accidental coffee stop...

When we arrived a bit early for meeting in Ball Ground, I thought I remembered passing a curb store several blocks back. So we went up the hill, to get a cup of convenience store cappuccino. I know: it's loaded with sugar, fat, and caffeine through the roof, not even the 'real' thing, coming out of a machine that dispenses powdered mix and hot water. But I like it - harmless enough little habit. I've even gotten to the point: in order to avoid so much of all that bad-for-you-stuff, I usually stop at a QT or truck stop where I can dilute it with about a third of a cup of decaf. coffee (and add a couple of ice cubes to avoid burning my tongue!) before I fill my cup with the addictive part.

So I went in the store. The first thing I noticed was that there were two soda machines, and both Coke and Pepsi were out of order. Not an auspicious beginning! And the hot drink machine had two options: mocha-something and caramel-something. Neither of which would be my first choice. (Which is why I like to stop at the QT or Pilot, where there are often a dozen flavors available from four different machines.) I decided the 'mocha' would be the lesser of the evils, and got my little styro. cup, pressed the button. The result was a very water-y, unpleasant looking liquid. So I told the guy (probably a one man operation) that he needed to come and look at the machine, maybe add some powdered mix. He looked: said it appeared to be OK. But agreed the result was pretty thin looking. Offered me taste - which I did not want as it knew the water was nearly boiling. But I tried it and declined.

He offered me a cup of coffee instead.

I said 'I had my mind set on that tasty cappuccino'.

He said I'd really like the coffee, as it was a superior product.

I said 'Im not much of a coffee drinker, and really wanted a cup of cappuccino.'

He insisted I would love the coffee, saying it was really 'superior'.

I said 'I really don't care for coffee.'

He insisted that 'it's on the house - I won't charge you for it. It's really good, I order it special. It really is superior. It does not have a bitter taste - you'll really like it.'

I said: 'I'm really not a coffee drinker, I try to avoid caffeine, but I'm sure it is very good.'

He got out the bag of roast coffee, to show me that the brand name on the little foil bag said 'Superior', and insisted I would definitely like it. Then he poured me a cup.

Sadly, I failed the 'assertive' test again. I walked out the door with a cup of coffee I did not want, but it was  amusing. I'm pretty sure he felt like he saw the back of a completely satisfied customer, who will return for many more cups of coffee and willingly pay for every one of them.