What’s your Starbucks name?
I’m sorry, what did you say my name was?
Tuesday 11.15 am, I get out of class on my way to the HUB to get a coffee from Starbucks.
“Hi, what would you like?”
“Can I get a mocha coffee please?”
“What’s your name?”
And here it goes, the moment I dread the most:
“Inès,” I reply.
“How do you spell that?”
“I, n, e, s,” I answer.
When I get my cup back there is definitely something written on it, everything but my name, my real name.
If it hasn’t happened to you yet, you’re pretty lucky and if it has, don’t worry we all went through it so don’t feel embarrassed.
Starbucks or the coffee shop that misspells your name like you would’ve never expected it is a staple for college students. The HUB line right after class can feel comparable to Walmart on Black Friday. And nothing throws you off more than after the long wait some absolutely outrageous rendition of your name.
You even ask yourself if sometimes they do it on purpose. Or in the very least, “How?” I asked several Penn State students what were the craziest names they got and they didn’t disappoint.
Victoria as Veronica
Bernadette as Baltimore… classic mixup
Caitlin said: “They spell it with a ‘y’or a ‘k’ which annoys me”
Nicole (who actually lucked out today) said: ‘A lot of Starbucks spell it with an ‘h’ in it’
If you’re still in the first phase, this is for you. For a couple of months you’re convinced the Starbucks barista will spell your name right, at some point. You try over and over again and you finally realize that it is a hopeless situation and that they will never spell your name right.
Dayoon Kim couldn’t agree more: “At first I try to tell my actual name, but after several times I just give my last name. My last name is Kim so it’s much easier.”
Trust me, when you’re named Inès and they spell your name as “Heinz”, like the U.S based food company who makes the ketchup you put on your fries, you give up.
After the first phase goes the second one. You already know that they will misspell your name so you decide to come up to the conclusion that you’re tired of the 25 other names they gave you and that it is FINALLY your time to shine.
Jangwon Jo actually embraces it. “I just randomly pick names, I could be James, Martin, Dave so everybody knows it,” he said.
Now how to pick your name? Pick preferably a common name, don’t try to make a fool of yourself a second time. For some students, it becomes a hobby.
“I always make-up name, my favorite is Becky. I just remembered I called myself Becky this morning,” said Sabera Bushara.
Ready to go, you picked a good one, you’re positive there is no chance they will spell it wrong and there you go, ready to Starbucks hop all around town.
P.S: Starbucks, do not try to make our lives more difficult than they already are. We’re college students and when we go to Starbucks it’s for a good reason: To get through the entire day without falling asleep in class.