On July, I posted a funny rant from Jeff Simmermon of And I Am Not Lying who ordered a triple-shot of espresso over ice at Murky Coffee in Arlington, VA. He said the barista told him he couldn't have it, and the incident turned into a caffeinated remake of Five Easy Pieces.
Here's an excerpt from lengthy and interesting response from Nick Cho, the owner of Murky Coffee:
The customer in question, when told that it's our policy NOT to offer "espresso over ice," got angry right away. Regardless of how you feel about the merits of our policy, the fact that he got angry (in my opinion) is the crux of the matter. There are things in life to get angry about. There are matters that demand an elevated heart rate. This is not one of them.
The other thing that's worth mentioning is that David, the barista in question, contrary to what many seem to believe, was NOT voicing his objection to the espresso over ice per se. He was admonishing him for his poor behavior toward the barista at the register, and toward our policy. Many have written me saying, "Once it's in the customer's hands, it's out of your hands." That's absolutely true. David was telling the customer that it wasn't okay that he'd act-out to the staff the way he was. As in the guy's own blog-recounting of the incident, David was interrupted before he could finish, and Mr. Simmermon proceeded to mock David, then following it up with the infamous dollar-bill.
The guy admitted on his own blog that he "acted like a total dick here." He also writes, "But it's not like I didn't have probable cause." I'd hope that something like a coffeeshop policy about what we do or don't offer doesn't constitute "probable cause" for this sort of behavior.
BY the way, Nick runs a great coffee podcast, called The Portafilter. Murky Coffee Follow Up
