A Cup of Civility

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Interesting morning….

I have become this pretty simple person. Compared to life long ago when I purchased my clothes at fancier places, I wore really really cute trendy shoes, my clothes were stain free AND they actually fit- tight in the right places and loose where they should be. I had adorable accessories. Or, at least I thought so. Purses that cost as much as the safest infant car seat on the market. What a fancy life.

Today, my most lavish expense is McAlisters sweet tea and Starbucks coffee.

While this may not be a generous lifestyle for most, it drives Lenny absolutely nuts. As I’ve stated before, he turns pennies into dollars. And Starbucks, well, they eat pennies. Like over four hundred and twenty eight pennies every time I drive past their window.

Now, I have been a customer for years. An addict really. Going on eight or ten years I bet. I started off so confused… tall, grande and venti, which a size is which, the fancy drink names, and you are supposed to order your drink a certain way and in a certain order. You state the size, any coffee modifications, then the milk, then the flavor, then any topping modification… or something like that. It really is a little high maintenance, but for years I have never let that get in my way. A customer until the end.

I started off loyal to Carmel Macchiato, then soon came the first holiday season where I ventured out and tried a Gingerbread Latte, which is now the reason I wait for the first week of November on pins and needles…gingerbread flavor season begins. During winters ‘off -season’ my drink of choice is a no whip Toffe Nut Latte. (Be careful when you text toffee nut latte to your man as you beg him to bring you home an evening coffee…. if you have predicative text, it will come across as a toffee but latte…. Starbucks does NOT carry those. And, depending on how late at night it is, this can be amusing.) In the summertime I crave no whip Carmel Frappachinos and from time to time changing it up with an iced 3 pump soy Chi Latte or an upside-down iced Carmel Macchiato.

Yap, I am one of those. A bit much, hua?

Well, about three years ago my close childhood friend Tiffany started working part time at Starbuck. As a matter of fact, while she worked there she was at one of the busiest and most high volume stores around. She knows her coffee inside and out, and let me tell ya, they train those baristas well and they take great pride in their jobs. This location that she worked at is super super busy. The drive through line is always long and sometimes wraps around the parking lot. The inside is just as bad.

Tiffany has told me many stories where customers pay for other customer’s drinks in the drive through. ‘Oh, I am having a wonderful morning, the three cars behind me, I’ll get their tab.’ Or, ‘I cut the guy behind me off in the parking lot, I want to pay for his drink.’

It amazes me. No one has ever paid for my order. And I am there morning, noon, or night.

Back to this morning….

Today i went to Tiffany’s old store- the busy one- the drive through line was just too long. So long, as a matter of fact, they had a barista outside taking orders at your car and channeling them inside to speed things up. While I totally appreciate this, it is 8:10 in the morning. I have not had a shower. I am still in my jammie pants. I really do not want intimate close up conversation. My hair is oily for crying out loud. I prefer my window and the Starbucks window are between me and the barista. OCD?

So, I left. Not in a mean way, but I moved on.

There is another store not far away, as we know Starbucks’ are on just about every corner around here. The store I went to is managed by a girl that used to be at the busy store, so in a way, I am still giving back to the busy store. I know way too much Starbucks news.

The line at this store was pretty long as well, but not as bad. When I arrived at the end of the line, another lady pulls up coming the wrong way. I hate it when people do this. Everyone should enter the line the same way. No one should feel obligated to’ let anyone in’. It can be annoying.

We get to the point in line where I either need to go and move up or let her in. Is she going to be aggressive about it and if so, how ballsy is that?

Someone has to make a move and I am feeling, for whatever reason, very passive about it. She puts out her hand and motions to me asking if she may go ahead. I nod. She goes ahead of me. Why not? In my head I think to myself, well, this will give me a few more moments of peace and quiet before I get back home to three little ones and Lenny leaves to start his day…. and I left it at that.

She places her order and pulls forward.

I place my order and pull forward.

When I get up to the window I hand the barista my credit card.

‘No need to pay today ma’am. The lady in front of you said thanks for letting her in.’

How cool is that? Talk about making my day! Makes any Gingerbread Latte in a red festive cup taste even better!

And the side of my festive cups says something perfect… ‘when you wish, the world becomes brighter. so wish. it’s what makes the holidays the HOLIDAYS.

I wish for civility. And today that is what we got- civility, Starbucks-style.

One Comment

  1. My daughter and I have BOTH had this happen @ S-Bucks…I am now passing it on to the car behind me when/if it happens…unless they are buying for the whole office! 🙂

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