Well aren’t you just SO clever?

I’ve been in many a Starbucks and sure the names of their sizes don’t really make much sense outside of their own RDF, but it isn’t that hard to figure it out. Their new displays even show the sizes of the cups with little name tags underneath.

I’ve also seen many people who ride that fine line of hating Starbucks naming scheme, but not hating it enough to avoid Starbucks entirely. Those are the people who come in and order, in a slightly aggressive voice: a small, medium or large coffee. The baristas are unfazed and will frequently translate the order when they call it out, and the customer hasn’t had to compromise their caffeinated integrity. I have yet to see anyone try to get a short size by ordering extra-small, however.

This morning was a new one on me though. I was behind two men in line and the first one ordered “a 16 ounce regular coffee” and actually seemed rather pleased with himself for completely bucking the system. It didn’t really slow anything down, since all the server had to do was flip the cup over if they didn’t already know which one it was. But his coffee companion also ordered the same thing, and they both got shot a little look by the cashier. They also attempted a little mini-con at the register, “I, uh, ordered a regular coffee, what size is that, tall?”

Oh so now you know what the sizes are, eh? The cashier rang up two grandes for them, but well played, gentlemen… well played.