I’m sitting at an airport gate, waiting for a delayed flight, when I hear this on the PA.
PA: “Will the person who left $5,000 wrapped in a yellow rubber band at the security checkpoint please return?”
Long pause.
PA: “We have your rubber band.”
I read this story and I realised I work for the same coffee chain and I have a similar story to share. This is the same coffee chain that has a monthly subscription where you can have five drinks a day (it costs £25, for those who are wondering) but each drink has to be spaced out by at least half an hour.
I am serving in one of the chains in an airport and a customer comes up.
Customer: “I have the monthly subscription and I’d like five extra strong black americanos, please.”
Me: “So you’re getting one on the subscription and paying for the other four?”
Customer: “No, I have five drinks a day because of the subscription.”
Me: “Yes but you can only have one drink on the subscription every half an hour. If you want all five now you have to pay for the other four.”
Customer: “But I have a flight in forty minutes. I can’t get them all spaced out like that.”
Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t do all five at once on the subscription. The system won’t let me.”
Customer: “But I wanted to bring them on the flight with me! That’s so annoying. Fine, just the one drink then.”
I realise this customer is on his own and just wanted to have the equivalent of ten espresso shots for his flight. Each to their own! I get him his drink and think nothing more of it… until I see him again almost an hour later.
Customer: “An extra strong black americano, please.”
Me: “Didn’t you have a flight to catch, sir?”
Customer: “I put myself on to a later flight so I could get all five drinks. I always make sure I get all five a day from you guys or I lose money!”
If this guy is adamant about getting five drinks a day for £25 a month, then he is spending about 16.6p per drink. He delayed a whole flight for four more drinks… coming to about 66.6p.
There are people who count pennies, and then there’s this guy.
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Think this coffee-shop customer is bad? That’s nothing compared to these 10 Tales From The Barista About Terrible Coffee Store Customers!
I have a long layover between flights, so I go to book an hour in a Minute Suite — basically a small room with a couch and TV where travelers can rest. The woman at the desk is already helping someone else, so I’m waiting behind them.
There are shelves around the desk with items for purchase, such as snacks and blankets. As I’m standing in line, I see a gentleman approach the shelves and pick up a bottle of medicated talcum powder. He makes eye contact with the woman behind the desk and shakes the bottle at her, and she says she’ll be right with him. She finishes checking in the current guest and leaves briefly to show him to his room.
As I watch, the gentleman with the powder opens it, pours some into each of his shoes, places the used bottle back on the counter, and then walks away.
I’m half convinced the whole scene was a mirage produced by my overtired brain.
In the mid-1990s, I worked in the tower at Ilulissat Airport in Greenland. One day, we were slightly busy, and the phone rang.
Me: “Ilulissat AFIS, [My Name].”
The caller sounded like a teenager or young man, speaking English with a slight, indeterminable accent.
Caller: “Where have I called, please?”
The quality of the connection suggested a seriously long-distance call, and as Greenland is quite remotely located, it was already quite expensive to call around then.
Me: “You have called the tower at Ilulissat Airport in Greenland.”
Caller: “Oh, interesting. I am just calling random numbers to see who I get a hold of!”
We had traffic to deal with, so I needed to get him off the line.
Me: “Oh, I am sorry. We are busy at the moment, so I don’t have time to chat right now, I am afraid.”
Caller: “No problem. I will call someone else.” *Click*
I wonder what his phone bill looked like — or possibly his parents’ bill. The delay in the transmission was substantial, indicating a satellite hop or two was involved before reaching the other end.
And how bored are you to take the phone and just dial a random number to see who answers?
My boyfriend and I are travelling for a holiday abroad. As we are not going for too long, we take one suitcase between us and a rucksack. We are waiting by the gate, and [Boyfriend] goes to get us some water while I look after the bags.
A few minutes later, one of the airline staff members starts moving around and talking to people. I’m not paying much attention until she grabs my bag, lifts it, and barks something in German, which I don’t understand. She has now rubbed me the wrong way, but I tell her I don’t speak German.
Airline Worker: “Your bag is too heavy; it needs to be checked in.”
Me: “Oh, okay, I’ll move some stuff into the rucksack, then.”
Obviously, I’m trying to avoid time waiting at the baggage carousel.
Airline Worker: “How many bags do you have?”
Me: “The suitcase and my boyfriend’s rucksack.”
Airline Worker: “Oh, there are two of you?”
Me: “Yes, can you give me a minute to sort this out?”
Airline Worker: “No, it has to go into the hold. There is not enough space in the plane.”
Now I am really annoyed. Which is it? Either my bag is too heavy (which I can remedy to some degree by shifting the weight between the bags) or there is no space as the flight is full (which isn’t my fault, and therefore, I’d expect some slight conciliation from the airline when this occurs). Either way, I now face the outcome of waiting at the other end for my bag rather than going straight through the airport. I grab the other rucksack and start moving things like my laptop and documents into there that cannot go into hold baggage.
[Boyfriend] then arrives and asks what is happening. Obviously, this takes a few minutes, and the woman is getting annoyed that I haven’t immediately gotten up and moved.
Airline Worker: *Exasperated* “You need to check your bag in.”
Me: “And I will do that once I’ve taken out things that can’t go in the hold.”
That makes her quiet. I join the queue standing at what I think is a reasonable distance (being British and not wanting to look like I’m trying to overhear the group in front).
Airline Worker: “You need to step forward to join the queue.”
I didn’t see where this woman is coming from as people were now standing behind me. I just shrugged and waited. A couple of minutes later, the bag had a tag on it and the woman was still giving me the stink-eye.
