I am getting a promotion from cleaning bitch to barista at the coffee shack, and although I can already pull a mean shot and make all the drinks, I am interested in what tricks and tips Barista Dopers have. How to get a good tip, reccommend drinks, kill time during slow hours, etc. Share your experiences and make me better!
Learn how to make a decent cup of espresso. Really. You have no idea how few Baristas can really make a decent espresso. So many people order lattes, cappucinnos, and other such drinks, the art of actually making a plain ol’ decent cup of espresso has gotten lost. And once you can make a decent espresso, all the other drinks will taste better as well.
True dat. Tap, compress, get a nice brown flow, a good ‘crema.’ More light brown, less black.-
But only the hard core coffee shop people are going to care. For many customers an espresso based drink is a rare treat. Make it special, make it look good, be friendly, make small talk. Its a combination of being a good waiter and a good cook. Take your time, and take pride in your work. Its really that simple.
One thing that comes with practice is flow. You get so you’re in the middle of five drinks at once and you never wait for anything. The milk is steaming, the shots are pulling, the drinks have the requisite flavorings in them, and everything fits together to get the drinks made like clockwork. Always start the milk first, though, that’s what takes the longest.
And get used to the staring. Jeebus, I get stared at more than most strippers.
Thanks! I can actually make a damn fine shot of espresso, we have some excellent teachers! I am gonna be teaching new people soon too, which should be nice. I have found that most people will give you a tip if you make small talk and if the tip jar is visible. Ours was covered with postcards 'n stuff, so nobody saw it. I just rearranged some stuff, so now we get a more even flow of cash. A smile, joke, or talk about what’s going on in town or the weather is usually enough.
Ugh, I forgot about that. And in the summertime, the big oily hairy guys in the wife-beaters hanging their sweaty armpits over the milk pitchers. While they stare, stare, stare.
Sweat-wet dollar bills.
“This is not what I ordered!!! I ordered a CAPPUCCINO!!! It’s supposed to be cold!!! Where’s the whip cream??!!! Where’s the chocolate!!!???”
“Goddammit! I said FIVE cubes of ice in my coffee. I watched you, you only put in three, I watched you, I saw!”
“I want more whip cream,” says the morbidly obese ten year old whose mother bought him a double veinte espresso caramel mocha frappuccino, who I just watched suck the full bubble lid of whip and caramel and chocolate clean in something close to three seconds. “More whip, and CARMEL and choc-lat sauce!”
Oy, I don’t miss that job at all.
I’m not a barista so I can’t really offer any advice. I do have a question, though. Do you expect a tip when I order coffee? Usually, that’s all I order. Coffee. Medium.
I guess to put it bluntly, I’m not tipping for having coffee poured in a cup. I just wonder if baristas mutter, “Cheap bitch.” under their breaths when I walk away.
Naw, nobody cares if you tip or don’t, especially if you’re just getting plain coffee. The majority of the tips we get is people who don’t want their change, and they’re not mandatory at all. Heck, the barista probably doesn’t even notice that you don’t tip.
Nah, it doesn’t matter if you just get coffee. The things I kind of expect a tip for are helping someone select a drink when they are lost in the woods and then creating a very complex drink for them. Also, if I blend a drink for you, it would be nice to give me a little cash, as it takes about two minutes to blend it and it holds up the rest of the line.
Tips aren’t mandatory, but they are greatly appreciated.