Vacation

Coco is away on her road trip. Will spill all the details when I come back
Have a great 10 days
Coco

Wang Chung??

I was listening to VH1 the other day. The I love the 80's series. I truly love the 80's music, as well as all other stuff too. This led to a discussion at the Buck today.
What the heck is WANG CHUNG?
Does anyone know what this is a reference to?
Come on help your baristas out.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I was sick for it all!!!!
Coco

Road Trip

I am taking a vacation and road tripping down the East Coast. Starting in Philly and ending in Tampa. Any advice on things not to miss? Places to see or dine while driving? Please don't say Starbucks! I will for sure visit many!
Yes the boyfriend is going and yes I used my giftcard!
Let me know what you readers have seen.
Coco

Street Fairs

I am so excited!!! NOT.

Tomorrow is Sunday and there is a Street Fair outside my Bucks. The Fair goes for about 15 blocks and will be directly outside my beloved store.
O what a group of customers we will get tomorrow.

Ever been to a street Fair? There are so many booths selling junky stuff. Food vendors selling any kind of food you can imagine. Kiddie rides too.

Lord help me and my co-workers.

It is going to be a really long day with all the strange people in town. The town closes the surrounding streets to allow for more booths and foot traffic. It is also going to be about 80* degrees which means long lines at my store and GRUMPY customers.
I do love these days at work. The bonding and teamwork with workers is incredible. We laugh uproariously at most people in line and what they are wearing. Especially the "snake" man. He always comes to the fair with his very large snake around his neck. Do women find that attractive? NOT me!
I will give you an update tomorrow on the strange and bizarre of So California.
Wish me well
Coco

Wait till you pay please

PLEASE- Don't eat in front of your barista!
How many times does someone order a latte and a muffin and than proceed to chomp down in line before finishing the transaction? So many!!!
It is really gross and bad manners. There is a woman who scarfs down an entire piece of crumble coffee cake before she pays. There are crumbs everywhere. Can't she wait till she is in the car?? No, I think then her car would be messy too.
I am going to have to pretend I forgot her pastry and then hand it to her before she leaves the cafe. See if that will work. I even commented that the cake is too crumbly to eat standing up. She told me she was very hungry and needed food right away.
Come on - nobody needs food that bad at 7am in the morning. Do they?
I have to say customers sometimes are pigs with the food and drinks, well, most of the time you are.
Have a good Tuesday
Coco

How young is too young?

Ok - so I got a nibble on that last blog.

How young is too young for a boyfriend or girlfriend?

As a reader said on another blog- if a man dates a younger woman there are no negative comments. The man is looked up to and given lots of Kudos for his choices. If a woman dates a much younger guy than that is not OK! Lots of comments. Is it possible to date a younger man without someone thinking it is your son/brother? or perhaps that a younger guy needs a mother figure? or, What is wrong with that guy, why can't he find someone his own age?
What do you readers think?
Any experience with this older-younger thing?
Need advice please
Coco

Birthday Finale

Yes I had a great b'day at work today. Pretty much everything went wrong at the Buck today but we overcame all obstacles(customers) and made it through.
I actually received 2 cards from customers who really are nice guys and appreciate my humor and approach to my job. One ran down to the nearby 7-11 and presented me with a card. Not to mention he is a real hottie but way too young for me!

That probably could be another blog? Perhaps.

I finally get a day off tomorrow, going to spend my birthday loot.

My boyfriend sent me georgeous flowers and the envelope I was squeezing did have a gift card in it. Maybe I'll be wearing new Vicky's Secret to work on Sunday?????

Birthday

Well tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday to me.
I have to work at the Buck tomorrow at 430am. I am going to wear a sign that says, "Don't give me any CRAP, it's my birthday".
What do you think the response from customers will be???
I am hoping to engender some sympathy for the poor girl working when she should be celebrating on the beach somewhere.
I don't have high hopes for my day but maybe I will be pleasantly surprised by my most favorite customers. Some of them ask me each day "Coco, How are you today?"

I got an envelope in the mail from my "long distance" boyfriend today. I am horrible with suspense. I found myself squeezing and fondling and trying to figure out what was inside.
My neighbors thought I was weird! I smiled with anticipation at the possibilities lying in wait in that blue envelope. what is it???
I can't open till the 10th!!!
I will let you readers know if you want???
I hope it's a Vicky's Secret gift card? or a Starbucks card?
Happy Birthday to me
Coco

Holidays

The holiday season according to my Starbucks, starts tomorrow, Thursday. It will be Christmas morning in all your local Starbucks. I love the holiday season!

However most of my customers will be groaning and complaining about retailers starting too early in the holiday season. A few years back, so many customers complained to corporate Starbucks about the holiday music starting on November 1st. Since then we are not allowed to play holiday music till the day after Thanksgiving.
Friends- Do you find any validity in their complaints?
Do you think retailers start the advertising and push into the holiday season too early?
Remember it is retail and we have to make $$$ somehow.

Welcome and embrace the holiday season. It is coming whether we want it or not!
Coco

Backing In??

I noticed the other day that quite a few men like to back into a parking space. Why is that? Instead of fronting in men will wait until all are out of their way and then swing their car/truck around and back in. Is that so they can make a quick get-away maybe? If so, why are they in such a hurry?
Can men readers inform us regular driving women please?
What's going on?

By the way, today was Sunday and it was beastly at work.
Those church-goers really should be nicer after services don't you think?
Have a good Monday
Coco

Directions

So, what is with men and directions?
Why is it so hard for men to plan directions before you leave the house?
AND? Why is it sooo hard for men ask for directions when you get lost around town?
Did you ever hear of MAPQUEST???
I theorize that Mapquest was started by women. We were getting tired of getting lost with our men and wanted a devious way to get where we were headed without all the drama.
Women figured that since men like the computer so much than Mapquest was just another "tool" for them. Like a wrench or screwdriver. Put Mapquest in your toolbox and bring it out when needed.
Do any male readers actually use Mapquest or even a map??
Who uses those helpful AAA maps and guides? Men or Women?
Let us know.
Thanks
Coco

Diverse or Not?

I have several very attractive female workers in my Starbucks. We serve lots of men each day in our store. We have a problem and need some tips.
How can you tell if a guy is diverse/gay?
We have a bunch of good looking guys who come in each day and we are wondering if the are gay. Short of asking, how can you tell?
They look good enough to be male models and wear all the hip clothes but never come in with girls.
They will stay around an talk to us but it never goes any further.
I want to help my friends out here.
We used to have a barista who had excellent Gadar but he moved to San Franciso. What a loss, he was a great guy!
So tell us how can we tell???
Coco

Good/Poor Service

I needed to go into the bank today. I say into because I usually go to the drive-up teller to avoid long lines as well as surly bank employees.
It got me thinking of all the places that have less than stellar service. In my experience Starbucks has exhibited far more friendly service than other businesses. I do admit I compare my own business visits by my own store Starbucks standards.
What I have found out there is severely lacking.
Do you agree???
Think back to the last business transaction. The bank, the doctor's office, the DMV, the garden shop, the restaurant where you had lunch. How did they measure up to your last Latte visit?
Starbucks does pride itself and rate itself on customer service. Even going so far as to have Secret Shoppers. Shoppers who are paid to rate our service, cleanliness and how friendly we are.
Tell me about your shopper experience this time.

Rate your retail/food service.
Thanks
Coco