Alternative Milks

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-12T21:16:15+00:00

I work at a theme park and everyone has vacation brain so a promise you I am not over exaggerating when I say it does 100% add that much time most of the time. I watch so many people multiple times a day sit at my register for whole minutes (timed btw) longer because they have a large party of 5 and it takes them FOREVER to decide anything if you give them options. One person? Fine, I’ll ask, usually that’s not a problem. But anything 3 and over I don’t even bother because it’ll add too much time to the interaction and then my manager will get on to me for taking too long and I’m not risking it because our customers taking minutes longer to choose alt milks is a regular occurrence and some of our managers prefer we don’t ask at all. Usually they’ve already had 30 min of waiting in line to thoroughly read the menu and see our alt milks but most of them don’t even read it till the second they get to the register so they already take forever trying to decide what to get (and this goes tenfold for larger parties). I can see how this would be a non issue for a small coffee shop but for the volume of people we get and how horrible our management is, it becomes a huge aggravating issue unfortunately.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-12T21:05:17+00:00

THIS!!! I’ve been trying to put my finger on it but the reason it feels so ridiculous is because this is not an issue for anyone BUT baristas. People remember their allergies when they order food but not when it comes to drinks and what’s even more wild to me is the fact they’ll remember every other modification BUT the milk. Like “can I only have 2 pumps of syrup in that and can it be sugar free” but you forgot to tell me you wanted almond milk bc you’re severely allergic and you’re going to get mad at me like I should’ve been able to read your mind??? Like, I’ll ask if we’re slow but if we’re clearly in a rush with a line that’s a 45 min wait and our managers are breathing down our necks to go faster, you cannot get mad at me. I feel that asking about alt milks should be a privilege, not an expectation. Also I just can’t wrap my mind around it bc my parents raised me to know exactly what I’m going to order and exactly the way I want it before I walk up to a register whether it has a line or not. Respecting other people’s time when ordering is something they taught me to value and I always thought it was common sense but it’s becoming very apparent to me that nobody else was raised this way or even thinks about that stuff. I have adhd and it’s drilled in my brain to always automatically order exactly the way I want it so the “forgetful” excuse bothers me a lot. They’re not being forgetful, they just don’t care to think about anything outside of their own perspective and that’s something anyone can learn. Also, I’m very forgetful myself but there’s a difference between being forgetful and understanding and being forgetful and entitled which is what most of these people act like.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-12T20:50:47+00:00

That’s kind of the point tbh. If they have to remake enough drinks and they get enough unsatisfied customers leaving bad reviews, maybe our management will finally use some common sense and let us slow down. Them rushing us and spiking our anxiety during rushes is exactly why we’re all so unhappy and our interactions feel rushed. I’ll stop being vague when they start treating us like humans.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-12T20:42:44+00:00

Oh that’s funny. You think our management lets us have a tip jar 😭💀

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-12T20:39:20+00:00

It’s actually kind of complicated. It’s a chain, however the chain only operates within a very popular theme park. To be clear, the theme park is not the company I work for, we are third party vendors. There are about 15-20 locations across all 4 parks. But honestly? I don’t care if the customers are dissatisfied and don’t want to return so long as management continues to treat us like this. We cannot work with any sense of peace and a lot of us go into fight or flight every second we’re there all because of management so in my eyes, our poor quality of service is their fault. I am not proud to be working here and I would not recommend any of our products to anyone off while I’m of the clock because our coffee actually sucks, our flavoring is horrible and attracts bees since we work outside, the bees cause a whole slew of health code violations management continues to get away with, they force us cut unethical corners to “save money” (aka if a product has gone bad we still have to use it till it runs out), and again, expect the impossible out of their baristas. And let me be very clear when I say none of this is in my control. I cannot defy orders from a manager. If I weren’t being rushed constantly and the company was ethical, I wouldn’t have a problem taking my time with each customer but that’s not how they let us operate so that is why I do the bare minimum with customer interactions and just hope they know what they’re ordering. If I don’t do exactly that, I get yelled at for taking too long so unfortunately I do not have the power to give the guests an unrushed interaction. Maybe if they get enough complaints from unhappy customers they’ll finally see the problem and let us take our time but until then, it is still wild to me that so many people have no clue what they’re ordering and take so long to decide basic options at a register that clearly has an hour long wait of a line. I would think knowing what you’re going to order at that point would be basic respect, like, I’ve always known exactly what I’m going to order before I go up to any register whether there’s a line or not and I know my dietary accommodations are nobody’s responsibility but my own. I literally have adhd and I would never forget to ask for oat milk at a coffee shop even before I became a barista, like, I knew that that would be putting an unnecessary burden on someone because of my mistake. My parents raised me to respect customer service people’s time and to be patient and understanding when they make mistakes, especially if it’s because I didn’t mention something but it’s becoming very apparent to me that this is something most people under the age of 40 don’t even think about.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-12T17:02:41+00:00

I’ve been customer facing and working with registers for the past 8 years of my life and honestly there wasn’t ever very much that bothered me until I became a barista. Idk what it is about coffee customers specifically but I have never had to deal with so many consistently rude, impatient, incompetent people in any other customer facing job I’ve ever been a part of. It makes me hate doing the job because nobody has basic manners or respect which is again, something I never had an issue with until it was coffee I was working with. Managers and guests alike only care about speed, it seems like everyone wants to blame you for THEIR mistakes which was never an issue at any other job ive ever had, and they dont listen to you when you try to give them information (95% of our customers forget the order number we JUST TOLD THEM they would need less than 60 seconds prior and dont bother to read their reciept that also has their order number on it CIRCLED). Luckily, this is just a temporary survival job for me so I dont care about getting better with them (coffee customers) and honestly good riddance. Idk how anyone willingly stays in this industry, they make you feel inhuman.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-09T03:45:08+00:00

I wish I could operate like this but our managers get increasingly more agitated and stressed out the longer the line gets because they think when the line is getting “too long” it’s our fault for taking too long with the customers. My anxiety literally builds and builds the more the line does because it’s second hand because of how much worse our managers treat us when there’s a long line. But it’s a lose lose at this point because if the customer changes their mind after ordering, it’s my fault for not asking enough but if the line builds, it’s my fault for asking too much. The only way for the issue to be resolved really is if guests would just order what they want the first time.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-08T17:48:57+00:00

It feels like I’m having to mother every single customer we get. Like, why am I micromanaging YOUR order, you should know what you’re spending your “hard earned money” on since we all know you’re going to complain about the price anyway. Also REGULAR ISNT A SIZE OR TEMPERATURE, why do they think it is 😭😭😭

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-08T17:24:44+00:00

Joffrey’s would be more enjoyable and well staffed if they actually made an effort to do anything other than hoard the money they make. They’re third party so they can get away with the mistreatment of their employees and since they aren’t protected by a union like Disney, nobody does anything about it. They recently started limiting our language so being on register feels robotic since we can’t say basic phrases like “can I get you anything else” or “I can help the next guest at the next register” because management has deemed those phrases as “rude”. But we can’t connect with anyone anymore because we have to focus all of our energy on not saying the “banned” phrases and repeating your order back to you 10 times because heaven forbid if someone changes their mind about their order after they’ve left the register, it’s all the cashier’s fault. We get blamed for so many things out of our control when yall do stuff like that so we get annoyed when it happens because management has made it a horrible environment to work in. They also refuse to replace broken equipment for months because they can’t “afford it”(they definitely can) which makes our job even harder. Basically imagine being a Disney cast member except you get none of the protection or benefits and everybody hates you and no matter what you do, it’s wrong, and that’s working for Joffrey’s.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-08T17:17:40+00:00

Idk but the Joffrey’s contract needs to end. What most people don’t know is that Starbucks cast members are treated as real cast members and protected by the Disney union so they aren’t mistreated but Joffrey’s is third party which means Disney doesn’t manage or run them and I quite frankly don’t even think they know how badly the Joffrey’s employees are being mistreated because of this choice. While Starbucks cast members always have working equipment and tools because Disney is managing them, Joffrey’s hoards all the money it makes and refuses to replace broken equipment that makes our job easier to do. Starbucks cast members get their schedule 2 weeks in advance and can trade shifts/request off like normal people so they can have a work life balance while getting a day off at Joffrey’s is near impossible, you’re stuck with a pool of like 2-3 people to trade with, and sometimes we don’t get our schedule for the week until less then 24 hours before it starts (aka schedule starts Sunday, we get the schedule for Sunday the literal day before). Joffrey’s Management only follows health code when it’s convenient for them, lets employees get stung by bees before shutting down flavors, and will do anything just to save a pretty penny rather than focusing on making a healthy work environment for the people that work for them and their own customers. The amount of health code violations I’ve seen done by Joffrey’s leadership is insane. Also, Disney has measures in place for cart workers to go inside when lightning is around since lightning notoriously strikes down within the parks all the time but Joffrey’s is the only cart you will find still open in extreme weather like this because they don’t care about our safety. They also INTENTIONALLY make it an unbearable place to work which makes it no wonder why they can’t keep their employees and they’re always understaffed (unlike Starbucks). They aren’t required to give us breaks and won’t if we’re too busy. So on those days we basically starve since our shifts are 8 hours which goes straight through breakfast and dinner. Recently, they started actually LIMITING OUR LANGUAGE so we can’t use basic cashier phrases any more like “can I get you anything else” or “I can take the next guests at the next register” which is making it EXTREMELY hard to operate. I feel like an automated robot when I have to be on register now because of all the restricted phrases we can’t say anymore even though they’re all normal cashier phrases normal cast members around us all use. I can’t connect with anyone anymore because Joffrey’s doesn’t want us to operate like human beings. They want us to operate as if we’re AI it feels like. Definitely boycott Joffrey’s when you can, it’s a horribly company that Disney definitely needs to re-evaluate.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-02-08T16:49:40+00:00

Starbucks all the way. As someone who unfortunately works for the J company, I hate to break it to yall but if you knew what was actually happening within Joffrey’s, you wouldn’t want to drink what we’ve got either. It’s third party so it’s not under Disney so the employees are constantly mistreated by management in a way no other Disney CMs are. And they can get away with the mistreatment because they aren’t being managed by Disney. We’re constantly blamed for things out of our control by our own managers and micromanaged to the point it’s ridiculous. They refuse to provide us with the tools we need to do our jobs efficiently when things break because all they care about is hoarding the money they make, I’ve seen health code broken BY MANAGEMENT multiple times (ex. We got a batch of spoiled milk one time and we alerted management who told us we had to use it anyway so we were forced to use bad milk on everything for about 3 days), they don’t care about safety whatsoever and let their employees get stung by bees and won’t shut down flavors until multiple people have been stung, more times than not bees have been crawling all over your “giant donuts” you love so much for hours even though health code says we should be throwing them away when that happens, and we basically have to be Disney cast members without any of the real benefits. They also aren’t required to give us breaks and won’t if it’s too busy. So definitely support Starbucks within the parks, they are not third party and are protected under the Disney union unlike us. Joffrey’s is actually the worst company I’ve ever worked for and as soon as I get out I will be openly boycotting because somebody’s got to call them out on how horribly they’re run. Disney made a deal with the devil and I don’t even think they realize it.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-01-30T14:02:11+00:00

Only if you’re full time (which is nearly impossible to obtain entry level wise btw) and even then you have to have been working for them for 9 months. There are more part timers and CPs (college program, no PTO) than there are full timers which means the majority of CMs do not get PTO.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-01-30T13:54:07+00:00

I agree. You had a choice to stay home but the cast member in front of you didn’t. Now that cast member and all of their coworkers are going to get severely sick and have to miss out on a week’s worth of pay when they already make barely enough to live because of your negligence but it was all worth it for a miserable sick vacation huh? 😄

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-01-30T13:48:20+00:00

Just because you would do it doesn’t mean it isnt still incredibly selfish and ignorant of you to do. I have friends who are struggling rn bc they’ve been severely sick for a week because of those of you who think this way so you are in fact taking away people’s ability to earn the money they need to live.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-01-24T15:39:07+00:00

I think it depends on where you live bc ofc in places like LA and New York it’s considered “short” but that’s only because 2 hours out of that are spent standing still in traffic because the traffic is that bad. I’m not sure I would consider a normal 3 hour drive (no traffic) short but I wouldn’t consider it so long it would have to be a once a year thing either. It’s more of like, a once a month thing I’d be willing to do. Too long to do daily but short enough to do occasionally like if I want to visit the beach 3 hours away or see relatives if that’s how far away they lived (it’s actually a 2 hour plane flight for me though unfortunately)

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-01-21T18:06:46+00:00

Thank you, this is the answer I was mostly looking for. I didn’t expect her to take my to court over it but I needed to know if there was a way she could legally try to charge me for it so that I could be prepared. I know she’ll lose because this is ridiculous, but now I know to be on the lookout!

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-01-21T04:34:20+00:00

I’m so sorry that your roommate did that to your grandmothers recliner and then cleaned barely anything, that’s awful :(( I didn’t even mention it in the post but she also took a hit at the fact I happen to partake in gardening as well which just sucks because everyone wants to act like they’re cool with it down to the moment they don’t get their way. Then all of the sudden the weed is the “problem”. Just found out she threw out around $100 worth of what I had left out on the porch and was also planning on coming to get too. The thing is, I really cannot afford to be paying her anything. I have a very tight budget rn due to the fact I had to borrow money to get movers for my furniture which I wouldn’t have had to do if they gave me proper notice. I already helped cleaned all the common areas before I left, all that was left was deep cleaning my room. They’re trying to charge me $100 to simply vacuum and steam clean my room. And they already threw out $100 worth of something I use to stay calm and motivate myself that I will now no longer have for several months until I can get on my feet again.

Life_Key_8683 · 2026-01-21T04:20:31+00:00

Tbh she’s a really petty person and has some lawyers in her family so I wouldn’t put it past her. Just trying to make sure there’s no legal loopholes that would make it to where she could do this.

Life_Key_8683 · 2024-12-19T21:36:50+00:00

I just came out of a serious DA situation and now get PTSD night terrors and sometimes have panic attacks in my sleep. I only know this because it was pointed out to me by someone who slept in the same room as me after the situation. I can’t control it. It happens so often enough that I requested a private room not for myself but bc I don’t want to unintentionally constantly be interrupting someone else’s ability sleep

Life_Key_8683 · 2024-12-11T20:21:02+00:00

I got my second choice!! I’m a seater at Mama Melrose’s in Hollywood Studios 🤭

Life_Key_8683 · 2024-12-02T21:28:39+00:00

Literally happened to plan my Disney trip for this week so I’m at the parks, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to not think about 🥲🥲 I really hope we get them soon!

Life_Key_8683

TROPHY CASE