madness: silly person refuses to follow silly rules for silly reason

http://gothamist.com/2010/08/16/cops_eject_starbucks_customer_who_w...

Funny anyway, but I was hoping she got thrown out for refusing to say "venti".  Instead it was for not answering a simple question based on her own personal rules for how a bagel should be ordered everywhere in the world.  

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Hey, Howie! In the Entertainment Business we have a saying:
"First rule of Holes. If you find yourself in one, stop digging".

Jeez, you'd think that someone would come up with a way for your morning coffee and bagel to include *less* douchbaggery.

Thanks Chris!
Yeah, a simple, "No, thanks" would have sufficed.

hehe, pi...

Jared Rutledge said:

What happened? The link is no longer good.
i wasn't saying i didn't care about you posting this, just fyi. more that i think it's hilarious people still care what starbucks does in the specialty coffee community, and specifically that a person with a PHD cared enough to make a big deal out of it. how about just not going there? nothing changes the world like irrelevancy.
Yeah that is probably the most ridiculous part. This self proclaimed "linguist" should probably learn that language is for communicating, and that screaming the same thing over and over is less communicative than the language of stabucks land.

You know what's a much more fun way to "stick it to starbucks" without harassing their poor employees? When people mention starbucks to you, innocently pretending that you have no idea what they're talking about or what that word means. I wouldn't do it to a customer though, since they're probably already pissed off that you're pretending that you don't know what "venti" means.


Jared Rutledge said:
i wasn't saying i didn't care about you posting this, just fyi. more that i think it's hilarious people still care what starbucks does in the specialty coffee community, and specifically that a person with a PHD cared enough to make a big deal out of it. how about just not going there? nothing changes the world like irrelevancy.
christopher myers said:
Yeah that is probably the most ridiculous part. This self proclaimed "linguist" should probably learn that language is for communicating,. Jared Rutledge said:
specifically that a person with a PHD cared enough to make a big deal out of it. how about just not going there? nothing changes the world like irrelevancy.

Lessee, the language is crumbling, idiocracy runs rampant, and someone who has dedicated their lives to defending the language to the point of receiving a doctorate degree is being laughed at for her contributions in the face of a giant corporation that would otherwise reduce our language to their commercial model.
Get in line kids, right this way to the salt mines...
Kudos Mizz Language Doctor, for standing up to those that would reduce the sheeple even more.

But yeah, pi on the scale of the care-o-meter made me laugh out loud as well!
thats messed up I forgot and ordered a small several times at starbucks no one even corrected me they knew what I wanted what a bunch of Aholes. That is a corporate complaint for sure law suite maybe.

I had a guy order a multi grain bagel only lightly toasted 3 really thin slices of tomato and I mean thin.
Then cut if in four equal slices and I mean equal.

That guy was the worst customer I have ever had a serious DBag.
I grunted i the back but made his order promptly exactly the way hey wanted was polite thanked him for coming it and he didnt even tip.

You just grit your teeth and move on what can you do.
christopher myers said:
...I wouldn't do it to a customer though, since they're probably already pissed off that you're pretending that you don't know what "venti" means.

Who's pretending... I don't know what "venti" means. More accurately, I'm not 100% positive that the person ordering actually knows what "venti" means. When faced with a situation where I'm concerned that communication isn't going to be clear, I prefer to verify.

For example, at our shop, we use Small, Medium, and Large OR 12oz, 16oz, 20oz for most drinks. If someone walks up to the register and orders a "Tall", I'll smile, point to the cup stack, and say something like "our sizes are 12, 16, or 20oz, which would you prefer?". I'd say that at least half of the time the customer looks at the stack of cups and picks a size OTHER THAN THE 12oz... generally picking the 20oz.

I guess that clear communication is the bottom line. Strangely, I'm starting to think that it makes sense for their employees to want you to order using their names for the sizes. After all, their "Tall" isn't their small... the "Short" is. Tall is their "smallish medium which used to be the large way back in the day", right? If I have the history right, the "Grande" is the "larger medium that was the large for a while". That one really rolls of the tongue, no?

Screw it, just order ounces and call it a day.

Not defending an employee with poor customer service skills, or someone that is out to make a scene (and continues to be willing to spend money at a place that treats them pretty poorly? WTF?).

BTW, Jared, loved the meter.
however you order you shouldn't be treated like a jerk.
There is a way to handle things be polite have honor and self respect.
If I ordered a tall and you told me politely and kindly
that your sizes where 12 ounces 16ounces and 20 ounces I
would have no problem and tell you I wanted 12 ounces.
However I may ask you if you would consider an 8ounce size which I
prefer as a size choice for customers like myself in the future.

There is a way to be polite kind and civil to our fellow man
as time roles on I hear more and more stories like this.
Who care that your the customers
you'll do it the way we tell you or go some where else
after all who needs customers.
That seems to be the prevailing attitude these days.

But there is the other side of the coin with customers
asking for ridiculous concessions beyond what we the
business should have to cater to.
My story with our bagel friend was one I mentioned
earlier.

It's a mutual respect thing.
Me the customer I am picky I admit it
but I am very nice about it.
I want a 12 ounce iced drink with 3 pumps of vanilla
or 3/4 of an ounce of vanilla light ice and whole milk.

However I am very polite about asking for what I what and usually tip 2 or 3 dollars
to the baristas if they get the request right for the additional grief I give them.
Let me tell you when your kind and polite with your request and tip 2 or 3 dollars.
You can get a drink with prompt service and a kind smile anywhere.
If you go somewhere more than once they remember what kind of drink you want.

Customers will always test you sometimes with way beyond ridiculous things.
Its how we handle things in that moment that test the content of our character.
Brady said:
If someone walks up to the register and orders a "Tall", I'll smile, point to the cup stack, and say something like "our sizes are 12, 16, or 20oz, which would you prefer?".

What if I order a 'short'?
I've been to places where their smallest was an eight ounce, and I tell them not to feel obligated to fill it up with milk, I want to taste their espresso. With a twelve, I usually warn them not to fill it over half-way. I don't care that they charge me for eight or twelve, but I want something resembling a competition cappuccino (but with a doppio instead of a single shot) and invariably they feel the need for me to get my money's worth. In milk.
If the smallest cup your shop has is a twelve or eight, pleas consider at least a menu item that includes a traditional drink size.
What happens to an espresso in one of those?

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