Starbucks

I have a problem. I'm addicted to Starbucks. Everyday last week, I was there on my way to work. Well, except for Thursday and that's only because there was nowhere to park and I was too lazy to circle the block looking for a spot.

The Starbucks that I go to caters to all the mid-town and downtown residents and employees. I constantly run into people I know who work at the Capitol or for other Agencies in the area and I like it that way. It gives me a chance to say hello to people that normally I only see when I have something work-related to see them about.

The Barristas at my Starbucks are starting to know me and already know that I've switched from my "winter drink" (a grande nonfat decaf peppermint mocha) to my "summer drink" (a venti peppermint mocha light frappuccino) and are starting to learn my name. They still can't spell it right, but fine, as long as they get the drink right, I don't care.

Everyone knows how Starbucks works. It's sort of like the Soup Nazi. You get there, you get in line, you know what you want, you order it, you move on. Nothing fancy, nothing difficult. EVERYONE knows this. Well, almost everyone.

Friday, I get to Starbucks and there's a line almost out the door. I think, fine, no problem, it goes fast. Oh, how wrong I was. These two women in front of me - I could swear have never been into a Starbucks in their lives - are standing there staring at the menu above the counter. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally, what seemed like 12 hours later, the first lady decides to order an grande Americano. Now, correct me if I am wrong but isn't that just A REGULAR CUP OF COFFEE???? Seriously lady, it took you 15 minutes to decide you wanted a REGULAR cup of coffee? Oh.My.God.

So, lady number two gets up there and still doesn't know what she wants. By this time, the people behind me are just as annoyed as I am and the cashier could tell, so he says to the lady "maybe you could let people behind you order since you are still deciding." So fine, we finally get to order and about 10 people went and ordered before this lady had decided. I even got my drink and left and she was STILL deciding. I actually thought about stalling and hanging around to see what she finally ordered, but after standing in line for at least 20 minutes, I had to get to the office.

So, the lessons to be learned from this rant:

1) It's Starbucks. They serve coffee and coffee drinks. It's not hard to decide what you want
2) Try looking at the menu while you are standing in line.
3) If you're going to order a regular coffee, just order it. Don't spend 15 minutes deciding on it. I could have made a pot of coffee in less time it took to stand there and order it. And I barely know how to make a pot of coffee...hence my need for Starbucks.
4) People who have nothing better to do in the morning than go to Starbucks and get a cup of coffee should wait until at least 9am when the people who stop on their way to work have already come and gone.