“Entitled” Starbucks Customer Slammed for Placing Order 3 Minutes Before Closing, "Boasting" About It In Blog

It appeared that fewer and fewer people were enthused about going back to work in some industries following the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe it's because many folks, after having some time to reflect on their career aspirations upon being laid off or furloughed from their jobs and being forced to stay home, they didn't want to return to their previous positions.

Or maybe it had to do with the fact that those working during the pandemic faced a litany of more mental health challenges due to increased stress levels at their respective jobs. Or it could be that a lot of people discovered that they were being hosed and businesses could afford to pay them more than they were currently receiving, which there's strong evidence for considering that so many major corporations are increasing base pay for many workers, even if these merit increases are being outpaced by inflation.

It could also have to do with folks not wanting to deal with "rude shoppers," or a combination of all aforementioned factors. Whatever the case, there's been an uptick in social media posts and articles written about folks either slamming customers for not being more sensitive/mindful of employees or making their jobs more difficult than they already are.

But a recent blog post by MSN Jason Alten tells a story about a helpful Starbucks employee from a customer's perspective.

In his piece, Jason discusses how he, his wife, and his daughter were on a road trip and showed up at a Starbucks drive-thru three minutes before the store was set to close. He goes on to say that while he felt guilty for putting in an order so close to closing, that he appreciated the employee greeted him and his family and made him feel like they were more than happy to take his order.

"So, as I placed our order, I apologized for showing up at closing time. I was mostly trying to avoid the sound of frustration in the voice of the person at the other end, and let them know how much we appreciated them accommodating us so late.

Instead, the response from the person at the window was completely unexpected: 'No problem. We love making your favorite drink, and we're always happy to make it!'" Jason wrote.

He went on to talk about other businesses' closing practices, namely dining establishments: "I've even been to a restaurant where a sign in the front says 'kitchen stops serving 30 minutes before closing.' Which, isn't actually true. If you stop serving people, you're closed, for all practical purposes. Just because people are still sitting inside, if you can't walk in, get a table, and be served, you might as well be closed. Otherwise, if your doors are unlocked and you're open for business, you should take care of your customers."

Jason went on to praise this particular Starbucks location for upholding the company's "mission...to be its customers' third place," i.e. where you stop between home and wherever else it is you're going in between.

Commenters on his write-up thought that there was a certain level of entitlement on Jason's behalf, saying that he could've been more proactive in looking at the time.

Some speculated that he's never worked a retail job before, while others said if he knew it was that close to a place closing up, then he should be more mindful of employees' time and get coffee at a gas station or a convenience store that was more likely open at that time.

"Customer service is important, yes. But at the same time, it's really not hard to look at your watch/phone and see what time it is. If the store/restaurant closes in 2 minutes don't be a jerk. Go somewhere else. It's your fault you showed up at the last minute not the store's fault. It's nice she was kind to you, but you can be more considerate in the future," one response read.

Another penned, "This dude sure has a lot of attitude about stores trying to close on time. Seems to me he oughta learn to pay attention to his watch. If you want me to be concerned about you when it is clean up time, pay me. I guarantee dude don't work for free."

There were others who said Jason spent more time patting himself on the back for feeling guilty about showing up three minutes to closing time rather than highlighting the barista who helped him and his family more: "it's great that you were so appreciative that the barista took such great care of you. Aside from the apology, did you actually DO anything to demonstrate your thankfulness. Did you learn the barista's name? Did you tip the barista generously," one response asked.

Others who stated that they've worked retail will never step foot inside of an establishment within 30 minutes of closing to allow employees enough time to properly close up shop. Some said that Jason merely taught his family how to be "self-centered" while another was a bit blunter: "This guy is a jerk and feels like he is special. He has obviously never worked a real job."

What do you think? Should Jason have been more mindful of employees' time and even though he apologized, should've not entered the drive-thru so close to closing? Or did he make the cut-off and that's all that matters?