Why Are They Making It Difficult To Get Coffee On The Way To Work in Grand Rapids?

I used to be one of those people who felt like I was better than everyone else because I could make it through my morning without grabbing something with an immense amount of caffeine to jump start my engine.

But, after working through the pandemic and moving across the country, I find myself a human puddle of a zombie before I get my caffeine fix every morning. And, I'm well aware I'm not the only one.

In fact, studies say that 7 out of 10 Americans drink coffee every week, and 62% of us say we drink it everyday. So, it doesn't take a scientist to figure out that if you're planning to stop and grab a cup of something on the way to work, you're not going to be the only one there.

In theory, it should be quick. Order drink, they make it, maybe grab something food wise, then you're out the door. But, every time I try to grab a single iced coffee or cold brew, there are several people who have no common sense ruining the morning flow for everyone else. And, I need to have a word with a few of these people.

If we change just a handful of things we do, we could all get to work more efficiently, and stop stressing out the kind baristas that make our order every morning.

1. Stop ordering insane amounts of food through the drive thru

I'll be honest, I slightly envy the offices who have a deal where every day someone different is in charge of getting food for everyone else. It allows people to try new things, and it's a great way to make people's morning easy. But if you're ordering more than 2 people's worth of food during the morning rush, and they aren't in your car: GO INSIDE.

Mobile order or not, it's still a time suck to make a 8 drink order with 6 dozen doughnuts when you're trying to get a bunch of single or double orders going by. So, not only are you making everyone in line wait longer for what should be a quick and easy process, you're also a jerk because you're going to make someone hand you a ton of things through the window. And if it's a big container that needs to be handled with care and you drop it, you're double the jerk.

Do us all a favor, go inside and pick up your order. It will probably be faster for you, too.

2. Get there with time to spare

We get it, everyone wants to hit snooze six times and try to make it there as quickly as possible. But, if you do that, murphy's law dictates that you're going to be running late, and stressing yourself out.

You know work starts at 8am. Build in an extra 15 minutes on top of what you need, and you'll almost never need it. And, it'll make the entire experience so much better for you and everyone else involved.

3. Know your order

It's 7am, you showed up for coffee, so you should know what you want. This is not the time to explore the menu, nor is it the time to ask a million questions about what lavender flavored cold foam tastes like.

If you can't figure that out, park your car and walk inside. Everyone else is fiending, and does not have the time or patience for your whimsical stroll through a weekday morning.

4. Don't forget to tip

Seriously, baristas are awesome. They make sure we get to work with the jolt we need, and they're usually pretty chipper about it too. And, likely, they've been up way before you, so the fact they're still having a great morning deserves a little love.

Bonus: cash goes farther. keep a few ones around, and you never know you might get a size upgrade here and there for the appreciation of your business and support of people who keep us going every single day.