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Seattle's Bitter Barista Is Fired Over Snarky Tweets

BY Rachel Belle  on February 11, 2013 @ 5:42 pm (Updated: 6:03 am - 2/12/13 )

SPEKULATION.jpg
Matt Watson AKA Spekulation
When he's making music, Seattle's Matt Watson goes by the name Spekulation. Like a lot of artists and musicians, he works as a barista to support his music making career. Rather, he did work as a barista until a few days ago when he was fired from All City Coffee in Georgetown.

Two weeks ago Matt started the website Bitter Barista, where he posts snarky Tweets about his life behind the espresso machine.

"The coffee of the day is an Ethiopian dark roast blended with broken dreams and despair," reads one of the tweets on Bitter Barista.

Matt says the tweets are hyperbolic, mostly made up and definitely satire.

"'This guy just got mad because we don't have the Yellow Pages. But we also don't have an abacus or a sundial.' My favorite is, 'When I ask if it's for here or to go, I'm only curious what cup you want. Not what your plans for the day are.'"

Some Tweets mention his boss.

"The harshest one was, 'When I tweet, I like to use big words, so if my if my boss every finds my Twitter account he won't understand any of it.' Which isn't true at all, obviously, but it just seemed witty at the time, so I posted it."

His boss didn't think it was so witty.

Only two weeks after its creation, Bitter Barista was getting thousands of hits and it caught the attention of the coffee-centric website Sprudge.com. Sprudge revealed Matt's real name and the name of the coffee shop. Matt was promptly fired. But was he surprised to lose his job?

"No, not after all the hubbub. The article that outed me as being the Bitter Barista tagged my work in it, ended up calling my work, tagged Cafe Vita in it. So I expected there to be a lot of backlash and I don't have any ill will for being fired."

Matt has worked as a barista for about 10 years. Reading through the website, one would assume he hates his job and the customers he serves every day.

"No, I clearly like my customers very much. I've been at that place for over two years. I generally like what I do. I think we all have jobs we want to complain about. I'm a rapper by trade so my immediate instinct is to express it by words."

Monica Guzman is a digital life columnist for The Seattle Times and GeekWire.

"We see this happen over and over and over again. There are cases that range from the humorous to the very serious. I think our reaction is to want to say, 'Okay, everybody, nobody ever vent. Nobody ever be frustrated online.' But I think we all know, those of us who are on social media, that sometimes it can be nice to reach out with some frustration. Just be mindful. Just know what you're putting at risk and be willing to accept consequences if they come."

Sprudge.com says they did not intend to have Matt fired, but its creators are not fans of Bitter Barista.

"Especially to be written on the clock, as an employee at the shop, tweeting about customers who just walked out the door. Tweeting about your employers," says Sprudge co-founder and managing editor Jordan Michaelman. "Doing those sorts of things. This is not common practice in the industry."

Matt says he's gotten several job offers since being fired, by cafes that know why he was laid off. He says has no plans of shutting Bitter Barista down.

"It's a good, creative way for me to just complain about my job, which I think all of us want to do at this point. So I'm going to keep it going for my mental health."

Rachel Belle, Ron and Don Show Reporter
Rachel Belle is a feature contributor and personality on The Ron & Don Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays 3-7pm), and host of Ring My Belle Weekends (Saturdays at 5pm and Sundays at 3pm).
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Comments (33)


  • Add A Comment

  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    Alright then...
    February 11, 2013 10:49 pm
    Let's hear him rap.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mnpat wrote...
    "I'm a rapper by trade"
    February 12, 2013 6:45 am
    Where did he serve his apprenticeship?...just curious where one goes to become a rapper by trade.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    Yes, that's what happens stupid.
    February 12, 2013 8:18 am
    You get fired. You're not entitled to a job. You want mental health? Try being unemployed. That aside, you're pretty funny...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleJack wrote...
    If I hear the word "snarky" on more time ...
    February 12, 2013 8:37 am
    I'm going to hurl. "Snarky" is just a 21st century excuse-all for rude, boorish behavior. What's conveniently left out of this article are quotes that reveal that when someone ticks off the BB, he doesn't give them what they ordered. ("If you remind me four times that you’ve ordered decaf, guess what you won’t be getting ... " "You can say ‘2% milk’ all day. You’re getting whole milk.”) Now that he's been outed, his fallback position is every jerk's fallback: "I was just kidding!" Yeah, I'll BET other coffee shops are fighting over themselves to hire him.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    yeah...
    February 12, 2013 11:25 am
    keep in mind that while he's serving up incorrect orders, complete with RUDE (yes, the OLD word for "snarky," i agree) he's also expecting TIPS for doing that difficult job of MAKING COFFEE.

    was this they guy who also wrote an insult on a coffee cup in lieu of a person's name that we read about a couple years ago? the person ordered a coffee and on the cup it said some rude insult about the person's looks instead of just the person's name. a real jerk move.

    why so bitter, barista's of MANY coffee shops up and down the west coast?

    art degree's not yielding the results you expected?

    must be a tough life. maybe a new tattoo, hair color, or piercing would make you feel better?

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  • Oly80 wrote...
    RUDE...
    February 12, 2013 11:26 am
    *tweeted comments afterwards*

    boo.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Oly
    February 13, 2013 6:15 am
    Hilarious! Touché
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  • Cbrew wrote...
    I'd just like to point something out....
    February 12, 2013 9:28 am
    the guy is a male Barista.... ... A Male... Barista.... That is all.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Raymong wrote...
    10 years
    February 12, 2013 10:55 am
    Yea, 10 years as a Barista....Now why did I think of that?
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  • ohwowgosh wrote...
    .
    February 12, 2013 1:38 pm
    And?
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  • maplefish wrote...
    Cbrew
    February 13, 2013 6:17 am
    LOL....and a Male Barista Rapper at that....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JMGilday wrote...
    a sanrky barista that raps???
    February 12, 2013 9:42 am
    next you'll be telling us he has tattoos and uses hot sauce instead of ketchup !

    (FYI, we all know the sun rises in the east, if that was going to be your next expose')

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  • shark75 wrote...
    I'd like to add to what Cbrew said
    February 12, 2013 9:53 am
    I stopped going to Starbucks shortly after they started replacing the cute and bubbly 22-year old girls with people like this. The "snarky" hipster (often g.ay) jerk with a beard and tats that is brewing my coffee on his time and if I dont like it I can get lost. No thanks. I'll get my overpriced coffee somewhere else...
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  • DesertRez wrote...
    Thank you
    February 12, 2013 10:26 am
    for saying it Shark....I agree 100%
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    serioulsy, i actually agree with you shark...
    February 12, 2013 11:31 am
    once upon a time it was mainly teenage girls, or college girls running those places.

    now it's just art school hipster flunkies. mostly with some crazy identifier as their "look," (tats, beards, hipster ______) and two gallons of attitude with ZERO excuse to back it up.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cbrew wrote...
    Shark75 - I didn't want to say it.....
    February 12, 2013 11:32 am
    and i'm not a gay basher I don't hate gay people but i'm not going to lie and say i support their lifestyle... and for whatever reason, Starbucks has indeed hired a LOT of gay men recently... it seems as if every starbucks has at least one gay barista in it.. and yes i do miss the bubbly 18-22 year old girls that used to make my coffee... Sorry, but one of the draws of going to a gourmet coffee shop was that 99% of the time you had a sweet young lady making your coffee and chatting with you, (No not necessarily flirting, just being kind) and those sweet ladies would get to know you a little bit and ask about your day etc. ... now instead, you got a gay guy... who makes it very apparent that you're more of a nuissance than anything else... they force small talk with you and in a way to make it clear that they're talking to you because they're supposed to... not because they have any interest in what you have to say... then they send you off with some comment that they think you're too stupid to understand is sarcastic like... have a ssssssssssssuper day... now you tell me if that's better than what i used to get? I used to go to a coffee place where they would see me coming up... start my coffee right away before i even got to the window, ask about my day, know me by name, even gave me free coffee a couple times when i was stupid and forgot my money (which i obviously paid them back and then some for).... Starbucks is going to drive itself out of business, and it'll be their own fault.. because it's apparent they're trying to push an positive politically correct message at the expense of good service.
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  • Pugwamp wrote...
    Starbucks and their awesome baristas...
    February 12, 2013 12:35 pm
    is the main reason there has been an explosion of bikini clad baristas. Who wants to be served by someone named Serge or Raul when a girl sporting pasties named Trixy will do it for ya.
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  • ohwowgosh wrote...
    .
    February 12, 2013 1:40 pm
    Yea, shame on them for hiring a diverse crowd. If you want bubbly girls, that are feigning interest in what you have to say, why don't you just go to a titty stand? Gays deserve jobs too, jerk.
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  • Cbrew wrote...
    Hiring a diverse crowd? Are you serious?
    February 12, 2013 2:05 pm
    Since when is hiring a ton of the same kind of person being diverse? They are only hiring gay guys right now it seems and if you don't believe me go to a Starbucks and see for yourself... That's not diversity that's purposefully hiring 1 specific group. As for the Girls, I'm not looking for a titty stand, I think that's just stupid, All i'm saying is it's much nicer to have the respectful kind young ladies serving coffee that actually take the time to get to know their customers than it is to have "snarky" gay hipsters with crappy attitudes doing it. Bottom line, i'm not saying they don't deserve jobs i'm saying they don't do a good job of doing this job.
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  • ohwowgosh wrote...
    Homophobic much?
    February 12, 2013 2:27 pm
    Being gay has absolutely nothing to do with their attitudes. Also if you want your baristas to get to know you, I suggest going somewhere other than Starbucks. You aren't going to get a very intimate experience at the biggest coffee chain in the nation. Also no, I haven't been to any Starbucks lately, I like good coffee. However, every other shop I've been to has all sorts working the counter. They have also all caught on to what drink I order, and chat me up when I'm there. People can pick up on your attitude, maybe the reason all the "hipster baristas" are rude to you, is because you are rude to them. Customer service or not, they are people behind the counter, and they don't deserve an attitude just because you don't like that they're not a "cute 18-22 year old girl" This is coming from a 25 year old girl, that works with a bunch of great guys that get a lot of flack for not being a cute girl behind the bar. Despite the fact that they tend to be nicer than the ladies, and they make a great cup of coffee. They are there to make your coffee, not provide you with eye candy to start your day.
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  • Cbrew wrote...
    ohwowgosh - I don't exactly...
    February 12, 2013 2:46 pm
    have a chance to be rude or give them attitude it's the way they talk to people from my experience... See you're coming at it from a different angle, I'll be flat honest with you, you're a 25 year old woman, they like you... i'm a straight man, who they automatically assume hates and dissaproves of them, you can see it in their faces and how they talk to you... maybe you do not realize it because they don't treat you the same way, but believe me they are much more rude to us... also, maybe you're getting too wrapped up in the (18-22 year old bubbly girl) description of the barista's I prefer, i'm not going to the coffee shop trying to hook up i'm going there for coffee the reason i liked the 18-22 year old bubbly girls is, they were POLITE, and got to know their customers... The gay guys that work at this same store now, don't politely smile at you on the way in, they don't even pretend to give a crap about the customer, generally ignore your existence and talk to their co-workers... you can get mad all you want, you can call me sexist or homophobic all you want, i'm just telling you what my experience is, i think a number of people on here agree... so maybe you should stop ignoring the truth just because the truth isn't what you want to hear... i'm not hating, i'm being honest with you.
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  • ohwowgosh wrote...
    .
    February 12, 2013 3:45 pm
    Ok, you seriously need to drop the gay thing. 1) their sexual orientation is absolutely none of your business, 2) it has absolutely nothing to do with the way they treat you. Everyone is capable of treating you well, or not. I don't know where you're going that people are glaring at you when you walk through the door, but I've never known any of my coworkers (and I've been doing coffee for almost 8 years now. Its a great job for a student) to be jerks to someone who walked through the door and was pleasant to them. You should take in to account that they are actual people though, sometimes people have bad days. That and maybe consider the time of day you're going in. If you walk in to a packed shop, yea the baristas are going to be stressed and trying to get people moved through the line as quickly as they can. You have about a minute to get through each customer, so sometimes you can't put out more than a "Oh hi, what can I get you? How are you doing, thats nice. Have a good day!" Yea maybe it seems forced, it is. They're really busy and dealing with a bunch of people that are grumpy and haven't gotten their coffee yet. That and they know you're looking down on them. I saw your other comments on this article, you make fun of them for being male baristas, or doing the job for ten years. If you're looking down on them and deeming them less worthy just because of their gender, or their jobs (or sexual orientaion) then why should they treat you well. If you want a better experience with your baristas, try treating them like humans. Go in with a good attitude, pick somewhere and become a regular, and yea sad but true, try tipping. Yea that bit sucks, but it never hurts.
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  • maplefish wrote...
    Tolerant much?
    February 13, 2013 6:21 am
    Cbrew made a valid point. As usual, the upber tolerant gay crowd can't take any opposing truthful observation
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ohwowgosh wrote...
    .
    February 13, 2013 7:55 am
    How was his point valid? His point was biggoted and homophobic. Of course people aren't going to be thrilled to see you if you walk in and have a bad attitude about their gender, or what you think their sexual orientation is. I understand that sometimes you run in to grumpy baristas, but it probably because they have to put up with person, after person like him. Gender, and sexual orientation have nothing to do with how good the coffe is, or how bad the service is. I'm not at my job for you to get a kick out of me being attractive, if I was, I would work at a bikini stand. I'm there because it pays the bills and I like what I do. I try to treat people nicely, but if they come in and are awful, it gets really hard to keep that smile pasted on my face. Also being gay has absolutely nothing to do with how you get treated at a shop, I don't know how this thread keeps coming back to that.
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  • Cbrew wrote...
    ohwowgosh - You're missing the point....
    February 13, 2013 8:21 am
    It's not intolerant to point out an observation, you've just been brainwashed to think that if i say anything negative about a gay person or a group of gay people i must be a bigot... I'm not a biggot, i'm pointing out what i've experienced. What you're missing is, Gay guys on the whole don't like straight guys... they treat us rudely, there are a number of people in here trying to explain that to you but you're ignoring it because you're pro-gay and think because of that you HAVE to defend their behavior, I'm just telling you the truth, every time i go to a coffee stand and there is a gay male barista I get the same or similar experience, they are not polite, they ignore you and talk to their co-workers, and are often times rude. If i was just a bigot lying for the heck of it, and this is completely unfounded, why was it that i wasn't even the first person to bring it up and there are several other people in here saying the same thing!!! Get past your idea that I just hate Gay people, I don't hate them and i don't hate anyone for that matter... now... for argument's sake just spend the next day at work and watch how your male counterparts treat the women that come to the stand, and the straight males... there's a difference... oh and by the way, way to judge me earlier by saying that i look down on people that work at coffee shops or whatever, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I was born into a poor family and have worked hard my whole life to get to where i am, believe me, I don't look down on ANYONE that works.
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  • ohwowgosh wrote...
    .
    February 13, 2013 12:43 pm
    The part that you don't get, is that you're making huge assumptions about people when you walk in. How do you know if they're gay when you walk in? Seriously, do you have the worlds most developed gaydar, or what? That's what is so infuriating about your opinion, and apparently the other people that are "trying to get through to me". Also the guys that work at my shop (not stand) treat EVERYONE well, usually better than the women do. Not only at my store, but most of the ones I've gone to. Which is impressive in itself, for how many people have the same attitude about male baristas as you do. If you want to make sweeping generalizations, fine, but at least have some sort of basis in fact. Also you were looking down on the male baristas up there too "the guy is a male Barista.... ... A Male... Barista.... That is all." and ok, I'm sorry, you weren't the jerk making some comment about him being a barista for ten years, my bad there. However I'm failing to see where there is a problem with him being a man. Its completely irrelevant what gender he is. I'm sorry that a few guys at coffee shops replaced the young girls that you liked, or that they may have rushed you through the line. But that doesn't give you the right to let it take down a whole group of people that have nothing to do with your coffee experience. I really have no problem with your opinion on gay people though, I can think you're closed minded. But, it has nothing to do with the argument. Its the fact that you assume that they're gay, and thats why they're treating you poorly.
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  • Cbrew wrote...
    Ohwowgosh....
    February 14, 2013 11:50 am
    Is the guy at your coffee shop gay? I bet 10 bucks he is. I'm not trying to be rude but spotting a gay man in today's society is not that hard, many gays simply speak in a feminine manner, dress a specific way and do not try to make it a secret that they are gay... Though i agree there are people that wish to keep it a secret or simply do not choose to speak or dress in a way signifying their homosexuality... I want to say, i really think you're acting naive here... you're pretending that it's not possible to tell if a person is gay based on their appearance, body language and other factors, and i'm not sure why, except that perhaps you believe that is stereotyping and stereotyping is inherently bad... I don't think it is, Stereotyping CAN certainly be bad, but it is also a tool the brain uses to identify and specify people... It's an evolutionary trait. We (right or wrong) categorize people based on appearance whether we like it or not we do it.. sometimes that is wrong sometimes it's accurate. I.E. if you walk into an elevator and a man who smells like garbage and booze in tattered clothes is in the elevator with you, you will automatically recognize this person as likely a homeless man and your body will automatically begin to react to his presence, if he appears bigger than you and a physical threat your pulse will increase and your heart will begin to beat faster to increase blood flow and get you ready to react to any danger... Now, this man may or may not be a bum and he may or may not be a threat to you, you don't know for sure but your mind automatically charactarizes him in this manner. Now I'm not threatened by Homosexuals, but in the same instance my mind can put together the traits I understand to be homosexual in nature, and i can be wrong sure, but the liklihood is pretty good that i'm not, if you think it's wise i could go and ask these people if they're gay but i guarantee you they are. Even you are probably leaning towards the idea that they are in fact Gay because lets be honest, the field is dominated by women, men being who they are, are not likely to take this job... Gays however, identify with women as much or more than with men and therefor have no problem taking this kind of job... Now I may be generalizing in my approach to this topic, but at least i'm being honest, and as for not "all" gay male barista's being rude, i'm sure there are some that aren't, but that's been my experience thus far and as i have said, it appears many others have had the same experiences.
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  • ohwowgosh wrote...
    .
    February 15, 2013 4:22 pm
    Jesus H you are ignorant. No, none of the guys at my shop are gay. One is dating my roommate, the other also has a girlfriend a well, and the third one is also not gay. In fact of all thirteen stores in my company, I only know of one guy that actually is gay. Also no, the coffee world is not generally dominated by women. The reason why you see a lot of lady baristas is because you either A) go to a lot of bikini stands, or B)the shop has taken to hiring ladies, because they are better for tips. It has nothing to do with male baristas being effeminate. It has to do with people wanting better tips, which people like you like to give to the 18-22 year old bubbly girls. However, in a lot of the higher end coffee bars there is a pretty good balance of men and women. I agree that there are a lot of people that fall in to the stereotype of what people perceive gay men to follow. However, that doesn't make every male barista you encounter gay, nor does it justify you're terrible attitude towards them. I'll be the first to admit that I think stereotypes originate in truth, and I stereotype like crazy. However, reacting to someone that looks stereotypically shady vs. someone who really poses no threat to you are completely different. Being a barista also has nothing to do with the gay stereotype, thats one that you created for yourself. If you were to say something like "most male baristas are hipsters" I might give you that one, especially in the Seattle area. The point of my argument is, once again, that them being gay or not has nothing to do with them being rude to you. Being gay is not the majority, therefore you can assume that most people that you come across in your day are probably not going to be gay. We can apply this to baristas, and come to the conclusion that a good majority of baristas are probably not gay. Therefore when you're treated poorly it has nothing to do with their sexual orientation, and more to do with either you being an awful customer. Or them actually being unpleasant to you due to something that almost guaranteed has little to nothing to do with you.
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  • Pawnbroker1 wrote...
    It is easy to be snarky.
    February 12, 2013 11:51 am
    Add to the level of difficulty. Try writing uplifting notes and be funny. Then I would be impressed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Desslok wrote...
    What a jerk!
    February 12, 2013 4:56 pm
    So, he's bragging about doing his job poorly and not giving customers what they ordered - even if they have an allergy they make him aware of. I'd have fired him too.
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  • RichardCheese wrote...
    .
    February 13, 2013 9:20 am
    clearly this is a work to garner attention and make something of his website. he's going to write a book and is also looking to jumpstart his music career. how else but to get fired and get pub.
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