Where everybody knows your naa-aaa-ame! And they’re always glad you caa-aaa-ame!
Yeah, so, today I realized how extreme my coffee addiction is. I walked into Starbucks and the two girls who were on shift tonight looked up and said, “Hey, Stephanie! How’s it goin’?”
I said that all was well.
One responded, “Do you want your regular drink?”
“Yeah.” (That’s what I said.)
The other said, without punching anything in to the computer, “That’ll be $3.90.”
I paid her and they handed me my drink exactly the way I like it. Perfect.
So…which is the biggest proof of my addiction? The fact that they know my name? That they know how to make my bizarro drink perfectly? The fact that they know exactly how much my drink costs without looking?
StephLewisBlog
Proof that you go to somewhere too often is when they correct your order when you accidentally say something wrong, or don’t even bother asking and just bring it out. It’s also weird when they start talking about conversations they had with your friends earlier or give you messages from them. I can’t see either of those happening at most corporate places though.
True story. I was out of town for a prayer summit the past few days. On my way back (I drove Diesel, which by the way turned over 282,000 miles on the 650 mile, trouble-free round trip…I love that car. 70 mph at 41 m.p.g. It’s the closest thing to driving free I’ll ever experience. While all of you scoff at my rude transportation, I just ask, “So how much is your car payment?” I bought this little gem 9 years ago for $1900. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Back to the story…) I saw a bumper sticker on a car reading,”Friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks.” Hmmmmmmmmm.
I’m not quite sure which is the worse out of em all. But you know when it is a matter of them having the drink ready or they are making it even before you get to the counter.
Where I used to work was a Wendy’s nearby and I knew that it would always come out to $4.63, Towards the end of the Job, they would see me walking up and already be making my 2 Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers, Small Drink, and a 5 piece nuggets. They would have it in a bag ready by the time I would pay. Sad…but true.
You all are seeing this negatively, but I’m not. One thing I loved about Europe/England was the local feel of grocery stores and pubs. People knew each other, would pause to chat and jaw, knew usually what they’d be buying, etc. Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily happen too much even when you go to the same coffee place a lot, but I refuse to see this as a truly bad thing. America is far too isolated from itself behind its suburban walls, and if it comes out even for a little bit to meet each other at Starbucks, so much the better.
And… I can understand a bit what “Pop” is saying. Last year with my brother driving the car all over (he shared mine), we had to fill the bloody thing up almost every week. This year? I can go about 3 weeks without filling (unless I make a trip to the Cities, which isn’t often this year). Boo yeah.
As a former Starbucks employee (did I just admit that?), there were a crazy amount of “usuals.” We were prepped to know their names and have their drinks ready when they came. Somehow, you remember the details of thier drink and the exact price – then, supposedly, the customer will be more willing to come back to your store because you know their name. Also the tips are usually better.