Sometimes when I’m out and about I get the hankering for an iced coffee in the summer, or a special edition hot coffee in the winter. I’ll usually get the iced coffee from a supermarket, but if I’m feeling particularly fancy I’ll spend a bit extra on a coffee from a coffee chain, but I think that may have to cease, at least when it comes to instore take aways…
I have anxiety, which can sometimes make simple things overwhelming, and one place I often find overwhelming is coffee chains. What drink should I get, what sizes does it come in, dairy or non dairy, any syrup, what flavour, how much, sugary or sugar free…argh! And so sometimes getting a coffee can be rather confusing.
The first time I had an issue ordering a coffee was around Christmas, where I ordered online to pick up in store to try. I went in to collect it thinking they would have the coffees behind the counter and I would give them my reference number and they would hand me the coffee. Instead there was a table full of them, and I could not remember what I had ordered. It was a busy day and I was in the way of other people collecting their coffees, and so ended up accidently grabbing the wrong one after standing by the table for waaay too long trying to figure out which was mine and worrying I looked like I was there to steal a random coffee. After we realised I grabbed the wrong one the boyfriend went in to let them know and swapped it for the correct one, while I was beating myself up for failing at a task as simple as grabbing the correct coffee.
The second main time was this weekend, which prompted me to write this post. I had ordered a particular iced coffee and was waiting by the serving area for it. After a few minutes the server put out on the table one iced tea, and two iced lattes with 4 pumps of vanilla. The drink I’d ordered wasn’t called a latte (this coffee shop had a different name for the drink I’d ordered, but it was basically a latte with a fancier name) and mine was only meant to have two vanillas, so we assumed that was an order for someone else who was on their way to the store to pick them up, and so carried on waiting for my drink.
We waited for a few more minutes until we noticed the servers had stopped making drinks and were busy with other tasks, and I didn’t want to disturb them from working to ask if one of those drinks was mine. And so we waited a bit longer until it was pretty obvious they weren’t making any more drinks and so grabbed one of the lattes.
All the way home I fretted that we had taken someone else’s drink, even though we made sure they were done making drinks before we left. Though it was the wrong drink the boyfriend assured me that since it was so close to the drink I had actually ordered they’d probably put the order through slightly wrong and it was indeed my drink…but I still couldn’t help but worry.
I have a habit of making even the smallest of interactions awkward and stressful, and apparently ordering coffee is no different! Both these times and other less notable, but equally awkward interactions at coffee shops I’ve had have never been down to the lovely servers who have always been very helpful when I have struggled with an order, but rather down to my brain having the processing speed of a slug. Oddly, I seem to be fine with ordering a bubble tea, or a Subway, which can be equally confusing thanks to the number of options, but put me in a coffee shop and my brain melts.
While I don’t plan to give up fancy coffee anytime soon, I think for my own sanity I’ll stick to ones from supermarkets, drinking them in store, or just use coffee shops with a drive through.
Are there any places you find confusing to order from, let me know and help me feel better!
miss rambling brambles 