You Say ‘To-MAY-to’ and I Say ‘Ru-ta-BAY-ga’
Interior of the Pike Place Market location in 1977
Pike Place Market. See File talk:Pike Place Market - Starbucks circa 1977.jpg for further discussion. -
Original Starbucks store in Pike Place Market, 1977, Item 35042,
Pike Place Market Visual Images and Audiotapes (Record Series 1628-
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Today’s Commentary is courtesy of Sally C:
Sunday, June 23, 2019
You Say ‘To-MAY-to’ and I Say ‘Ru-ta-BAY-ga’
Sally M. Chetwynd
June 2019
Last Saturday morning I met two fellow writers at a local Barnes & Noble bookstore, where we spent an hour outlining a mutual project. Having arrived earlier than the others, I went to the Starbuck’s café to order a drink.
The fellow behind the counter took at least a minute and a half to stop looking at his register to acknowledge my presence. I was the only person in line. His demeanor was of indifference, even though the place had been open for only two hours. He finally asked what I wanted. I told him unsweetened iced tea. Then he asked what kind. I know the hot tea comes in varieties as tea bags, so I asked if he had Earl Gray, a black tea. He then recited my reduced iced tea options to generic black, green, white, or chai. This, in a specialty shop whose online menu posts far more specific variety.
OK, black. Unsweetened.
Then he asked me, “Venti or trenta?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Venti or trenta?”
“I’m sorry, but I do not know what those words mean.”
A slightly exasperated look replaced the studied ennui in his eyes. “Large or extra-large?” He picked up two clear plastic cups to indicate the sizes.
No small? No medium? “Large.” Like beer, one only borrows tea for an hour or two. My bladder would soon be awash.
“What kind?”
“What kind of what?”
“What kind of tea do you want?”
Didn’t I already tell him this? Twice? “Black. Unsweetened.” At this point, I figured it would be wise to reiterate that last, too, since he clearly wasn’t paying much attention.
I paid him $3.49 plus tax and watched him drift languidly in the direction of the far counter four feet away, on which four plastic covered pitchers of pre-made cold tea sat. I waited for about three minutes for him to put ice in a cup and pour tea into it.
When I sat down at a nearby table, I had a few minutes to contemplate this bizarre little experience. Why couldn’t he have said “large or extra-large” in the first place? I couldn’t identify the language of the two foreign words he spoke. Was that a new language or a secret code only for high-falutin’ coffee aficionados? He didn’t look or sound like an immigrant – no accent. Was he employing foreign words because his employer requires it, the way Walmart requires its employees to bid each customer, “Have a nice day” (as insipid a phrase as they come)? Am I the only one who needs an English-Starbucks dictionary to travel their menu? Am I deemed a knuckle-dragger because I don’t frequent Starbuck’s enough to be au courant to their latest lingo? I plead ignorance – that’s no crime and it's easily remedied – but I’m not stupid. Contempt is contempt, whether expressed overtly or covertly.
So I looked online later and found that Starbuck’s has appropriated Italian for “twenty” (venti) and “thirty” (trenta) to mean “large” and “extra-large.” (I think these are related to the number of fluid ounces in each size.) If the fellow had rattled off my options beginning with the word “grande,” I might have caught on. But as it turns out, I still would have been in the dark. “Grande” means “large.” But Starbucks has rewritten the dictionary so that it means “medium.” In fact, neither “grande” nor “tall” (Starbuck's definition: “small”) was an option. (For that matter, why weren’t “small” and “medium” available?) What’s the point of requiring linguistic gymnastics of a customer who just wants a cup of iced tea? I see it as a pointless and rather stupid effort to impress the rest of us with faux-European worldliness.
They've impressed me, all right, but not favorably. They have just confirmed further why the only particular use I have for them is occasionally to sit long enough to access their free WiFi. I deserve that, having paid a trenta price for a tall tea.
The hours are ticking away and if we don’t make the most of our time another day will soon click past.
Unnoticed.
Unappreciated.
Tick Tock.
In clock language:
Enjoy today.
Enjoy the week.
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Postings Count, Weather Brief, and Dinner
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Our 443rd consecutive posting, committed to 5,000.
After 443 posts we’re at the 8.86 percentile of our commitment, the commitment a different way of marking the passage of time.
We are racing to the 10% mark.
Now there’s a mark, 10%. Only 9 more such marks in front of our commitment to the blog.
Time of posting is 12.01am on Sunday.
On this day Boston will enjoy warm temperatures, with a high of 84* and a feels-like of 90* under sunny skies.
The next few days will feature varying but seasonal temperatures, seventies to eighties with a lot of sun.
Dinner Friday was elaborate: olives, minestra, penne pesto, a perfectly turned out London Broil with flavored butter, and a cheeseboard.
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We love getting mail.
Contact me at domcapossela@hotmail.com
Sunday, June 23, 2019
This, referencing Fridays commentary by Kali L is from Colleen G of Room to Write fame:
Wow! Dom,
That poem by Kali L was astounding and dissolving and makes me want to melt into a puddle on the ground collecting any more drops that fall from it. So beautiful!
Cheers,
Colleen:)
Web Meister Responds: Delighted with the terrific responses to Kali’s entry.
"’Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.'"
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Chuckle of the Day:
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender… "Pour me a stiff one – just had another fight with the little woman."
"Oh yeah?" said Charlie "And how did this one end?"
"When it was over," Mike replied, "she came to me on her hands and knees."
"Really," said Charles, "Now that's a switch! What did she say?"
"’Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.'"
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Today’s Thumbnail
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Starbucks Corporation is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain.
Starbucks was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971.
As of early 2019, the company operates over 30,000 locations worldwide.
This is a logo for Starbucks.
Source
Starbucks is considered the main representative of "second wave coffee", initially distinguishing itself from other coffee-serving venues in the US by taste, quality, and customer experience while popularizing darkly roasted coffee.
Since the 2000s, third wave coffee makers have targeted quality-minded coffee drinkers with hand-made coffee based on lighter roasts, while Starbucks nowadays uses automated espresso machines for efficiency and safety reasons.
Starbucks locations serve hot and cold drinks, whole-bean coffee, microground instant coffee known as VIA, espresso, caffe latte, full- and loose-leaf teas including Teavana tea products, Evolution Fresh juices, Frappuccino beverages, La Boulange pastries, and snacks including items such as chips and crackers; some offerings (including their annual fall launch of the Pumpkin Spice Latte) are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Many stores sell pre-packaged food items, hot and cold sandwiches, and drinkware including mugs and tumblers; select "Starbucks Evenings" locations offer beer, wine, and appetizers.
Starbucks-brand coffee, ice cream, and bottled cold coffee drinks are also sold at grocery stores.
Starbucks first became profitable in Seattle in the early 1980s.
Despite an initial economic downturn with its expansion into the Midwest and British Columbia in the late 1980s, the company experienced revitalized prosperity with its entry into California in the early 1990s.
The first Starbucks location outside North America opened in Tokyo in 1996; overseas properties now constitute almost one-third of its stores.
The company opened an average of two new locations daily between 1987 and 2007.
On December 1, 2016, Howard Schultz announced he would resign as CEO effective April 2017 and would be replaced by Kevin Johnson. Johnson assumed the role of CEO on April 3, 2017, and Howard Schultz retired to become Chairman Emeritus effective June 26, 2018
When I visit Starbuck’s, not too often, I write my order down before I approach the barista.
So many variables.
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Good Morning on this Sunday, the twenty-third day of June, 2019
We posted a picture of the interior of Starbuck’s in Pike Place Market.
We turned our commentary over to Sally C who delivered an excellent transcription of her experience ordering coffee without an acquaintance of Starbuck’s conceit: their jargon.
We posted the Boston weather report, the ticking calendar, and the growing number of posts as a time marker.
We reviewed by course a dinner party held on Friday night.
An email from Collen on Kali.
A chuckle.
And a thumbnail on Starbuck’s.
And now? Gotta go.