The Unhelpful but Friendly Barista/Waitress/Deli Staff

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EpiGaiaRepens
EpiGaiaRepens Posts: 824 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've noticed a little problem... I'm too nice to customer service people! I was a waitress for years so I have a lot of empathy for how much crud these folks have to put up with. I even remember having a lot of headaches over women asking me to "scoop" their bagels for them during rush hour- so I do my best to not make my issue the server/preparer's issue.....

But there's a problem! When I go someplace regularly, they start to see me as that "nice girl" and then they try to be extra nice to me. The way they are nice is by dolloping extra calories into whatever it is they are giving me. My iced americano with a dash of soymilk (100 cals tops) has turned into a full on 300 calorie latte. My bagel with 2 tbs of cream cheese slowly became a bagel with 4 tbs cream cheese!

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Anyone else have this happen????

I can't get coffee at my local shop anymore because I've already (really nicely) asked for less soy milk but it's like they can't understand that I want less bang for my buck (I don't confess to my barista that I count calories- that feels lame)....

Haha! Does anyone else have this sort of experience??? How do you deal with that?????
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Replies

  • LilMissFoodie
    LilMissFoodie Posts: 612 Member
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    hahaha yep, I have had this happen to me - usually with ben and jerrys at the cinema! If I were worried about it, I would just say how I wanted it at the start ie 'not too much cream cheese please' - since they think you are nice they will prob check with you that it's the right amount?
  • lucky1ns
    lucky1ns Posts: 358 Member
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    I would just say I am counting calories.
  • EpiGaiaRepens
    EpiGaiaRepens Posts: 824 Member
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    the real insidious part of all of this is it happens slowly over time... i just realized this morning why i was unable to finish the coffee from my usual place... Iwent someplace new and they gave me what I ordered and it was so much lighter and I could finish it!
  • YukonJoy
    YukonJoy Posts: 1,279 Member
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    I've had this happen to me. I just drink/eat less of it.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    You could order the cream cheese on the side... I'm sure that's not feasible for everything though.
  • whatshesaid
    whatshesaid Posts: 53 Member
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    Don't have this problem but am dying to know what it means to "scoop" a bagel!!
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
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    No shame in counting calories. You're the nice girl, they'll understand and won't go overboard anymore. If you were the mean, irrate b**** they'd probably think "Counting calories, eh? Shoulda been polite the last few years you came here *adds heavy cream*".
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    just say "i've appreciated the extras but i'm trying to keep it lite so can you put less in" i'm sure they'll get it!
  • Johnnyswife
    Johnnyswife Posts: 1,447 Member
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    Don't have this problem but am dying to know what it means to "scoop" a bagel!!
    Yes me too. lol
    Found this article on bagel scooping.
    http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2008/06/reader_demands_essabagel_custo.html
  • diaryoffatdad
    diaryoffatdad Posts: 175 Member
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    nothing 'lame' about saying you count your calories,

    your paying for it get what you want, if you correct them i'm sure they are not going to go from being nice and giving you a lil extra to spiting in your cup.....you just want it the way you want it
  • Artemis_Acorn
    Artemis_Acorn Posts: 836 Member
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    When I tell people I'm counting calories, they seem to stress out over it, like it's a math test or something. When I say, "I'm trying to lose some weight with portion control - could you please help me out and keep it on the light side?" they seem eager to comply. It's just semantics, but sometimes how you word things makes a difference.
  • Artemis_Acorn
    Artemis_Acorn Posts: 836 Member
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    Don't have this problem but am dying to know what it means to "scoop" a bagel!!

    I'm pretty sure this is where you pull or cut out most of the soft bready part and only leave the chewy crust.
  • rockabillymama
    rockabillymama Posts: 117 Member
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    don't tell them that they have to count calories too, but simply put it thatproper portion sizes are something that is really important to your health :)
  • slavaheroyam
    slavaheroyam Posts: 67
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    I work in customer service, too (not in the food industry), but really if you're nice about something, most people don't mind helping you out. The problem becomes when you order something, not specify, and go back asking for something else or being otherwise rude about it.
  • whatshesaid
    whatshesaid Posts: 53 Member
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    Don't have this problem but am dying to know what it means to "scoop" a bagel!!

    I'm pretty sure this is where you pull or cut out most of the soft bready part and only leave the chewy crust.

    If this is true then i find it totally insane that any customer would ever ask a server or anyone else to do that for them....... WOW WOW WOW People blow my mind!
  • EpiGaiaRepens
    EpiGaiaRepens Posts: 824 Member
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    Regarding "scooping bagels"...yes. The ladies would ask me to use my fingers to scoop out all the insides of the bagel so they'd just have the crust going in the toaster. I get the idea is to lower calories, but when the line of customers is going out the door and an whole group of girls is asking me to do this, it was rather frustrating! haha!

    I have asked the server at this one place nicely a few times to go extra light on the soymilk in my drink. She just doesn't seem to understand and I feel rude bringing it up over and over. Currently, I have resolved the problem by switching to tea with no milk :)

    I just think it's kinda cute though how they think they are being nice but really they are undermining my mission! The guy who makes my burritos always makes it extra big even though I order the half size. The lady who makes me sandwhiches smothers it in mayo and other sauces. I used to drink mochas and the barista dude would put like 5 shots of hershey's chocolate syrup in it- it was so sweet it hurt my teeth!

    I suppose if i think back to my waitress days, I would give the extra large peice of pie to the customer who was nice to me and I'd give an extra scoop of ice cream to the well behaved child. Funny... it never occured to me back then that someone would not appreciate that!
  • Twasney
    Twasney Posts: 186 Member
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    I tell them I am counting calories! They are usually pretty good about it!
  • CLA2801
    CLA2801 Posts: 50 Member
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    I've noticed a little problem... I'm too nice to customer service people! I was a waitress for years so I have a lot of empathy for how much crud these folks have to put up with. I even remember having a lot of headaches over women asking me to "scoop" their bagels for them during rush hour- so I do my best to not make my issue the server/preparer's issue.....

    But there's a problem! When I go someplace regularly, they start to see me as that "nice girl" and then they try to be extra nice to me. The way they are nice is by dolloping extra calories into whatever it is they are giving me. My iced americano with a dash of soymilk (100 cals tops) has turned into a full on 300 calorie latte. My bagel with 2 tbs of cream cheese slowly became a bagel with 4 tbs cream cheese!

    Ahhhhhhhhhh! Anyone else have this happen????

    I can't get coffee at my local shop anymore because I've already (really nicely) asked for less soy milk but it's like they can't understand that I want less bang for my buck (I don't confess to my barista that I count calories- that feels lame)....

    Haha! Does anyone else have this sort of experience??? How do you deal with that?????

    I think they'd have to add about 3 cups of soymilk to make it 300 calories. You may be over-estimating just a tad.

    Next time just add the soymilk yourself. Problem solved.

    Or you know, just tell them to stop adding extra.
  • EpiGaiaRepens
    EpiGaiaRepens Posts: 824 Member
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    Depends on the soymilk- like starbuck's extra sugary soymilk. A 16oz soy latte from starbucks is 240 cals. My usual americano is just about 50.

    I'm not really stressed about this. I just think it's interesting that people do that.
  • havalinaaa
    havalinaaa Posts: 333 Member
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    Don't have this problem but am dying to know what it means to "scoop" a bagel!!

    I'm pretty sure this is where you pull or cut out most of the soft bready part and only leave the chewy crust.

    If this is true then i find it totally insane that any customer would ever ask a server or anyone else to do that for them....... WOW WOW WOW People blow my mind!

    Oh, it's definitely true. I worked at a breakfast place for years that had a policy of not scooping bagels, which meant that I had to deal with lots of customers who got really upset when we told them they were more than welcome to do it themselves, but we weren't allowed to. One customer came in nearly every day and asked for her bagel to be scooped every time, always got angry when we told her we couldn't. I have no clue why she bothered coming back if she was so unhappy!

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