Society
breeds picky, prickly people
Jenna McDaniel
I work at Starbucks as a barista.
The caffeine-crazed girl in the green apron—yes, that is me. No worries,
I am not naive to the fact that Starbucks is taking over corporate America along
with McDonald’s, Quizno’s and Wal-Mart. I happen to think they breed
people who are less-than-easily satisfied.
They belong to an unknown, yet extremely large society of anal people— people
with sticks shoved where-the-sun-don’t-shine, and insist on having things
done their way. Who has to be that uptight about their coffee? What is sad is
they are not alone.
There is a particular woman in her late 40s who comes in every afternoon and
orders the same drink. There are about five people in the store who actually
know how to make her drink correctly. She comes in and orders an “iced,
venti, double shot white mocha.”
She is another one of those “special” people, and because she is
so “special” she has us charge her for a tall drink simply because
she is getting two shots of espresso instead of the usual four. However, we still
put the same amount of everything else for a venti drink in her drink. Wait,
it doesn’t stop here.
When you make her drink you have to add the chocolate, swirl the shots in the
chocolate (you cannot use a spoon because she insists she can taste the metal),
then add the milk to a certain point on the cup and fill with ice. The whole
time she stands behind you, watching you like a hawk.
You can feel her beady eyes piercing your back, ready to zap you if you do anything
wrong. I wouldn’t have a problem with it if she was reasonable about the
entire process, but she is flat-out rude. I have seen her send the drink back
to be remade five times.
Starbucks prides itself on allowing people to customize their drinks. In fact,
they encourage it. For example, Burger King’s slogan is “Have it
your way!” They drill this idea into our heads, over and over with every
new commercial.
You should want to have things your way, for you and nobody else.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the world always did what you wanted it to do? This
idea of having everything done just your way begins a little too early.
On MTV’s show “Sweet Sixteen,” we see girls who have it all,
which really means they spend their daddy’s money. When asked about the
budget for their party they giggle and say, “I don’t know, my dad
is paying for it,” or “There’s no limit.”
A light fluttery
voice states, “I know that me and my friends are just models undiscovered!” These
girls fly across the nation to pick out their expensively glamorous party dresses
and drop $100,000 on their party.
These girls are nothing but spoiled brats with
keys to a brand new Mercedes. They go out into the world thinking they are going
to get everything they want.
What happens to the people around them? We are the ones they step on, abused
as we are told what we have done is wrong and we have not pleased them. If you
are so concerned your drink has to be made to such specifications, you have problems.
I am not saying we should all forget about our daily dilemmas and focus on world
peace and saving the whales, I am just talking about gaining a little perspective.
Let’s take a look at the little “princess” who gets the shiny
new car at 16. Would it really be that bad if she didn’t get the car? She
would have to get a job, save her money and buy the car. The idea of earning
what one wants is slipping through the cracks as people become anal and self
centered.
It isn’t that people are concerned so much about their hair and clothing,
which is just being egotistical. This is about people forgetting there is someone
on the other side of the counter who you are screaming at because you have to
have it your way.
This is not a call for pity; this is me giving you a few words
of advice about “lightening up.” Life is too short to make other
people’s lives miserable for your benefit. If you put out positive energy,
you will get it back. In reverse, if you put out negative energy, expect it back
10-fold.
So how do we solve this problem of crazed, anal, selfish people who make up our
society? You need to take out whatever large hard object is up your butts, stop
and smell the roses, do whatever needs to be done to relax a little and realize
you are not the center of the universe.
Jenna McDaniel is a sophomore art major.
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