"Skinny latte to go please."
"Can I take your name..?"
Why? Why do you need my name? To write on a cup so I can take an Instagram photo of it? No. We are not American. We are not friendly at 9am. We are British. We are private, we are polite, we are in a rush. Always. We do not have time to stop for a chat on our way to work, on our way to University, on our daily errands. So why have Starbucks launched a new campaign which is going to slow us down in attempt to be our friend?
The traditional image of an American is lively, friendly, chatty, outgoing. The traditional image of a Brit is closed, well-mannered, modest. And we like it that way! Is this a result of global domination from Starbucks? Do they want to turn us all into happy-go-lucky-let's-chat-over-coffee morning people? If we wanted to be like this we would. Through a process of elimination, Starbucks have taken over the coffee market to such an extent that now they are our go-to place for our caffeine fix, we're in so deep we can't get out.
I heard a hilarious story on Radio 4 last week, about a crowded Starbucks in Central London, when the barista asked for a business man's name, said man looked up from his Blackberry in shock, and then burst out laughing as someone from the back hissed "Don't tell him, Pike!"
But what do they expect?
