Every morning on my way to class I pass by Gloria Jean’s, the popular (but expensive) chain coffee shop. Rather than stopping for my usual $.35 tiny cup of tea, I like to treat myself to a $2.40 cup of tea with milk. Splurging, I know!
I always get English Breakfast Tea with milk, but I’d been eying the chai tea latte they have on the menu. I have recently become a big fan of the chai tea lattes at the Georgetown coffee shops (the best I’ve had in my opinion), so I decided to try one at Gloria Jean’s. They said they had run out, so English breakfast tea it is.
It was 3:30 pm, so the logical thing for me to think when they said they ran out was that they originally had it, right?! So the next three days I went back to see if they had restocked. They had still run out. Unfortunate!
On the third day though, I was a little peeved and asked them to clarify their meaning of “we ran out”:
Me: so if you ran out, when will you have it again?
Barista: we never had it
Me: well, doesn’t we ran out imply that you had it at one point?
Barista: this is an Australian chain, so we just have their menu
Me: umm, a chai tea latte is on the menu
Barista: we don’t have it
Me: that makes no sense and you should probably take it off your menu then
Barista: maybe, what else would you like?
Me: I’m very upset
Barista: well then cry about it.
What?! What did he just say?! Yes, he just said cry about it! He was probably trying to be funny, but there is no joking around when it comes to my chai tea latte. So the other barista (who overheard our little verbal exchange) says:
Come back tomorrow, we will have it.
Me: doubtful If I’ve come almost everyday for the past week and you haven’t had it
Barista 2: yes, tomorrow, inshallah.
Well there is the loophole! Inshallah (God willing)! I don’t think Allah is going to “sha'” (will) this chai tea latte! so I called him out on the fine print he tried to slip into the conversation.
Me: hmm, well the inshallah means you won’t have it tomorrow, doesn’t it?
Barista 2: (laughs) maybe
At that point I decided the conversation by walking out of the coffee shop without ordering anything. I didn’t go back for a week and a half and until my friend decided to stop in and get a drink. I walked in and immediately Barista 2 blurted out “WE HAVE CHAI TEA LATTES” (apparently I made quite the impression if he remembered me a week and a half later). I thought he was kidding.
Me: haha, you’re funny!
Barista 2: no, an Jed (seriously) we have
Me: you mean if I walk up to the cash register and order a chai tea latte, you will make me one?!
Barista 2: yes!
I go up and order my chai tea latte and, lo and behold, the answer was “that will be 2.60 JD”. I was shocked! I handed him 3 JD, but he refused my money.
“today, for you, free”.
Chai tea latte in hand, I walked out of Gloria Jeans smiling.
