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October 25, 2005
Java Jive
I don't go to Starbucks. During my three years in the States probably I was there only for three times. However, last weekend I went to explore the Prudential area with a friend and we went into Barnes and Nobles and decided to get a coffee while looking through magazines. When I approached the counter there was no one around except the cashier. I asked for a small coffee. She mumbles to herself. I again asked for the small coffee. She looked at me in an annoyance and said, "We don't serve small coffees, we only have tall ones" I looked at the chart and assumed that the cheapest one would be the smallest, so I went for the "tall" coffee. I think the Starbucks managers chose to promote to have "tall" coffee and abuse the meaning of the word "tall" instead of small is that the many consumers in this country choose "extra large" s over the regular sizes. Now who would like a tall coffee?
Posted by lcisbold at October 25, 2005 12:11 AM
Comments
Zaya- Great entry! I especially was struck by your first sentence, "I don't go to Starbucks". I knew immediately what your entry was going to be about: some kind of frustration or annoyance with Starbucks and their coffee. I think you may be right about the managers of Starbucks. Maybe they think that so many people are ordering extra-large coffees that large has become the "small". Also, I enjoyed how you concluded your blog with a rhetorical question: "Now, who would like a tall coffee?" Excellent!
Posted by: Christina at October 26, 2005 04:26 PM
Hi Zaya,
Your blog gave me a pang because I've had similar experiences overseas. I wish we could reach a point in life where communication is understood to be more than words. And where you get your coffee whether you ask for it using their preferred term or not to describe their smallest cup of coffee!
~ Nanette
Posted by: Nanette Savides at October 27, 2005 07:59 PM