But there is a tyranny to being a regular, a tyranny rarely spoken of.
The baristas at my regular Starbucks now prepare my drink before I reach the counter — I am startled every time. The other day, I went into a neighborhood restaurant for my semi-regular Sunday morning breakfast: French toast and coffee with skim milk. My server was new. She approached the table and said, "I was just informed that you will order the French toast and a coffee with skim, and you" — she indicated my girlfriend — "you will get Croque Madame and a Coke." She said this while hesitating to hand over menus.
Is this accommodating and familiar? Or overly intrusive and presumptuous?
She was right, of course. That is what I was about to order. But turned off by the assumption, and the implication that I'm predictable, I found myself ordering a dish I didn't really want. Just to prove her wrong.
I recognize this is twisted, an odd thing to whine about, but it's a feeling we may all want to get used to.
The baristas at my regular Starbucks now prepare my drink before I reach the counter — I am startled every time. The other day, I went into a neighborhood restaurant for my semi-regular Sunday morning breakfast: French toast and coffee with skim milk. My server was new. She approached the table and said, "I was just informed that you will order the French toast and a coffee with skim, and you" — she indicated my girlfriend — "you will get Croque Madame and a Coke." She said this while hesitating to hand over menus.
Is this accommodating and familiar? Or overly intrusive and presumptuous?
She was right, of course. That is what I was about to order. But turned off by the assumption, and the implication that I'm predictable, I found myself ordering a dish I didn't really want. Just to prove her wrong.
I recognize this is twisted, an odd thing to whine about, but it's a feeling we may all want to get used to.
People have a need to be special, not predictable and boring. A business needs to honor the specialness.
