Well, every site and their pure HTML grandma has published best-of, worst-of, biggest-of, whatnot-of lists of 2005, conveying what I’ve been fearing for the last few weeks, but which will become gruesome reality in but a few hours: that indeed 2005 is nearing its completion. Well, congrats to you, 2005.
Many people also tend to think up new year’s resolutions, something I’ve never tried nor stooped down to. This year too, I won’t make any resolutions. You see, two of the top-ten resolutions, namely to stop smoking and pick up exercising, are already checked. I did that during the year. DURING THE YEAR! And it worked too. (By the way, in case you’re doubting my competence concerning new year’s resolutions, please be my guest and go to this very website, which will show you that I’ve indeed put quite a research effort into this final posting of the year.)
So, to all the people who think it’s really necessary to dream up a new year’s resolution, please think twice. And yes, you may send congratulation and awe emails to gib[at]stormgrass.com.
Have a great new year.
Whatever.
Well, after yesterday’s foray into the world of clueless baristas, I managed to get another impression of the Austrian Starbucks fair trade policy today. As I was meeting with a friend at the Millennium City in the 20th district, I decided to pay the Starbucks there a visit.
Contrary to what I had expected, the barista actually knew what I was talking about. She said that of course I could buy a pack of their licensed fair trade coffee, but when I explained that I’d actually be interested in having a cup of fair trade coffee at their fine establishment, she started that explanation which I think has been hammered as a standard diatribe into every barista, namely that they had some sort of brew rotation, and that this week they had this Sumatra blend on the menu. Which, as she slyly remarked, is of course no fair trade licensed coffee. I knew then that I’d never get that cup of fair trade coffee, even if I tried to explain to her the official policy of her employer. I left.
Which makes this Starbucks number two in Vienna where it’s impossible to get that cup of fair trade coffee. Well, that’s applied “social responsibility” right there.
A while back, Green LA Girl, a Californian blogger, started the Starbucks Challenge. It was about Starbucks and a promise they had made in their official policy [PDF], namely that, when asked, they’d make fair trade coffee for anyone on any day of the week in all the 23 countries they are licensed to (Austria as well). The first round of the Starbucks Challenge was quite a success, and somehow I missed the deadline. Well, the challenge is back, aptly titled Starbucks Challenge 2.0. And today I made sure I’m part of it.
The chosen Starbucks is in the Währingerstraße here in Vienna, the nearest one to the main university building and really right next to what we call the Campus. It was between lectures, and I thought it to be a good time to finally be a part of the challenge. So I went in there and ordered a cup of fair trade coffee. Well, hilarity ensued. The barista had quite obviously never even heard of fair trade coffee before, and tried to convince me that what I actually wanted was their Coffee of the Week or that I was interested in buying a pound of their coffee. When I insisted that I’d like a cup of fair trade coffee, not their coffee of the week nor a pound of their coffee, the barista called on another barista, one who looked like he’d already poured his fair share of coffee. I got my hopes up high again.Too early though. When he heard of my request he put on a confused look and inquired if I meant “that South American coffee”. I once again tried to convey what I actually meant, mentioning the above linked corporate policy, which elicited a rather lengthy explanation of what that meant, including talk about how things are done in America and how they are done here. It was successful in that I was now convinced that neither of them had ever heard of the term fair trade before, let alone laid eyes on a cup of fair trade coffee brewed in their Starbucks store.
So, I gave up. Educating baristas in Austrian Starbucks stores is apparently not a priority with the corporation.
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