d even offer it…

Exactly. There is a difference between a just made drink that the person in front has said ' no I wanted a skinny latte' and you say ' I'll have it, I wanted an ordinary' and the scenario described by OP. Of course the second scenario would be rejected. Also if it's happened : several times' I'd find a different coffee shop. This has never happened to me!

Exact same order piping hot and already in a takeaway cup - Yes.

Any drink poured from one cup to another - NO.

YANBU

Chains don’t do this. Only if it’s your drink, and you say you want it to takeaway.

If a small independent has this practice, they should take some feedback.

Ive seen costa do it