Watch me get petty
Aug. 26th, 2007 10:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seabird78We all know that there's millions of reasons to hate Starbucks. Their coffee is overpriced, they peddle fancy drinks dressed up with sugar and whipped cream to attract teens that they can convert into life-time caffeine addicts, not to mention that they make life difficult for many small business owners who attempt to compete by opening their own coffee shops. I can get behind any one of these ideas, but after an encounter last week, I don't have to. Why, you ask? Because now I have my own personal reason to harbor a vendetta against this evil corporate giant.
I had a meeting with two of my colleagues last Tuesday, and we agreed it would be nice to go offsite and have some refreshments while we discussed our business. There's a Starbucks right down the block from our building, and that's where we decided to go. I wasn't all that thirsty, but I did notice that there was a chocolate chip cookie displayed in the pastry case. I requested it, and the barista was all set to pull it out when the cash register woman next to her told her I couldn't have it. When I asked why, she explained that the cookie was broken, and that they weren't allowed to sell customers broken items.
"It's fine, I can still eat it." I said, since the cookie was simply broken into two pieces, not crumbled into dust or anything.
"I'm sorry, I can't give it to you." She said. "I meant to take it out of the case earlier and I just didn't get around to it."
It was one of those moments where I wished I had the personality required to raise a stink. There wasn't much else in the display case that I wanted, and being told no made me want that damn cookie even more, but I figured it would be silly to get up in arms over something so trivial.
The girl who took my order suggested I try a toffee bar instead, considering it was the next closest thing to a chocolate chip cookie. I reluctantly agreed, and also ordered a hot chocolate so I'd still have a source of sugar if I didn't like the toffee bar. The cashier continued apologizing, and my precious cookie was removed from sight. In the end, the toffee bar wasn't all that bad, but even days later I'm still obsessing over that lost cookie. I keep wondering if they just tossed it out, or broke it into smaller pieces for their sample tray. And I'm tempted to write them a letter to ask if the former is the case, because if it is (not that they'd admit it, I'm sure), I'm gonna have to get self-righteous and boycott their products. It makes no sense to deny a willing customer something they want, especially when it would allow them to make a profit on something they normally wouldn't be able to sell. I can understand quality control and all that, but it's not like the cookie was half-baked or filled with rat poop or dropped on the floor. Come to think of it, their mentality creates a negative metaphor, implying that anything that's visibly broken is not fit for public consumption.
Alright, now I'm just talking out of my ass and stretching for reasons to be pissed off, so I'd best end this here, but I still think I'm gonna send them an irate letter. I'm sure it'll just result in a bunch of coupons or gift certificates or whatever along with an insincere apology, but at least I'll know that I stood up for my principles.
Stay tuned....
I had a meeting with two of my colleagues last Tuesday, and we agreed it would be nice to go offsite and have some refreshments while we discussed our business. There's a Starbucks right down the block from our building, and that's where we decided to go. I wasn't all that thirsty, but I did notice that there was a chocolate chip cookie displayed in the pastry case. I requested it, and the barista was all set to pull it out when the cash register woman next to her told her I couldn't have it. When I asked why, she explained that the cookie was broken, and that they weren't allowed to sell customers broken items.
"It's fine, I can still eat it." I said, since the cookie was simply broken into two pieces, not crumbled into dust or anything.
"I'm sorry, I can't give it to you." She said. "I meant to take it out of the case earlier and I just didn't get around to it."
It was one of those moments where I wished I had the personality required to raise a stink. There wasn't much else in the display case that I wanted, and being told no made me want that damn cookie even more, but I figured it would be silly to get up in arms over something so trivial.
The girl who took my order suggested I try a toffee bar instead, considering it was the next closest thing to a chocolate chip cookie. I reluctantly agreed, and also ordered a hot chocolate so I'd still have a source of sugar if I didn't like the toffee bar. The cashier continued apologizing, and my precious cookie was removed from sight. In the end, the toffee bar wasn't all that bad, but even days later I'm still obsessing over that lost cookie. I keep wondering if they just tossed it out, or broke it into smaller pieces for their sample tray. And I'm tempted to write them a letter to ask if the former is the case, because if it is (not that they'd admit it, I'm sure), I'm gonna have to get self-righteous and boycott their products. It makes no sense to deny a willing customer something they want, especially when it would allow them to make a profit on something they normally wouldn't be able to sell. I can understand quality control and all that, but it's not like the cookie was half-baked or filled with rat poop or dropped on the floor. Come to think of it, their mentality creates a negative metaphor, implying that anything that's visibly broken is not fit for public consumption.
Alright, now I'm just talking out of my ass and stretching for reasons to be pissed off, so I'd best end this here, but I still think I'm gonna send them an irate letter. I'm sure it'll just result in a bunch of coupons or gift certificates or whatever along with an insincere apology, but at least I'll know that I stood up for my principles.
Stay tuned....
