I love TED Videos! This is a recent one from Steve Johnson.

I was browsing through the business section of my local Barnes and Noble and came face to face with this endcap. It is a comfort to know that, even as the world goes increasingly digital we always find ways to make books about current trends.

I was in Starbucks the other morning faced with the same old dilemma. How can I get the barrista to leave the right amount of room at the top of my grande coffee for cream and sugar? I started with the standard line; “grande Verona (that was the bold coffee that day) with a little bit of room. Then I started thinking about the potential results. Some of the barristas have a very good idea just what “a little bit of room” really means. That is to say, they have a good idea of what it means to me. Other barristas have wildly varying interpretations of the concept. Some fill the cup so close to the top that I wind up slurping from the cup like a three year old with my face almost touching the counter. Other barristas leave enough room that my frustration echoes from the abyss.

So the other morning I decided to be more specific and, after asking for my grande Verona with ” a little bit of room”, I added, “I guess that means leaving about 3/4 of an inch at the top”. I was mightily pleased with the results. 3/4 of an inch was exactly right. The next morning I asked for my Grande Anniversary (yes, they changed the coffee that day) with 3/4″ at the top. I did feel compelled to add ” that’s how I’ve quantified a little bit of room” so I didn’t make the ordering process any shorted, but I did receive the perfectly measured grande coffee.

Third Time’s the Charm?
Back in Starbucks this morning and I ordered my grande (Anniversary again) with 3/4″ at the top. I’m still not comfortable leaving it at that so I added my explanation of what 3/4″ represents again. This time my cup of coffee is handed to me with well over an inch of room and I’m faced with a dilemma. Normally, in this instance, I would add the raw sugar and the half and half and ask the barrista to fill the cup to the top. But now, if I do that, I’m challenging the barristas ability to measure. This might be seen as rude so I left the Starbucks with 1/2″ less coffee than I would have liked. I think I’ll go back to asking for “a little bit of room” and let the chips fall where they may.