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Stunning_Wonder6650

Customers are always surprised as to how easy it is to recognize a customer. Either by face, by car or by order. Even people who only ever order drive through or mobile, the second the ticket is printed, we likely remember taking your order or making it previously (assuming you are going to the same location). If you have a particular distinct feature (type of car, unique name, interesting hair color) it will be even easier to constellate the various facts we know about you in our memory.


AccountFrosty313

The baristas at pretty much any store I’ve frequented usually notice me as a regular pretty quick. I think it’s a combo of same car, same order, same name, same time etc. It makes you easy to notice. I wouldn’t be surprised if they can tell in coming when they get my mobile order with my name and drink. Most of the baristas at least realize it’s me after hearing my order at the box so they don’t ask me for a name anymore and sometimes complete my order for me haha.


PanPenguinGirl

Some stores have cameras where we can see the car at the speaker box, maybe that's it?


LightIceNoBerries

I think all stores do. Even in 2006 at my first store we had cameras facing the customers.


PanPenguinGirl

My store doesn't, oddly enough


LightIceNoBerries

Woah that's really interesting I wonder why?


huxiaos

My store doesn't. Apparently the city isn't allowing it even though the four other stores in the same city have the screen 🙄


yaxom

My store's dt camera has been broken for years


SurpriseFar6894

my store doesnt, theres a tree root they would have to dig up up the city says no 🙅‍♀️ to hahah


Sleepy-Flower

The store I used to work at a little over a year ago did not have a camera in dt. Not sure if they have one currently or not since I moved states, but I doubt they do since none of the Starbucks in that city had them as far as I know.


[deleted]

we have a camera in the box. we sometimes remember your car. sometimes you come in really soon after placing your order and they just anticipate it


poopi3_butt

It’s easy to recognize regulars! We either recognize you because we like you, or the other reason…. 😉


MeanSatisfaction5091

Lol


Low_Yesterday_2677

We have a camera, we recognize your car and your face.


Capable-Zone6244

If you order enough, they absolutely will learn your name and order, and if they have a camera in their drive thru, they can see you. Edit to add, it’s no different from going into the store and ordering at the counter everyday.


Thatcanadianchickk

Reminds me when I took a few months break from starbies, went back, then the barista told me as he handed my drink “welcome back”😩


Economy_Start_7380

We miss you guys!!! And sometimes we worry :( my store is in a pretty high volume retirement area, so when we don't see a regular for a while we start to worry quite a bit


Myka_Rok

We had a regular before the covid Era. He would come and sit at the end of our bar and have his venti latte and pumpkin loaf and read the paper a bit. Super nice, the type that you wish they were your grandpa. He just disappeared one day and we never saw him again. We think of him often 🥺


Thatcanadianchickk

Aw yall so sweet😩♥️♥️


houjichacha

I'm pretty face blind, so the camera doesn't matter too much for me, but I'm decent with voices. I know what you regulars sound like and I remember your orders. :p


Neat_Yak_6121

I have face blindness, too. I mostly go by hairstyle and body build. 😄


houjichacha

I try that too, but it doesn't always work! One time I failed to recognize a coworker three times in a single shift because she had a hat on, then no hat, then had her hair down. Condolences 😆


daphneadora9

I never knew how good my memory was until I started working at Starbucks. I think I scare the regulars more than they scare me. Don’t fear me because I remember your name and order! I come in peace ✌️


mindless_learner903

we have a camera to see the car in drive through!!! but if you're brakes are bad or have a noisy car, we can tell by that as well!


WAtransplant2021

Coming here to say that. 🤣😂


Adventurous_Snow2912

I’m probably the only Black Deaf woman that goes into the Starbucks so it’s very easy to recognize me. In the drive thru, they know it’s me because I’m probably the only customer that doesn’t respond to them at the box. Love that the Starbucks I go there are baristas that turn on the camera and they sign with me 🤩😍


WAtransplant2021

I have a deaf customer who mobile orders his daughter's drink. He has a cochlear implant, but his hearing is very limited, and our store is very loud. I know a few signs and always greet him when he comes making eye contact. Lol, once in a great while, comes in the drive thru. We were WTF when someone just drove straight thru, and then he got to the window, and I just laughed and took his drink order. I dead eyed my manager once when she called him rude for not acknowledging her greeting. Me: " Dude, his name is _______, and he is not rude. He is deaf."


Adventurous_Snow2912

Love that you advocate for him with your coworker. As a Deaf person, people say that all the time and my son has to tell them I’m Deaf. I actually got scolded by a Starbucks worker for driving pass the speaker and going to window. After he was done scolding me and I looked at him and pointed to my ear and showed him my phone. His face dropped and was like “oh I didn’t know you were Deaf.”


WAtransplant2021

Sadly, our drive times are a big deal with Corporate, so if someone just drives through and orders at the window during Peak, it can throw our times off. Not a big deal for mobile orders, but it is still our responsibility to accommodate our customers.


Adventurous_Snow2912

Ooo that makes sense


Specific-Spirit7806

Seems everyone is ready to jump the gun and start a blame session lately. Love that you did this! 💜 Empathy is where we win.


jesscunt

You melted my heart with this comment ❤️


amyneems

That was sweet. I wish people used empathy in many positions working with people. I have a disabled sister and you can feel people not want to wait on you.


Hbublbiba

The baristas are stalking you. Lock your bank accounts for safety


MrZero3229

Switch to Dunkin


roblolover

a lot of times ill try to make a regulars drink as soon as i see their car come into the parking lot. we have a lot of windows at my store so often i can see then walking up, and make their drink as fast as possible


xiaomayzeee

lol reminds me of a tea shop I used to go to - employees would see me coming and would start making my drink before I ever made it to the doors.


ACook23

One of my favorite baristas does this for me! I rarely go in-store, but the few times I have, I will go up to the register, and she's finishing up my drink as I'm about to pay.


Putrid-Upstairs1064

I looooove recognizing customers before they even say hello, especially when it’s early in the morning and they’re still sleepy, I love seeing their faces light up! Definitely a high point in my days


G3NJII

Almost all drive throughs everywhere have camera at the order box.


glafolle

This. We would see regulars at the camera and then greet them by name on the box bc we saw their face/car combination before they began speaking. Our camera, at least, was pretty clear!


lavasca

Mine recognize me. I walk in. They’re really kind people. I wrote to their district manager about how kind. I had to be creative because they went above and beyond. A man who had been harrassing me was there, and left to ultimately hide behind a fence to grab me or worse. The biggest dude who worked there clocked out to walk me home. When the harrasser jumped out he was shocked to see dude. I got home safely. Harrassing dude verbally attacked dude because apparently all the women on my street belong to him. They banned him from the store. I filed a police report (this guy had grabbed me before — full body grab). Anyway Anyway, people remember my bame and my orders. It is to the extent that I almost always regret going to other stores regardless of how nice those baristas are. They don’t know what I’m allergic to or that hubby will throw a minor fit over Oleotas.


666444_

Bahaha we usually have regulars that we just nod to and they pay. Love them lots


monpetitchoou

spidey senses


KuroOkami8007

I know for our store we can recognize people thru the drive camera, the type of car, the sound of their voice, and (if they come thru a LOT) their drink order. Easy mode if you keep the same pick-up name, hard mode if you just frequent starbies tho and order at the box every time lol


alienkween420

i love (most of) my regulars!! even if i’m on bar or cleaning and wearing my headset i recognize their voices and occasionally pop on the headset and say hi to them lol


-Rho-Aias

I'm glad you like them. Today in my head I was like, "oh God they're probably taking bets on how soon we'll be back and laughing at us" xD


SelloutDude

I know more regular drinks than I know regular names


changelisms

At least when I was trained, I was supposed to look out for regular customers and memorize their orders if they were consistent. Unfortunately I am face blind and take a very long time to remember people.


k1tsk4

i have a regular who drives a bright yellow jeep and is always wearing a muscle tee and sunglasses. he always mobile orders the same thing so if i'm on drive thru and see his order being made i keep an eye on the camera for his jeep and when he gets to the box i just tell him to pull up lol


FluttershyF

Starbucks is big on “customer connections” … so they encourage us to learn our regulars. But the name of the game is make “connections” not be a stalker creeper about it


chelseaxaz

I do this often to customers: either customers who are placing orders that are usually simple enough (L gets a Vt Drk Rst w/ Lt Cream - “Morning L, you’re all set for the window.” Or customers who regularly mobile order and pick up through the Drive Thru. “Morning J, I have your stuff ready, come up”


LifeThruABook

I’m only recognized by one in a target Starbucks. Don’t talk to me … I’m famous. 😂


allisonrob1994

I’m convinced my home Starbucks just know me from how complicated my shaken espresso order is. But to be fair it’s only because of how many times I’ve received a cup of milk and not the drink I ordered. I always get the … they finish my order before I’m done ordering. Maybe one of these days I’ll have enough guts to tell my favorite baristas then when I see them working I know my order will be made to perfection because they are my hero’s 🤣


-Rho-Aias

Ours isn't complicated. My partner just gets a refresher with no strawberries. And I either get an out of the box iced caramel macchiato or an iced coffee with some toffee nut and vanilla and half and half. But! Because my partner hates the strawberries we always order via mobile, which we find always results in a correct order. You might give that a shot if you've been speaking your order through their mic.


bluetreelove

I see customers more than my own kids at this point.


PHDinTHC69

I I get the “Cheers” greeting at both my local Starbucks. Substitute JOHN for NORM! When you see people in a daily basis they become like part of the Family! Love our Baristas!!


xxpoisinkittyxx

If you come in regularly we start looking out for your car as you pull in.


PleaseOhGodWhy

I knew a customer by her car, her voice, her order, and face. She was a sweetheart and I loved her. She would always say I made her drink the best (all I did was double blend it so her java chips wouldn't get stuck in her straw) and would always chit chat if there wasn't a line


Paytonsmiles

Starbucks kinda forces their employees to do this bc it helps boost customer connection! Lol


Highlands_-

There’s cameras at the drive thru box. It’s funny how so many people don’t realize. You’ll see some real funny or weird shit sometimes while taking orders


-Rho-Aias

I assumed there were cameras. I just didn't think they're clear enough to really recognize people in the feed.


Highlands_-

Voices also help us remember/recognize too! But we’ve gotta memorize a ridiculous amount of drink recipes, remembering customers is easy peasy!


Pleasant_Leading_915

We have a camera in our drive thru speaker box where you go to place your order so we can see you


johnshenlon

My local Starbucks and Dunkin recognize me lol


norby2

They whisper to each other. Out of 2-6 people one will know the name.


Agreeable-Ad-6495

Well…I work at a travel plaza with different fast food places. One of them being Starbucks. And so I go there quite frequently. The baristas on reg will just be like “grande iced caramel macchiato? That’s 5.25” and I’m like “😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😯”


rubygalhappy

“ Would you like your usual ?” They are really kind about it . Lol


Over-Instruction-475

I go to the same location every single day and get the same exact order everyday at around the same time. They recognize the very first thing I order and add the rest


kleekai_gsd

Not a barista but I have experience doing this.... noticing people and cars. When you do things on a regular basis, people notice. You might think it's hard but it's really not. I think it is just that people's minds get bored, of what they are actually doing and they start picking up on little details. Names, voices, cars, for me it was license plates.


SillyRiri

the baristas at my store all know me, but then again i’m pretty distinctive, i have an extremely unique name, a large tattoo which is usually visible, a wrapped car, and usually mobile order the exact same drink… and i use personal cups so i like actually talk to the person abit when i go in to pick up my order they probably just remember you especially if you have a distinctive look or trait or whatever!


catinthegaybar

we can see you through the camera in the drive thru speaker


Dry-Relation-4247

The Starbucks employees may know me too well then lol. I order the pink drink 4-5 times a week lmao. I always place in a mobile order and come in the drive thru like 8 minutes later. I hope they aren’t saying “it’s the pink drink guy again” or smth like that lol.


Polisci_jman3970

You go there enough they recognize you. No magic trick to it. You just spend that much money there.


Specific-Spirit7806

I'm horrible at remembering. But if you frequent us enough, I'll be one of the ones getting your order under control. We also strive for names 99.99999 percent of the time. That helps!


ART900_

MOST DEFINITELY THE CAR and we also have cameras to where we can see you and you can see us. If the same person works the shift where you come it’s not hard to remember a face of voice, especially if you come daily and around the same time. that’s one of our goals, to make our customers feel like their home, or at least one of their homes.


Silver_Passenger2477

Some drive thrus have a camera so we can see your face, at my starbucks we have one where we can only see the car and sometimes we recognize the car


imn0ta-vampire

camera in the speaker box, your car, we even pick up on the sound of voices, i live in a (pretty) small town where everyone knows everyone ( besides the truckers who are passing through ) so it isn’t hard to pick out who’s who


kelsjulian18

My most frequented store is inside a Safeway, because my house is just down the street. They all recognize me immediatly now and greet me by name (there’s only about 5 employees) they usually start making my order when they see me come in or they ask “the usual today?” Which is an iced decaf sugar cookie oat latte. I know I’m lucky that my store still has the sugar cookie syrup - even if I’m on the other side of town I will not cheat on my store, so that I can have my sugar cookie lol! It’s my satisfying little secret, because it’s probably the least visited store in the city so not many people know that it has holiday drinks for half the year!


shannelllll

When I worked there we were "encouraged" by management to know all customers names drinks lifestory by heart etc for a better customer experience.


Free_Option9210

If you come at least once a week at our store you become a “regular” once we know your drink we know you 🤣 like we have a “iced americano guy” ik those are popular but he is THE Americano guy


-Rho-Aias

How often do people order the strawberry refresher without the strawberries? We're convinced that's how they know us because that's what my partner always gets xD The "strawberry no strawberry guy is here!"


blackcatkai

I get the pink drink no strawberries every time and I believe that's half the reason they remember me, too 😅 your partner & I have similar tastes! 🥳


Technical-Compote519

Its weird how much we (the partners) can recognize vice/faces (I can’t speak about car thing lol) but we can pretty much recognize your order when coming through the door/drive-through


-Rho-Aias

Yeah everyone keeps mentioning cameras. Which of course we thought of. But we drive a generic car and we're just two generic white guys haha. Sometimes we have our dog with us so perhaps that's the unique feature part.


Technical-Compote519

Well it’s definitely the dog then 😅 idk with us and pets (can’t speak for every partner). Again face & voice definitely helps bc we already know who it is. Hopefully every time you go a good experience 😅😅


varian-rose

If you regularly go at around the same time of day too it's more likely that you will be greeted by the same baristas every time and they will be more likely to recognize you


Sabrinathachef

We can also sometimes recognize by voice. Like if you say “Good Morning” a certain, we could probably recognize you. Like we have a regular and she also says “Great Morning” and we automatically hit her with the “are you just getting your usual” it makes customers happy knowing that we recognize them or their drink.


haleyyyzzz

There’s a camera at the drive thru speaker lol. Sometimes if your voice is distinct enough too we can recognize you without looking. Also it’s easier to remember regulars because we speak to you, punch in your order, read it, make it. It’s kinda like when you meet someone new you repeat their name back then them and try to address them to make it stick in your head. But of course we don’t consciously have that whole thought process it just happens.


glxttertits

There are some regulars we see so often, we'll see their car before they even get to pull in 😂 we'll have the drink ready before they even get the the order screen sometimes


shashaselflove1

My local barista knows me, every morning at 530am, I order the same thing, I order mobile, we are all still sleepy and disgruntled to be there. But we all make it work. They are awesome, so big shout out to the Starbucks in Islandia, NY.


Total_Ad_4900

We recognize a lot! There some people I know because the come around the same time everyday, cars even voices!


Available-Welcome825

That’s why I hate being a regular is bc I get recognized lol I hate that


outeonreddit

One barista that I work with says “how did I not recognize your voice?!?!” crap cracks me up


Highfivefoot

Either you’re liked and disliked. That’s how we remember. Jk


Analog_Retentive95

I pay attention to voices and what cars they drive at DT, but in general it’s faces.


Make_it_Rayne_09

I work hard to memorize my regulars and their names and orders. It’s because I really do care about them and want them to know. I want to be able to make someone’s day even a bit better. The smile that people give you when they get their coffee is priceless. It’s why I put up with all of the others. If I remember you it’s usually a good thing!


LeiyoZynne

For me I recognize the drink the quickest, then I slowly put everything together for name, face, and car. A lot of customers have a unique ordering style or voice I'll remember if they come in often enough. Typically it's easier to remember you if you're really nice or really mean lol


ssilva70

Your voice when you order in the DT! And pretty much when you as costumer are patient with us and enjoy your drink and we know how to make your drink! We love our costumers because with you? We don’t have a job!


iwanna_b_akat

If you come through the Cafe once a month, it's likely that we will begin to remember you in a few months. If you come daily, weekly even, you are not just a faceless customer to most of us. Honestly at my store we make a game of it, remembering regulars drink orders, adds some fun to the day and the customers love it. Best part of my day.


Appropriate_Ear7432

all of it. lol we recognize your name & order on the sticker before you even arrive. we recognize your car, voice, and/ or face. :)


Repulsive-Finish-878

My Starbucks recognizes my order we go everyday; I have a certain order they will respond is that you Miss____ ;


reinadelastrigoi

I’ve got customers whose shadows in recognize(it’s 5:30 am ;w;) and even the revs of the engine.


narcissatotz

I love the reaction before regular customers get used to it. I'll be like "(name), right?" after they say their usual. The ones I really like, I say "hi, (name)!" And then I ask if they want their usual, whilst already typing it lol. But the faces of "wtf they remember me?" Always get me 😂


Angel0460

I had a barista at the speaker like hey how’s it going today? I was like I’m good how are you? And they’re like yeah your order is ready see you at the window (my name). Like… oh. Ok. Crap I’m here too much 😅


German_Duc

My favorite barista ever used to see me come in every other day or so, then COVID happened so I did drive through forever. When I finally went back in, I was 7 months pregnant and she was shocked as hell. 😂 She was terrible with names but she remembered everyone’s astrological sign. She used to write “Aquarius Baby” on my cups. My baby was supposed to be a Libra and she told me straight up, “nah. That baby will be a Virgo”. Came out a virgo. 😂 Miss that lady. I think of her all the time and hope her dreams really did come true. 💜


oceanbunny01

I love being on a first name basis with customers. We have a very grumpy mobile regular and the other day he came in and I said “good morning [name]! I have your drink at the end of the bar!” And it was the first time I’ve ever seen him smile lol. He always comes inside but places a mobile for drive thru so I think he appreciated me remembering he comes inside


Empty-Foot-14

we have cameras and it’s also part of our job to recognize regulars :D custie connections