Entry#9 - The Secrets of Starbucks
Hello world,
Today I want to talk about something that I just found out and was very shocking to me. Yesterday I was scrolling through Snapchat and I came across my sister’s Snapchat story. I clicked on it because her face is familiar to me, but what I saw on her story was something that was not so familiar to me. She posted a video of her and my other sister in our kitchen with 2 Starbucks cups on the table, one was a grande (medium), and the other one was a vente (large). There were no words said and there was a captain at the bottom of the video that said, "no words needed."My sister ordered a medium-sized latte and asked for a large cup with lots of ice, and here's why. When she got home she poured the medium-sized latte into the large cup of ice, and when she poured it the latte filled the cup almost all the way up. My oldest sister was shocked in the video and it was so funny to see her reaction. All three of us were shocked but it actually makes a lot of sense. They put a lot of ice in their cups on purpose just to make it seem like there is a lot of latte, frappe, or coffee in there. I feel like I should have known this already, but I don't think about these things I am just happy to get my drink you know? This makes me think about all of the other secrets that Starbucks is keeping from us or about the other little tricks up their sleeves.
According to Starbucks employees, there are ways to hack the menu. Although we know that most baristas do a great job at making us whatever drinks we want they will not tell us how to get our drinks cheaper. Thankfully, one brave barista told us the secret on how to "cheat the system." She said that "An iced venti latte is ~$4, a doppio (two expresso shots) is $1.95, and a cup of ice with two [added] shots is $1.20. Because you can add as much cold milk as you want from the condiment bar (that island full of sugar packets and carafes) to whatever you're drinking, you can ALWAYS ask for an iced venti doppio, pay $1.95 then add the milk yourself. Half-price lattes." Now that I think about it, I have seen a couple of women at work add a couple more salt or sugar packets in their coffee and grab their own milk from their little refrigerator and add some in. It's a really smart idea, especially if the barista made your drink wrong.
Another good thing to know about Starbucks is that some baristas will serve you decaf if you're rude. While most baristas are being smart and refuse to admit that they have altered with customers' food or drinks before on purpose, some baristas have admitted that they may have given a few rude customers a cup of decaf instead of regular coffee. One barista even stated on Reddit, "When you think you're entitled to anything and complain about a non-issue, you're getting decaf and I'm not apologizing about your minor inconvenience." I am actually not surprised by this happening at all. If I were a barista and there were cranky customers yelling at me for no reason, I would probably be doing the same thing. That is why I do not work in the fast-food industry because I do not want to deal with mean customers, and I don't want to get fired for giving customers the wrong drink on purpose for being rude. That is also why I am extremely nice to people that handle my food at a fast-food place or when I go out to eat because I don't trust anyone, and I do not want my food being messed with.
Therefore, I think it is super important to always be on the lookout when it comes to your food and drinks. Whenever you feel like something is off or sketchy with your food or drinks, DO NOT EAT OR DRINK IT! We never truly know what is in our food and drinks because we usually don't watch the people that are making our food and drinks, and that is when we should do our research on the fast-food places and diners that we go to. If everything checks out and the restaurant or fast-food place has good ratings, then it must be safe to eat there. I advise you to always be nice to cooks and baristas because not only do you want them not to do anything to your food or drinks, but they have very stressful jobs and out of respect it is nice to have patience for them. Lastly, if you want to learn more secrets about Starbucks I will provide the link to the website down below. Thank you for tuning in and I will talk to you next time!
Starbucks Secrets Link: https://www.eatthis.com/starbucks-secrets/
Sincerely,
Alexis Aguilar
That's actually pretty shocking to me as well! I like the background to the story and how you ended up finding this detail!
ReplyDeleteHello Lexi,
ReplyDeleteI actually found out about this trick a few months ago. It is crazy to think about but it is honestly better for the people because the drink sizes in America are already way larger than other countries, which is not really good. However, they should not be charging more if we are getting the same amount.
I found out about the trick with getting a medium and dumping it into a large cup with ice! It is crazy, and what is even crazier is that so many people know they are being ripped off, and don't care. They continue to support these companies because they like their products that much.
ReplyDeleteThat actually shocking I didn't know that. But I did like how you wrapped up the last little bit of details good job.
ReplyDeleteHello Alexis, I have heard about this before: most drink sizes are relatively the same as you said, though she poured the medium into a large with ice. I have learned to ask for light ice in your drinks, so they are forced to fill it up the rest of the way with the product you have requested. I agree with your thoughts on not being rude to the people making your food though I do not understand why anyone would want to be. It is similar to the old saying, "don't bite the hand that feeds you." In a sense, those people are feeding you and handling your food, so why be mean or rude to them when they are about to make your food.
ReplyDelete