My barista in Portland taught me how to ask better questions after 3 terrible latte orders

Last month I kept getting almond milk lattes that tasted burnt. After my third bad one, the barista at this tiny shop on Hawthorne pulled me aside and said 'you keep ordering hot when you should order iced because almond milk separates.' I never would have thought to ask about that. Now I always ask staff about their process before ordering anything. Has anyone else had a stranger explain something simple that totally changed how you do a routine thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_drew1mo agoTop Commenter

A gas station attendant in Montana did this for me with my truck tires. I kept getting flats every few months and he finally said "you're overfilling them for the altitude here, drop 5 psi." Changed my whole approach to checking air pressure. Now I always ask what the locals run before I fill up anywhere new. Little details like that make such a difference.

owens.willow1mo ago

Altitude affects tire pressure but not quite like that. Air pressure drops about 1 psi per 1,000 feet of elevation gain, so unless that attendant was at 5,000 feet higher than where you normally fill up, 5 psi is a lot. More likely you were just running them too high for the cold climate or the gravel roads out there. Still, he was right that locals know their roads and weather better than the sticker on your door jamb.