Had a customer tell me they were having the worst day of their life, and it wasn't about the coffee.

I work at a drive-thru, and a lady came through yesterday looking really upset. She snapped at me about her order being wrong, which it was, my bad. When I apologized and handed her the new drink, she just sighed and said, 'Sorry, my dog died this morning.' I froze for a second. I just said, 'I'm so sorry, that's awful. The coffee's on me today.' She started crying and thanked me. It made me realize a lot of the anger we get isn't about the product at all. It's just people having a bad time and we're the only person they see. Anyone else have a moment like that where the real problem was totally different?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole3574mo ago

Remember that moment when she told you about her dog. Did you feel like you should have said more, or was just listening and giving her the free coffee enough? I always worry I'll say the wrong thing and make it worse, but maybe just not being another person who yells back is the whole point.

sethp264mo ago

My cousin's dog died last year and she was a mess for weeks. That detail about the lady's dog just hits hard. Cole357 has a point about not needing to say much, sometimes a free coffee and a quiet minute is the only real help you can give.

holly632mo ago

Oh yeah, I had a guy scream at me for a full five minutes about a slightly undercooked burger once. Then he admitted his wife had just left him and he was homeless that week. I was like, well, at least my burger problem is fixable with another 90 seconds on the grill. You hit the nail on the head though, we're just the straw that breaks the camel's back. Nothing like getting yelled at for a burnt bun to make you realize you're just their emotional punching bag for the day. Think it's a weird form of customer service therapy?