By Christopher Vasquez
PORTLAND, OR— A barista at one Portland cafe came face-to-face with his own shortcomings when it became apparent that he had spent the last six months calling regular customer Mark Wilde by the wrong name. The customer is reportedly both unoffended and unphased.
According to witnesses, barista Eddie Wong had called out, “Hey Scott, see you later!” nearly every day, waving from across the coffee shop as Wilde approached the exit. Reportedly, Wilde had “gone with it,” giving no more indication of the slip than a wave back and the occasional sheepish grin.
“I kind of died when I heard his friend call him Mark,” Wong revealed. “I tried to put a little extra love in their drinks and call out the right name extra loud, but I felt awful.” He shook his head, clearly distraught.
We caught up with Wilde for comment. “Scott, Mark—it’s pretty much the same thing, really,” he claimed, politely trying to downplay the misnomer. “Who knows, maybe I gave the barista the wrong name the first time they asked me.”
According to Mark’s wife Sarah, this is hardly the first time Mark has refused to correct people calling him the wrong name. “Yeah, he really doesn’t care at all,” she told reporters.
“The baristas there are always so warm and friendly, I was kind of just hoping they’d never find out,” Wilde told us. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
Wong, now steeped in doubt, revealed that the incident had shaken his confidence in his service skills. Our sources tell us that he is now wondering how many other names he may have been getting wrong.
Update: Despite the shakeup, Wong and Wilde continue to share a positive barista-regular relationship. It has since surfaced that Wong has indeed been calling a handful of other regulars by the wrong name.
Christopher Vasquez is a coffee culture writer and enthusiast with over 10 years of experience working as a barista in the coffee industry. He is currently affiliated with the startup Diaspora Coffee & Chai Co. You can follow his coffee journey on Instagram @shapesintheclouds.
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