The cashiers always look at me when I order a medium.

1/20/2014 6:58:51 PM

maybe it's because you called him a cashier

1/20/2014 6:59:58 PM

the correct term is 'counter bitch'

1/20/2014 7:00:57 PM

^^^Nice!

[Edited on January 20, 2014 at 7:03 PM. Reason : derp]

1/20/2014 7:02:40 PM

You could just not go to Starbucks

1/20/2014 7:04:24 PM

because being a douche to people who have no control over the naming scheme is going to help?

1/20/2014 7:05:50 PM

Quote :

"I refuse to use the naming scheme at Starbucks"

1/20/2014 7:06:25 PM

DUTCH BROS. FOR LIFE!!!

1/20/2014 7:07:14 PM

It also drives me nuts.
Real world:
Tall = Greater than average height
Grande = Italian for Great, adjective for something BIG
Venti = Italian for 20

Starbucks world
Tall = tinee tiny cup
Grande = runner up to small
Venti = Giant cup of coffee

1/20/2014 7:11:20 PM

1/20/2014 7:13:22 PM

Quote :

"because being a douche to people who have no control over the naming scheme is going to help?"

Perhaps I am unfamiliar with Starbucks culture... ordering a medium can be considered being a douche to someone? Make sure you leave a tip I guess.

1/20/2014 7:27:24 PM

Yeah I don't see how using the nomenclature that every other beverage shop in the US uses would be douchey. They know what you want, its not any more work for them to make if you say"medium" instead of "grande."

I order a large black coffee evertime and they always verify back "Venti House Blend"

If you correct them when they repeat it back "No I wanted a medium, not a GRAN-DEH" then you are a douche, and shouldn't be surprised if it takes 15 minutes to make your coffee.

1/20/2014 7:33:59 PM

The purposefully say back your order the correct way to teach you how to say it. Its not just sizes, they teach you the order they want information. Its consumer psychology.

(and it works)

Quote :

"Venti = Giant cup of coffee"

In Starbucks world, its 20oz. Venti. 20.

[Edited on January 20, 2014 at 7:41 PM. Reason : .]

1/20/2014 7:40:00 PM

i never thought of it, but "Venti" meaning 20 oz drink makes semi-sense. I will still call it a large though.

1/20/2014 8:06:58 PM

it really pssies off the peolple at cariboo coffee if you order using the spanish names from starbucks

1/20/2014 8:09:45 PM

I'll let Paul Rudd make this argument in the most dickish way possible.
http://youtu.be/OlczfhHOKRM

it would be less of a problem if there was some consistency to their naming, but its 3 words that have nothing in common, and don't mean the sizes they represent. Why not name them Jupiter for small, Elephant for medium, and the other will be czterdziesci which is 40 in polish, because a large is 40 tablespoons.

Then all the baristas can act like douches for not having memorized their special codes for generic coffee drinks.

1/20/2014 8:21:26 PM

why is small/medium/large any better? Small can mean anything 6-12+ ounces and large can be 8-128 ounces.

Stop ordering like a douche and just say how many ounces you want

1/20/2014 9:53:51 PM

1/20/2014 9:57:41 PM

Just order your coffee and stop telling us about it.

Christ

1/20/2014 10:05:02 PM

that's like going to burger king and ordering a mcmuffin - they probably know what you mean but you do it just because you think the mcdonald's naming scheme is better. you're just making some minimum-wage earner's day more annoying and shitty by acting like a douche.

1/20/2014 10:11:59 PM

Except a McMuffin is a commodity only sold by McDonalds. The preparation and ingredients might be similar, but the particular recipe, make and look of a McMuffin is specific to that restaurant.

There are thousands of coffee shops, all selling the exact same product. 99% of them use standard names, because its easier for the consumers to communicate and understand.

The douches in this situation aren't the consumers who don't like having to call a medium coffee they buy at 9/10 other coffee shops a grande house blend

It's not the baristas who are required by their corporate overlords to correct each and every costumer on how the brand requires they place their order

Its the dipshit corporate marketing team who saw that Starbucks controlled the market share, and to maintain there snooty consumer base they will call their coffee something different than everyone else. Because they know you can get a large coffee at any coffee shop, but if they call their's something different, then they are the only ones that can sell you a "grande pikes place"

Its marketing 101, if everyone sells the same thing, you call yours something different.

1/20/2014 10:28:59 PM

is it French, or is it Italian?

Perhaps fratalian

1/20/2014 10:40:55 PM

Here's a thought. Don't go to Starbucks you dipshit.

1/20/2014 10:40:57 PM

I think the only argument for going to Starbucks is that they are the only ones near most people with a drive-thru window.

The only Starbucks I've actually been into in the last 4 years was in a hospital, and thats only because every other food joint was closed after 10.

1/20/2014 10:48:26 PM

I worked at Starbucks in college. Let me tell you the story from the other point of view:

baristas have to go to several seminars and pass tests before they're even allowed to make drinks. part of that is knowing the "correct" order to call a drink. if it was a secret shopper at the counter and you were working the register and called the drink incorrectly to the barista, you would lose points on your evaluation. if you did that regularly, your manager could make you re-take the class or do the learning module again before you would be allowed to make drinks again.

Then at least once a day some dickbag comes in and makes a fuss about the naming of the drink sizes. None of the comments are unique, and you hear them all the time. Sometimes several times in the same day. Yes there are n00bs who don't know better - we're not talking about those people. Is the Starbucks naming scheme the best idea? It is maybe a little snooty or pretentious? Whatthefuckever. It's not that hard to order how it's clearly written on the menu and make someone else's day a little less stressful and rage-inducing.

Or maybe I'm just bitter because Friday was the anniversary of me getting robbed at gunpoint and locked in the cooler of said Starbucks.

[Edited on January 20, 2014 at 11:42 PM. Reason : Baristas get shat on. Fuck Starbucks. ]

[Edited on January 20, 2014 at 11:49 PM. Reason : "king" is large at CAJ and you order by fl oz at other places, with large being 16 or 18 oz]

1/20/2014 11:23:11 PM

I, too, just order S/M/L. The Starbucks names are stupid and I honestly would have to stop and think about what they call what I want .

1/20/2014 11:43:25 PM

Also all of the Caribou Coffees and Dunkin Donuts near me have a drive thru.

1/20/2014 11:54:15 PM

Quote :

"I, too, just order S,M,L."

1/21/2014 12:25:02 AM

* Be a dick to the baristas for no reason.
* Notice the term "ask me" on the label stuck to your cup.
* Realize you are drinking decaf.

1/21/2014 12:28:16 AM

I order grandes at Dunkin Donuts

1/21/2014 12:35:40 AM

^^^^That's an issue of working for a corporation. Not consumers or employees. You're not just a barista, you're a brand specialist. Your job is contingent on not just if you can be a good barista, but if you are properly adhering to good brand guidelines.

If I as a photographer insists that all my clients refer to my images as "ricordi" and not photographs, and then correct them every time they say photo, photograph, picture or pic...then I'm the dick. The rest of the world knows that what I deliver is a photograph, but I don't control any kind of power in the market place to define terms. Starbucks can get away with it because they control a fairly large market share and, as they see it, can define industry terms.

Corporate jobs suck, especially when its lower level shit like cooks, waiters, baristas or retail staff (and I've been all but a barista). There's nothing like watching a coworker get chewed out by a district manager he sees once a month because they could see his keychain hanging from his pocket or finding out someone was fired because they failed a secret uniform inspection by a secret shopper despite being a favorite among regulars or having your raises, promotions and bonuses calculated by a corporate exec in a city 500 miles away who decides who gets what based on a short report that's been handed up four tiers on the chain and who has never met anyone on your team.

Not to mention, being a consumer of corporate products sucks aswell. They get to control how you talk about their product and how you interact with it.

People aren't dicks because they have to order "Alto Arabaca Blend" in one shop, "Grande Breakfast Special" at another and "Large House Blend" at another. Its all the same shit, brewed the same way, poured in a 12 oz cup.

Edit: If you're corrected by a barista and say anything other than "yeah, that's it" then yes, you're a giant douche.



[Edited on January 21, 2014 at 12:41 AM. Reason : I wish I had a Donkin Donuts near enough to me or my destinations.]

1/21/2014 12:38:33 AM

Here's an idea. Make your own coffee.

1/21/2014 7:07:24 AM

....I'll admit, its awful pleasing when I say "I'd like a tall blonde" to the tall, blonde cashier....

1/21/2014 7:34:55 AM

The Starbucks guy screwed Seattle out of the Supersonics; that alone makes me not shop there.

[Edited on January 21, 2014 at 7:42 AM. Reason : y]

1/21/2014 7:42:12 AM

You holding too many grudges

1/21/2014 7:53:21 AM

BUT THEY HAVE TITTIES IN THEIR LOGO

1/21/2014 9:52:32 AM

Has anyone ever actually ordered a Trenta sized drink there? I've never seen it, but I think it exists. 31oz apparently.

1/21/2014 10:13:48 AM

I think I overcame my Starbucks habit. I still get it for social purposes, but I've gotten much better about otherwise making my coffee at home or drinking Dunkin' Donuts gas station coffee instead.

[Edited on January 21, 2014 at 10:14 AM. Reason : ^I think it's only in certain markets.]

1/21/2014 10:14:01 AM

I saw this bumper sticker once: "Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks."

Seriously though, get coffee elsewhere or make your own. Sbucks is a scam. A cup o' joe should not cost what they charge I don't care how many sugary syrupy things they put into it.

1/21/2014 10:15:49 AM

I prefer Dunkin anyway.

+1 for make your own.

1/21/2014 10:31:57 AM

a cup of regular coffee at starbucks is like a buck fifty.

I go there solely because it's a the end of my neighborhood and gives me an excuse to leave the house, take a walk, and socialize during the workday.

I hope those of y'all getting uppity about making your own never buy alcoholic drinks from a bar, because... ya know..

1/21/2014 10:47:35 AM

starbucks makes a decent latte, and you know its going to be consistent in any city at any time of the day.

hipsters can get over themselves, starbucks is fine.

1/21/2014 10:54:39 AM

I make my coffee at home and drink at home, who the fuck has money to go and buy these things?


they charge an arm and a leg for this crap.

1/21/2014 10:55:40 AM