Money Talks

Left this in the tip jar at Murky Coffee in Arlington, VA today. I really, really don't appreciate a condescending lecture about how I shouldn't drink my espresso over ice.

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Comments

joelhousman says:

Don't worry Jeff. They'll never get my business. The owner owed $427,000 to DC in back taxes dating back several years before they made him close up shop on Capital Hill & he owned $20,000 in back sales taxes to Virginia for their Clarendon store as of March. He also owned 2 years of rent on the Capital Hill storefront which he had been sued over multiple times by landlords.

Furthermore, he posted on the coffee shops blog, very rudely in response. I give him 1 year, tops, before he is out of business in Virginia - and good riddance. Jerk.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

j&mgorman says:

You know, maybe they have a store policy prohibiting stupid bullshit like putting espresso on ice.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

peripathetic says:

Was just about to say that myself! If they don't serve it, you can't have it. Also, your dollar does not make you god. Don't ever mistake it for your right to treat your fellow humans like shit for upholding a stated store policy.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Down10 says:

Two wrongs do not make a right.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

jxdxbx says:

I'm on this guy's side. If you serve ice and espresso, just make things easy and serve espresso on ice. Not hard.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

jxdxbx says:

Also, there is no "quality" difference between espresso and ice, and espresso and water. They're just worried about ghetto lattes and making up "quality" as an excuse.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

beanchef says:

There IS a quality difference between putting espresso over ice or in water. The water tempers the espresso so it doesn't turn bitter. This is the same process as making a pudding or creme anglaise. Are you going to refuse a dessert because they didn't immediately combine the cold eggs and hot milk/cream together instantly? I guess you could but then it wouldn't be called pudding. It would be called extremely overly sweetened scrambled eggs. Totally different product.

If I asked you to sculpt or paint something for me, would you then throw a bucket of acid on it because "that's the way i like it" thereby ruining your creation?

So "jxdxbx" you're saying it is OK to STEAL. Because that is exactly what you are saying by advocating a ghetto latte. Cream is not cheap, especially for the shops that use locally sourced organic milk products where the cream can upwards of $25 per gallon.

What business are you in? I want to figure out how I can get everything for nothing.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Aldo Coffee says:

Espresso over ice - simple to do, shake it up in a cocktail shaker with ice, pour into martini glass. Tastes great. Lots of shops in Italy do it as well. It's called a Shakerato. Very little dilution from the ice shaker, but it is cold and refreshing.

Of course if you're going to ask them to pour your shot into a large ice-filled cup so you can fill it with milk, then no shop really wants you for a customer. That doesn't seem to be the case here.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

the kicker2008 says:

Dear Nick, Owner, murky coffee,

You are a tool. Get a life you coffee-douche.

Respectfully,

Michael, former murky coffee customer
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

tempophage says:

i work in a video store renting. all day long i rent people movies that i would never ever watch. the way the barrista acted is the same as if i refused to help a customer find or rent a movie because i didn't like it. the barrista is a bad employee and the owner behaves as if he is unfamiliar with the basics of service industry business practices. they have a RULE that you cant ASK QUESTIONS about the $5 hot chocolate?
idiot. idiot. idiot.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

kyz says:

Wow, beanchef, you are amazing. Are you going to complain about people robbing the store of its heating?

If one person has ghetto lattes on a regular basis, the people she's cheating are the other customers, not you. You've factored the cost of the cream in already (even the expensive stuff). Tell her about the effects she's having on other people and ask her to stop. If she won't, stop selling her coffee.

If everybody is having ghetto lattes, or a variety of people are having them, then it's not stealing, it's just a cost of business which you have already factored in, along with heating, electricity, rent, decor, taxes, wages and supplies.

People love the thrill of "free" things even though they pay more than the market value to get them. A restaurant here in Edinburgh kept having its salt and pepper shakers stolen by customers - they're tiny little cube things, lovely really. What the restaurant did was start giving them away to anybody who would actually ask for them. They then got the story published in the local papers and it led to a lot of publicity (and new customers) for the restaurant.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Aldo Coffee says:

kyz,
Obviously you don't own a business.

The single ghetto latte customer is stealing from the owner. If there are many gheto lattes customers, then yes, that would probably result in a change, like putting the cream behind the counter. Not a price increase. A good business doesn't plan pricing around the exceptional jerks. It plans around normal folks.

But I do like the salt shaker story. It was a good response from the business.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Christopher Vigliotti says:

yawn
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

beanchef says:

kyz,

A certain amount of cream, sugar, etc is factored in to the cost of a cup of coffee called a "Q" cost. However for cream this is figured at MAYBE 1oz, NOT 8+oz. That cost adds up more quickly than people imagine. Part of it is the principal of the action. And how are they cheating the other customers and not the business? Aldo is right in that you must not own your own business. I do feel sorry for your employer. Condiment bar costs are mostly figured to account for drip coffee and not the more expensive espresso based drinks.

It's the sense of entitlement that's the really annoying part.

I do like the salt shaker story. Nice way of turning things around.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

robsdc123 says:

Didn't the people who raised you teach you that two wrongs don't make a right? Acting like a self-admitted (on www.andiamnotlying.com/2008/murky-coffee-arli ngton-hold-t... ) "total dick" doesn't make things any better, nor does the threat of arson. GROW UP, Mr. Simmermon. The world needs fewer of the self-important yuppie scum like you. Get some therapy for your hyper-sensitive thin skin personality.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

beanchef says:

Can I get an AMEN!!!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

mroriginal44 says:

Some things I learnt in hospitality:
1) The customer gives us money, we make their food/drinks the way they want them, even if the thought of it makes us sick.
2) If a customer is an arsehole, we make fun of them out of their earshot, spread word about them among staff and if they are a complete aresehole - sabotage their next order.

Seriously, if I want a milky flat white in a glass instead of a latte - then give it to me!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

jpscoffee says:

Although I understand the policy, I tend to give a customer what they want (we have our own issues at our store and have made policies that not everyone likes). What is stupid is the attitude and actions of a customer like this. If you don't like the store, don't go there. Simple way of communication. Enough people do it and owner gets message.

Ciao
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

private_wreckage says:

Watching this silliness over from the other side of the pond, I wonder if usa citizens even know about notalwaysright.com

cheers
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

raging_diarist says:

Back when I was in AA and people used to say they wanted better self-esteem, my sponsor, a pretty cool guy, used to say it was simple: 'Simply behave estimably.' It's not a chicken or egg question. Treating others poorly makes us feel badly. Treating others well makes us well. Our experience of the world around us is 99% projection and we sometimes project some very wierd shit.
Love your brother,
Lincoln
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Leo King says:

Hey could you come over here a minute? I need to punch you in your dick.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

alainiala says:

wow... way to rise above the moment. i've been in retail too, and sometimes you have to say no to the customer. you can't blindly do whatever they ask like some kind of idiot lapdog. time and place, people. not having witnessed the event, i think both parties are at fault here. dickwad customer + haughty barista = everybody's a loser. including me because now i've wasted 5 min of my life reading about this stupidity and commenting.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

dustout says:

Here here! Although I would not have responded the way you did, I would have WANTED to! What an asshat. Policy my ass, give the man his damn iced espresso. Be human, not a corporate slave. =) Hope you find a better place to get iced espresso! Everyone has different tastes. There is no RIGHT or WRONG way to like something, it's opinion. What the hell is wrong with people?
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Lindenshade says:

4 things you all should know:

Businesses have the right to not offer a product.

Individuals have the right to not visit an establishment.

Murky Coffee is not a Corporation. It's a specialty shop, to be clear.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Lindenshade says:

Oops!

I had deleted the 4th; which was to exercise common courtesy over self entitlement.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

jamgill says:

As a citizen of the United States of America, I would appreciate it if you would not vandalize our dollar bills like this just to prove the point that ...

a) you're a dick
b) you've confused a craft coffeehouse with charbuck$
c) you're uninterested in educating yourself about the finer points of the beverage you put into your body
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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Money Talks

Comments

joelhousman says:

j&mgorman says:

peripathetic says:

Down10 says:

jxdxbx says:

jxdxbx says:

beanchef says:

Aldo Coffee says:

the kicker2008 says:

tempophage says:

kyz says:

Aldo Coffee says:

Christopher Vigliotti says:

beanchef says:

robsdc123 says:

beanchef says:

mroriginal44 says:

jpscoffee says:

private_wreckage says:

raging_diarist says:

Leo King says:

alainiala says:

dustout says:

Lindenshade says:

Lindenshade says:

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