Starbucks Stats

I have a very embarrassing story to tell you. But first, let's start off with another story. 

I like lattes. While I enjoy small, independent coffee shops I still appreciate a coffee giant like Starbucks. When I'm in a hurry and I want my latte fix I know I can find a Starbucks fairly easily. I know what I'll be getting when I go there. I know I'll like it. Yet I've slowly come to realize there's an issue with Starbucks. I should have noticed it a long time ago. But I never thought about it long enough to notice the pattern. That pattern is this: Starbucks gets my order wrong about 20% of the time. I always order the same thing...a tall, one pump, vanilla, nonfat latte. There are two ways to screw this drink up. They can either add way too much syrup or use whole milk. It doesn't matter what method they use. My drink still gets screwed up...20% of the time. My problem is that I don't immediately notice there's something wrong with the drink. I'm not an everyday Starbucks drinker. I'd say I get a latte about twice a week. I don't think I get one often enough to spot the bad seeds immediately. But I'm getting better at it. I'm paying more attention. My vow to myself is this: I will take one sip of that latte and immediately know whether Starbucks has screwed it up. I will then return it and ask for another one. 

This brings me to that embarrassing story. I order my usual latte this past Saturday on my way to work. I went through the drive up window. I got my coffee, put it in the cup holder, and drove off. I finally tasted it a couple minutes later. It didn't taste right. I had other things on my mind so I chalked it up to "too much syrup" and thought, "I can live with it." But over the next 30 minutes I kept trying to put my finger on what exactly was wrong with my latte. The taste was just..."off." Finally, after the drink was nearly gone, my mouth dropped open. There was no espresso in it. My latte wasn't even a latte. I was drinking steamed milk...with a little vanilla flavoring. How I didn't notice...well, that's beyond me. But I'm noticing from now on. 

One other note about lattes. While it's probably a good thing for my checkbook, I'm very irritated at the fact there are no 24-hour coffee shops in the Boise area. I would love to grab a latte every morning at 3:30 on my way to work. No such luck.