The Drive-Thru Confusion

It is no mystery that if we were to take a scenario, like putting a popular coffee chain in the middle of the Sahara desert, there would be a 98% probability that people would charge through on their camels to get a cup.  Why?  Why is it that people stand, even sit in their car for twenty minutes waiting to get a coffee, then bitch and complain, only to repeat the same ritual day after day?
 

It never ceases to amaze me why people do this.  Is it out of frustration, anguish, perhaps some strange form of satisfaction?  Possibly, but don’t count on it.   Theory has it, or at least it’s what I’ve heard, the reason everyone heads out the door for the most popular cup of coffee is due in part to its irresistible addictive properties, a natural water purification process combined with that special preparation.  Having said that, who wants awesome coffee beans mixed with the water from a third world country where you will now doubt end up in a pretty serious java jam.
 

How does anyone get up first thing in the morning and end up in line for coffee in a bad mood?  Why is that?  What on earth happens?
 

It is a well known fact that more and more people are stressed and the numbers are on the rise.  Ask any poor bastard who just flew through a line up, is half way down the road or highway, and discovers the cream he just asked for has and suddenly become a cream with three sugars.  Now you have the perfect foundation and beginnings to a recipe for road rage.   Having said that, let’s take a glimpse from the drive-thru perspective. 
 

Let’s use mild mannered Walter as an example.  From Monday to Friday like clock work, Walter, like most, has a routine.  Let’s say he wakes up late one particular morning, jumps into the shower to find no hot water.  Then to top things off he has car trouble.  The only thing that will make his day right is his first cup of morning coffee.  Upon entering the drive-thru, Walter immediately discovers the usual three to four car lineup has just tripled and his 7:15 schedule begins today at 7:25.  As he spews his simple large double-double order to the microphone with the utmost confidence, in clear and coherent English, Walter pulls up to the window and pays for his coffee expecting nothing more, nothing less. 
 

If we back up to have a look at Walter’s previous day, we’d find he received his order with no complications.  Yet today there is a slight change, perhaps a turn over in staff or a technical glitch.  Surprise, surprise!  Today his large double-double order translates to a large black.  Now, everyone knows that any large black coffee requires double cupping.  However, because Walter’s day is already off, he doesn’t pick up on it. 
 

Having paid for his order, coffee in hand, Walter moseys on down the road, because in all honesty how many of us sample our coffee at the drive-thru window?  Like Walter and everyone else who drinks coffee, we pay the cashier in a rush, put the coffee into the holder, and head down the road. 
 

Walter is almost back on top of his day.  All he needs is to tune in his favourite radio station before popping the tab on the cup...