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As others have said, the best way to handle this is to try and figure out what this customer thinks a macchiato is by asking them instead of resorting to shamanistic divination rituals.

It's still rude of them to be such a self-entitled blowhard about it but I guess that's par for the course.

This would also explain why American service staff are so friendly and forthcoming to me whenever I have a request. I'm always nice and patient about it and try to explain my wishes clearly without the stupid attitude. I apologize when I've made a mistake and invite constructive resolution of the issue. Works like a charm.

You try that with euro waiters or other service staff and they'll just tell you that's not how we do it (fuck me, right 😑).

Cunts used to do this shit at Starbucks all the time.

"This isn't a macchiato."

"Sure but Starbucks thinks it is. You can tell me how you'd like your drink or I can refund your drink."

Worked 99% of the time, unless someone just wanted to argue. In that case, they just got refunded and asked to leave. Our store was almost all regulars and we didn't have a drive-through, so we didn't have to deal with this shit much.

That's just another way to degrade and demean the employees.

The WORST service is at places like this. I want to assume the expertise and competency of every person I interact with. Especially in the service industry. The best service I get is terse, direct, and professional. I don't need my fucking barista to pretend they like me. I need them to get through the 15 fucking orders before mine in a timely fashion so I can get on with the rest of my day. And if some dickhead doesn't know what a machiato is, he can get his happy ass to the back of the line and order it again.

Barring allergies or medical issues, shut the fuck up and move on. If getting the wrong coffee is the worst thing to happen to you in a day you're living a pretty charmed life.

But then again, I did get fired from Starbucks as a teen.

As an aside, I work inpatient psychiatry where it's not so much that they're always right as much as that it's pointless and even counterproductive to argue. In those situations you don't say "but this is a-" you say "I really wanna talk over the details of how to get you exactly what you want" then try to elicit the details of (to use this example) what they think a macchiato is.

Now, the reason I prefer working inpatient psychiatry as opposed to costumer service is that when they start yelling I get to say "oh, my apologies. I'll come back when you're more ready to talk about this!" and just leave. And then if they follow me to keep yelling...

The list of things I'm not allowed to do will always be longer than the list of things the waiter is legally not allowed to do. The waiter can legally just fight back, and I'm never allowed to do that. But the second they become significantly verbally threatening or physically threatening in any way, the list of things I'm not allowed to do to someone as part of my job suddenly becomes much shorter than the waiter's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQN6eJxQ-k

Relevant humorous song

This isn’t what “the customer is always right” is supposed to mean. It means that the customer is always right when it comes to matters of taste, for their own subjective experience. If some guy wants to buy a puke green car, don’t tell him it’s ugly. Just sell it to him. On the other hand, if the customer is convinced that cars don’t need brakes and is insisting you remove them before he’ll buy it, tell him to go away.

“This macchiato is terrible!” “I’m sorry. No charge. Can I get you something else?”

“This isn’t a macchiato.” “It’s the only kind we have.”

The customer is always right, in matters of taste. Is the full version it.

When I was a kid, my first real job was at a well known big box store. One time a customer stops me and asks where something is in a department that I'm not familiar with. Back then there were no handheld computers for easily searching inventory.

Customer becomes angry when I can't find what he's looking for so I call the assistant store manager on duty for help. Manager comes over and the customer proceeds to tell him just exactly how stupid he thinks I am.

The manager -- whom I will call "J" -- was a miserable, gruff, chain smoking SOB who is like 6 months from the end of his 36 year career. But he stops the customer mid-tirade and says, "Now wait just a minute. We're happy to help you find what you need but JubilationTCornpone is a fine young man and one of our best associates and I am not going to stand here and listen to you talk about him like that."

The customer leaves in a huff. "J" looks at me and says, "Just because the 'customer is always right' doesn't mean they get to treat you like shit. He can go to hell. We don't need his money."

I never really liked "J" because he was a pain in the ass but he earned my respect for that.

He wanted it in a paper cup with a layer of Caramel like they make at Starbucks

"What do you consider a Machiato?" is still "Customer is always right".

If a phrase has had half of itself amputated, it's almost always so right wing people can use it as a bullshit justification. Also looking at you Blood is Thicker Than Water.

Funny enough I used to work at a Caribou and those caused issues all the time. People would come in expecting something like the sugar laden thing at Starbucks only get a regular espresso and foam.

The proper traditional version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caff%C3%A8_macchiato

Starbucks take: https://www.starbucks.com/menu/product/413/hot