Customers mocked barista in Dutch unaware she understood every word — then she fired back in their language

For servers, it takes a lot to complete the needs and demands of a customer, from understanding their requirements to fulfilling their order. To do so, one must remain patient and focus on doing the job properly. In a similar situation, a woman opened up about her subtle run-in with a customer who expected her to know his order without asking questions. The Starbucks barista—who goes by u/ditchthatdutch on Reddit—shared how she had to give it back to a demanding buyer in his language without engaging in a confrontation.

In the post, the barista revealed how she couldn’t hold herself from listening to crude remarks against her during work. Playfully referring to herself as “a slave to the siren,” she claimed to have a pleasant history of dealing with customers. “I'm pretty decent with most customers,” the server wrote, adding, “I'm pretty good at having a conversation with them and sensing when someone just wants the line moved forward.” However, this time around, it was different. The barista shared how she encountered two elderly men while taking orders one fine day.

Elaborating more on her unusual encounter with the customers, she said, “Anyway, I was on the register the other day, taking people's orders. Two older men were ordering from me.” When one of them ordered “a coffee, black,” she asked for the necessary details to fulfill his request. Like any other order, she recalled, “I just asked to clarify the size he wanted and the roast, to which he first spoke to his friend and said something rudely. 'Wow, (this is) not the smartest gal that works here, huh? They could learn to use their brains a little,'” the barista quoted the rude customer as telling his friend in Dutch. Notably, the customer assumed the barista wouldn’t understand the language.

Unfortunately for him, she was well-versed in Dutch and knew exactly what he told his companion. Unaware of this, the man transitioned and then casually informed the server that he’d prefer a “medium dark roast.” “So, I nodded and then replied to him in Dutch, asking him the regular questions I would to complete an order: ‘Anything else to eat or drink today?’ ‘What was your name for your other drinks?’ ‘Do you have a Starbucks rewards card?’ I was perfectly pleasant and smiley for the rest of the transaction but just conducted it in Dutch,” the barista added in her post. She further claimed that the man answered all her questions in English, but his “eyes were bulging out of his head.” Even his friend looked “kind of worried” but burst out laughing when they walked away.

“I realize it might not be the best look for someone in service,” the barista remarked. She later sought clarity from her coworker, who disagreed with her approach. The server invited reactions from the online community about their take on the situation. u/Unpleasant-Peasants suggested, “The only person not using their brain is the old Dutch guy—as apparently, his years haven't helped him learn how to make a complete order.” Another server, u/blackcurrantandapple, shared, “When I was working retail for Disney World, I got told I was too cheerful. People just want to complain.” u/MagicMauiWowee echoed similar sentiments: “You should never use another language to trash talk someone. He got caught and was upset about it. Not your problem, and good on you for courteously checking him.”