Overly Friendly Baristas

I don’t know if you’ve noticed that there’s a new directive from the corporate head office of Starbucks to make their Philippine outlets be more like the ones in the States (I’m guessing), wherein their baristas are “chatty” (most people in the States are a bit too chatty and not just baristas). I know they are trying to build rapport with the customers but most of the time it comes off as being inauthentic and a bit creepy.

They ask questions that a normal stranger would never ask, like “What’s in your bag?”, “Where are you headed to?”, and “What school do you go to?”. For Americans, this is natural because that’s just the way they are (mostly West Coast though). They need to share because they are lonely. In Philippine culture, it sounds forced. I know they are just doing their jobs and management probably just wants them to give the customer a better experience – and that’s just it – I didn’t end up having a better experience. Call me an elitist, but I just felt a bit annoyed. Just give me my coffee and leave me alone, please.

Now before the barista union starts sending me hate mail, keep in mind that I’m not taking this seriously and neither should you. Yes, it is annoying for me but I still like going there. And besides, I used to be a barista myself. Okay, I wasn’t but if you’re a barista, you should be able to laugh at yourself.