Caffeinated Confusion

Someone once said to me, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” I can’t remember if that advice came from my public speaking teacher or an ex-boyfriend, but regardless, I am here to inform you that this age-old adage is alive and well at your friendly neighborhood Starbucks. I will illustrate: Let’s say you are in need of some liquid encouragement before you can possibly face the frenzy of belligerent holiday shoppers at the mall…so you pop into one of the 16 Starbucks locations within 5 miles of your house. Let’s say you have a yen for a Cinnamon Dolce Latte. You: “I’ll have a tall Cinnamon Dolce Latte, please.” Barista: “That will be $3.50.” However, let’s say you order your yumminess this way: You: “I’ll have a tall Café Latte, please, with a shot of cinnamon dolce syrup.” Barista: “That will be $3.05.” When this particular scenario happened to moi, I sweetly questioned my barista about the $0.45 price difference and was informed that this is a “specialty drink” and looked at me as if I was Scrooge incarnate. By my calculation, we are paying an additional 45 cents per order to either pay for that amazing holiday marketing campaign Starbucks unleashes that convinces us we are not merely consuming caffeine, but yuletide magic; a veritable Andy Williams Christmas carol in a cute red cup. That, or whip cream is waaaay more expensive than I thought. (Although – I am CONVINCED that if you were to order a tall Cinnamon Dolce Latte, no whip, please….you would still be paying the premium price.) Moral of the Story: Not only is how you say something vitally important, it can also be economically advantageous. Who knows, you could save up enough money to buy Aunt Betty that crock-pot she wants for Christmas. At Wal-Mart. On sale.