The Oak Ridge Starbucks Hates Sedans

Posted by knorby on December 28, 2007 under Oak Ridge, coffee, design | Read the First Comment

I normally try to avoid Starbucks as much as my love for coffee will allow. I think the coffee is sub-par, their stuff is not exactly fair trade, the prices are too high, and I generally don’t like the overall atmosphere. Even at the drive-thru, they ask you “how can I get you started off today?” or something like that. Is the mere idea of phrases like “can I take your order?” so offensive that they have to act like they are providing in-store service? Anyways, I have been back home on Oak Ridge, TN for the last couple weeks, so I have occasionally gone by to get some coffee. I normally like to minimize my time in or around Starbucks, so I have been choosing to use the drive-thru. Anyways, I noticed that the window was not quite made for those in sedans, more so than most places. If the window was just a little higher than the usually amount, it would just be mildly annoying, but they added in a ledge, which makes it hard to get anything from them. I am fairly tall, so I have no problem as far as reach, but I can easily imagine people struggling with it. It is impossible to access the tips jar while sitting down (don’t know why you would want to. My latte was terrible!). Look at the picture, the top of the tip jar is just a few inches shorter than the roof of the car! Given that they serve hot drinks, I imagine that sooner or later, someone will spill coffee on themselves as a result of the height difference and sue. Sure sounds a hell of a lot more justified than that McDonald’s case a few years back. I am sure the height was determined by market research of some sort; I am sure that a lot of SUVs frequent Starbucks, but that doesn’t seem like justification for supporting those who choose to drive a gas guzzler. Besides, I went around and checked a bunch of other drive-thrus, and most to seemed to be at the same height, which was lower. For comparison, I went to sonic later and noticed that the ledge there was even with the side-view mirror. It seemed like a height ideal to accommodate everyone. I just don’t get what Starbucks has against sedans.