Scooter's Coffee — Restaurant in Rapid City

I remember the first time I saw snow. I was seven, standing barefoot on the porch of a rented house in northern Vermont, watching my breath curl into little ghosts while the sky dropped white silence on everything. My mother was inside, burning cinnamon sticks in a saucepan like she always did when we didn’t have enough money for actual dessert, and my father was already gone, though I didn’t know then that he wouldn’t be coming back. That house had slanted floors and windows that whistled when the wind hit them just right. I used to pretend the house was singing to me. Later, much later, I would learn that houses only sing when you're small enough to believe in that kind of thing. College happened the way an accident happens: suddenly and with paperwork. I studied anthropology, mostly because I liked the idea of brushing dirt off of something important. After graduation I moved to Portland with three friends and a Honda Civic that barely made it past Pennsylvania. We lived on instant noodles and the kinds of dreams you scribble on bar napkins at 2 AM. One of us became a nurse. One of us went back home. One of us disappeared after a trip to Guatemala. I stayed.

Years passed the way they always do when you’re not paying attention. I got jobs and lost them. Fell in love with a woman who played the violin like she was trying to make the air remember something. We broke up in a train station in Denver and I haven’t seen her since, but sometimes I swear I hear her bow in the whistle of incoming freights. I’ve worked construction, taught middle school English, sold hand-carved spoons at farmers markets. Once, I slept in the back of a used bookstore for an entire summer. The owner let me stay in exchange for cataloging obscure biographies and feeding the cat, which had only one eye and an unfortunate habit of peeing on Russian literature. I say all this because there’s a rhythm to life, a way everything threads together even when it doesn’t make sense. Like waking up one day and finding yourself here, of all places, with the light just right through the window and a song you haven’t heard since childhood playing softly from a corner speaker. It’s funny how it all leads somewhere, even if you’re not sure where you were headed to begin with. Oh yeah, I forgot, this coffee shop was pretty...

PSA - IF YOU ARE NOT A BARTENDER, WAITER, WAITRESS, ETC (PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY RELY ON GRATUITY TO PAY THEIR BILLS) DON'T EXPECT A TIP FOR DOING YOUR REGULAR JOB, YOU DONUT.

We will no longer be giving this place our business until these two employees are trained appropriately or are terminated.

For the past three times (not including this experience) we have visited this location there's always ONE girl in the drive through with medium to dark brown hair (sometimes with a hair band on), fair amount of acne on her face, and looks to be about 16-18 years old; Ever since they stopped handing the credit card terminal to the customer, This girl always asked me to tip her in a abrasive manner high pitched fake voice as if to say "you gonna do this or not?" and the past two times I have I tipped fair gratuity in accordance with the price (15-20%) and her demeanor immediately changes from that fake high pitched annoying girl voice to someone audibly annoyed.

The last time I went, which was yesterday (1/15/2023) the same thing happened again with the same young girl, this time another employee had something to chime in. As she startled me again asking for a tip in the same exact way (I'm sure she does this to everyone) I decided to tip her over the fair gratuity and in a sarcastic tone you hear the other heavy set employee with long blonde hair (could have been a girl not sure) say this "Oh nice he's just trying to make sure you don't die, Brenda ( I think is what she called her)".

Screw this location and their inability to hire decent employees who are paid fair enough to not disrespectfully ask for gratuity.

Businesses pay your employees better and train them to know that if you ask for a tip, you're probably not doing well enough and you're definitely not getting a good tip. Such awful people to encounter, go to a different coffee shop, this stuff is sub par and over priced anyway. Which is appalling, you would think with the overpriced menu they have, their employees wouldn't be begging for tips at the drive thru like hungry vultures. I'm sure the owners are doing well,...

No longer going to this location. I use to go almost every week and I previously had a good review but I'm changing it now because of today. It took 20 minutes to get through the drive thru. When I got up to the window, there were at least 5 teenagers that looked like they were just messing around. Only one of them had a mask on and they were also not friendly and polite like the workers use to be there. My order was for an almond milk maple vanilla ice latte. I paid for it and gave them a coupon that was for half off. I then drove away and started drinking my latte only to realize that it had dairy in it. I'm very lactose intolerant and I have heart issues which are made worse by dairy. On top of that, I checked my credit card charges and they didnt even use my coupon. I decided not to go back to try and get it fixed because there was still such a huge line and I didnt want to wait another 20 minutes. It was just a waste of time and money. Big disappointment. I'll still go to the other scooters on Eglin. I've never had a bad experience with them but I will go to Starbucks instead now if I'm on...