The Panera Way...

Ok- you are wondering what is this I speak of.

I bring this up ONLY because this happened twice at the Big S in Sherwood Park and I feel the sudden need to rant about it.

I go in this morning to order my tea. I ask for a grande Vanilla Rooibos tea in a Venti cup (this means one tea bag) with 3/4 hot water and steamed soy to top it off.
The charge: 4.78

Does anyone else see the issue with this???

Most of the time- I pay 2.68 for a tea and a splash of milk. Today- I am charged for a latte.
The reasoning the say is to pay for the LABOR of STEAMING the Soy. However, a latte consists of the use of their syrup. What happens when I do not use syrup. Clearly it is inappropriate to charge for something that isn't in its entire entity? Think of it this way- it is like purchasing a chicken salad without the chicken- therefore making it a SALAD.  Or even better, a cheeseburger without the cheese thus making it a GRILLED CHEESE. Is this making conclusive sense???

The manager and I had quite the discussion customer service and the absolute overcharge of simply paying double the amount of what I would pay if they would just charge me for a tea with a splash of soy ($2.68) instead- they are making a latte charge.

I then asked them to place the soy in  then put in the microwave for 45 seconds. They were unable to accommodate me.

I left that location with manners in tow (no need to make an Emmy winning production over tea) and simply went to one in Edmonton where they were more than happy to meet my needs and not attempt to overcharge me.

New Thought.
I am guessing this will have to happen.
Get a kids Soy Steamer (1.25)
 Bring my own freaking tea bags which I purchased at 50 cents per bag.
Request 2 venti cups of 3/4 hot water.
Make my own damned tea.
Voila.
Its actually half the cost of 2 teas.

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NOW- why the title?

There is this lovely restaurant in the USA that is called Panera Bread.

They have two rules for their company.

#1- Always say yes to the customer- the customer is always right. You never say no, they keep coming back...

#2- Never hire assholes

Really. That's it. It's that simple. Makes perfect sense.