[albie]

I like Starbucks coffee but I refuse to use their language. I always say a “medium half decaf and half regular, no cream”. Never been thrown out. There’s more to the story.

[scott7278]

I do the same thing...I’ll order a large, they’ll come back with what large is to them, and I say something to the effect of “That’ll do it.” They’ve never made me speak their language, and I don’t have a chip on my shoulder.

Being a snob sometimes has consequences. Just order the dang bagel and force yourself to say “without butter or cheese.”

[JoeProBono]

[Still Thinking]

I like Starbucks coffee but I refuse to use their language. I always say a “medium half decaf and half regular, no cream”. Never been thrown out. There’s more to the story.

Me too. I wouldn't go out of my way to go to a Starbucks but if I'm in an airport or somewhere where that's all there is I order a "large coffee".

[skookum55]

I rarely go to Starbucks. Despite living in the Seattle metro area, I've probably visited them and bought something fewer than a dozen times. I, too, refuse to use their lemming-like language. I just ask for a coffee, and its never been a problem. Being forced to use their patented phrases is akin to being forced to advertize for them by wearing their T-shirt.

The prof may well be a Democrat and not charming, but one has to respect an English professor for using and standing up for the use of proper English. That's more support for our culture than anything I've seen an admitted Democrat do.

[RobRoy]

Me too. For me it is small, medium and large.

[krb]

>medium half decaf and half regular

Out of curiosity, do you really need to specify that the other half of your "half decaf" is "regular?" I bet you could optimize your order a little bit and just ask for a "half decaf" and be fine.

[SamAdams76]

I don't use the special language either at the Starbucks, especially the pretentious words they use to describe the cup sizes. I basically order a large regular just like I was at the Dunkin Donuts and never get any grief. I'm thinking there's more to this story as well, like maybe this woman was just being a general pain in the neck.

Speaking of Starbucks, their coffee prices aren't as high as they used to be. I'm thinking that McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts must be eating into their coffee market share.