I'll Have A Grande, Cafe Attitude with Extra Waste

The old saying is fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.  What is it if you fool me 400 times?


That's my relationship with Starbucks.  Actually, my relationship with the coffee giant is more like the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

In past blogs, I've talked about their use of the small, plastic plugs in their cup covers to prevent spillage, the cardboard sleeves slipped over the reusable mug and the making of my drink in a cup which is then poured into my reusable mug.


But the other day was the visit that broke the camel's back.


I was craving a Peppermint Mocha.  I handed my reusable mug over to the barista with my instructions: non-fat milk and no whip.


She took the mug, placed it down on the counter, then grabbed a paper cup and wrote my order on it.

"Excuse me...but did you just use another cup to write down my order?"

She looked at me blankly. "Yes."


I felt my blood pressure rising.  I tried to take some deep breaths.

"I'm sorry but I gave you a reusable mug.  The whole point of the reusable mug is to not use paper and save the trees!"


But she didn't care.  She called the next customer over and told me to wait "over there" for my drink.

"I want to cancel my order and speak to your manager."


The manager came over and I told him the story.  His reply was a simple "She's not supposed to do that," followed by "The cup won't go to waste. Those are the cups we use."

Can you say "contradiction"?


I knew at that moment that this was a regular practice.  And it still didn't solve the tree problem, which I pointed out.  By this time, the barista was not a happy camper and she began to yell at me. "I don't give a damn about the planet!"  To which I replied "You will when there's no planet left for you or your kids!"


At this point I knew that it was time to exit the store.  I took my cup back - sans the Peppermint Mocha.  I was not about to give my $5 to a place that didn't give a crap about our planet.

From that moment on I decided to boycott the coffee chain.  I figured out how to make my own peppermint mocha using organic, fair-trade coffee and cocoa.


The next time you go into an establishment with your own cup, take a look behind the counter.  Are they really using your mug?


Or are they fooling you too?