EDITORIAL: Yardbucks etiquette refresher
Keep these tips in mind next time you order your coffee during a rush period
It is a Thursday morning at 11 a.m., and you are craving a Starbucks coffee to fight off your sleep deprivation from the night before. You open the door to Yardbucks on the College Avenue campus but can hardly take a single step inside before colliding with a caffeine-deprived mob of Rutgers students swarming the pick-up counter. The line for the register wraps around the entire room, and it seems as if getting that coffee will be a near-impossible task.
Nearly every Rutgers student has witnessed this situation: an overcrowded Yardbucks that everyone would rather avoid. While places like Yardbucks will always experience rush times, there are a couple of things that Rutgers students should keep in mind to alleviate this less-than-ideal situation.
Have reasonable expectations
If you place your order 5 minutes before you have to catch your bus for class, do not complain about wait times and pester the barista for the ETA of your drink. On this same note, if you order your drink at, let us say, at 11 a.m., expect Yardbucks to be crowded and for your order to take a little longer than usual.
It is important that all coffee shop goers keep their expectations in check so that they do not risk taking out their frustrations on the baristas. If you see that they are overwhelmed, be patient and kind. If you are financially able, consider leaving a tip (preferably in cash), especially during rush times or if your order has excessive customizations.
Also, if you just ordered your drink, do not stand right in front of the counter, demand your drink and block the rest of the customers. Stand to the sides of the counter so that people can grab their drinks as soon as they are ready, and be cognizant when you take your drink — do not take someone else's order.
If you are by yourself and decide to take a seat at a two-person or even four-person table, consider offering open seats to those who are clearly looking for a place to sit. While you may be hesitant to share a table with a stranger, this is a prime opportunity to push yourself to be more friendly and inviting.
Everyone knows that seats are limited at popular coffee shops, and offering a free seat to a stranger may honestly make their day. Plus, you may even make a new friend. And, if you are sitting at one of those long tables, do not take up a seat with your backpack. All of those seats should be fair game for paying customers.
It is also general knowledge that coffee shops are very popular places to both study and socialize, so it is important to have reasonable expectations when it comes to volume level. While people should not be screaming in a coffee shop, customers are entitled to have conversations. It is not a library, so do not expect people to be silent if you are cramming for an exam.
Take a walk instead of waiting inside for your mobile order
If you placed your order online, consider taking a lap around the Yard @ College Avenue before going inside to pick up your drink. The point of mobile ordering is to facilitate a "grab and go" type of system. If everyone who orders online is crowding the order counter, this defeats the purpose of ordering online.
Mobile ordering should free up room inside the cafe, so people are not waiting around for their drinks. If you ordered online, make sure your drink is actually ready. Check your Starbucks app to see when your order is ready for pick up, and even consider waiting an extra few minutes to ensure that it is done.
While it is true that sometimes the app will not send you a "your order is ready" notification, at least try to go off of the original ETA provided by the app before joining the herd of people waiting.
Although, understandably, it can be chilly outside and you may want to be in the shop as soon as your drink is ready, if everyone stands by the counter for their mobile orders, it makes it nearly impossible to hear people's names being shouted. It is uncomfortable to push your way to the front. In extreme cases, people cannot even make their way to the counter when their name is called.
Additionally, this sort of crowding makes it hard for people ordering in person to determine where the line to the register is supposed to start. Again, consider taking one for the team and waiting outside instead of contributing to overcrowding.
Support local coffee shops
Next time you enter a crowded Yardbucks, it may be your sign to order from a local coffee shop. There are a plentiful amount of options on Easton Avenue for Rutgers students to try, including Hidden Grounds Coffee, Friend's Cafe, Efes Cafe and Fritz's.
The same coffee shop etiquette applies to these places, especially considering they tend to be smaller spaces. So, regardless of whether you decide to try a local coffee shop or stick with your typical Starbucks drink, it is important to keep these tips in mind, especially as a college student.
The Daily Targum's editorials represent the views of the majority of the 155th editorial board. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
