The worst thing about convention is the way it makes bad ideas a standard. A poor policy can get wildly out of hand when it exists for the simple fact that it’s done, regardless off whether or not it should be.
Yesterday at lunch I was faced with the pitfall of convention. It was my first experience at what appeared to be a relatively new establishment. It was clean, well staffed and the food was downright satisfactory. Everything about the experience was just on the verge of great, until I asked for a cup of water with my sandwich. The friendly cashier was happy to oblige and gave me a plastic cup conventionally used for action figures and prisoners of war. I was baffled, how did he know that I prefer to drink my water from single sip receptacles. Nothing washes down a cheese steak like a single ounce of water, and the repeated trips to the fountain let me know,”I worked for my food.”
Here’s my point, I don’t drink soda and I’m tired of being vilified for it. I drink water, milk and select barley based beverages. Do I really need to be subjected to cultural condemnation in the form of an unnaturally small drink receptacle? What is the real intent? Is the goal to make me so unhappy with my lunch experience that I buy a drink next time? Or maybe the burden of supplying normal sized cups is simply a fixed cost the restaurant industry can’t afford to bear.
My only point is that my sandwich was good, enough so that the experience could have been great. Instead I left with a good reminder of what satisfactory is. I may go back when convenient or compelled by others but it did not stick out in my mind as something special. Would a bigger water cup have made the difference? All I can say is it certainly would have made my experience better. What’s that worth to them?
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