As I mentioned in my last post, I've been a little under the weather with this cold. Today it seems I can't go 5 minutes without an all-out coughing fit! Might I add how embarrassing this can be in public?! Anyway, last night I had to close at Starbucks, meaning I went in at 4 and got off a few minutes shy of midnight. They put me on drive-thru which on most days is not my favorite, especially when you open the window and all that hot, humid air hits you in the face. But I haven't been on it all week, so it was my turn. From 4-6 there seemed to be a steady stream of folks coming through ordering their frappuccinos (our cold, blended beverages) and occasionally a hot beverage. What I began to notice was that every car seemed to be intent on driving me crazy! For example, I had one lady come through and order 4 different drinks (no big deal) but then made me repeat her order back to her 3 times because her kids were so loud she couldn't hear me! When she got to the window and I began handing out her drinks, I would tell her what it was, she would look at me blankly and say "What is this again?" As she got ready to leave, she said, "You did a really good job." Was I being tested? I continued to wonder. The next car was a man and a woman. I started taking their order before the previous woman had left which can sometimes be confusing because you're having to pay attention to 2 conversations. As I feared, I missed part of their order and had to ask them to repeat it. This led to the gentleman YELLING their order at me. Geez, Mister, I'm not deaf. We discovered that the woman had given the order the first time from the passenger seat so the man thought he would overcompensate by talking loudly. As I was handing out their order, he said, "You did outstanding." Seriously? The next car that pulled up was a young lady and here's how our conversation went. Me: "Thank you for choosing Starbucks. This is Cynthia. What can we get started for you?" Her: Silence. A few seconds pass. Often people don't roll their windows down when they get to the order menu. Absurd, I know. Me: "Order whenever you're ready." Her: Silence. Several more seconds. Me: "Are you ready to order?" (in a polite voice). Her: Silence. A few more seconds. Her: "HELLO???!!!" As if I had been ignoring her all this time! Thankfully I work with people who are able to find humor in situations such as these, so I didn't really have time to be annoyed but had a hard time not laughing at her. I waited and waited for the camera crew to come out of hiding and say "You've been punk'd!" but no such thing happened. Apparently it was just one of those nights.