The Icy Wastes

(I work in a popular coffee shop. We carry both iced and hot drinks, with the hot drinks being in white, opaque cups, and the iced drinks being in plastic, transparent cups. The ice is clearly visible through the plastic. Two older women approach the counter together.)

Woman #1: “I’d like a small, iced coffee, please.”

Me: “Sure!”

(I make her coffee, CLEARLY ICED; she pays and finds a seat.)

Woman #2: “I want the same thing as her.”

Me: “No problem! Exactly like hers? A small, iced coffee, black, correct?”

Woman #2: “Yes, please, dear!”

(I make her coffee and bring it back to her. She pays and seems okay with it, until she goes to pick it up.)

Woman #2: “Oh, honey, I didn’t say anything about it being cold! This is icy!”

Me: “I’m sorry; I thought you wanted an iced coffee, exactly like your friend.”

Woman #2: “No, I HATE iced coffee!”

Me: “Sorry about that, ma’am. I’ll make you a new one right away.”

Woman #2: “No, no, no, I don’t want you to waste it! Just put it in the microwave for me to warm it up!”

(We do not have a microwave in the store, only ovens, and even if we did, you’re not supposed to put plastic into a microwave.)

Me: “It’s no problem. I’ll make you a new one; it won’t take long.”

Woman #2: “No! Just put it in the microwave! I don’t want to waste it!”

Me: *face-palming* “Okay, ma’am.”

Woman #2: “Teens these days, wasting everything! When I was a girl, it was a SIN to put something perfectly good to waste!”

Me: *internally* “I wouldn’t HAVE to waste it if you had ordered correctly in the first place!”

(I end up just making her a completely new, hot coffee.)

Woman #2: “This is the same coffee, RIGHT?”

Me: “Sure, ma’am. Have a good night.”