Awhile back I was in line at Starbucks (I know it's the devil and I don't go there often) and asked for my drink and a venti (x-large) ice water to go, as we were setting out for another interview and would be on the road for many hours.
The oh-so-helpful girl behind the counter said, "I'm sorry, but we can't give you a venti ice water to go. We can give you a tall [small] --would you like that?"
No, you idiot, I'm driving a thousand miles and I'd like a venti. "Okay," I said reasonably, "but why can't you give out ventis anymore?"
She shrugged and said, "Policy."
"Why is that?" I asked, meaning why do you have that policy (I doubt you, Intelligent Reader, are quite so dumb as she apparently was).
"Policy," she said again, apparently not understanding my question.
"I know it's policy," I said, "but what makes it policy? Why do you have that policy?" I figured she'd say they'd been running out of venti to-go cups too often, or that people would try to refill them with milk from the condiments counter--some reason that would make them issue this decision.
At this point I was pretty sure the other barista was going to spit in my mocha. I kept an eye on her.
The counter girl looked very confused. "That's what our manager tells us."
*
Why is it that brains turn off when rules, laws, regulations, or whatever are given to people? If there's not a good reason for a policy, why is it there? I was always bad at boarding school (okay, and in it, too) because I'd sit in the deans' office and ask them why we had to wear nylons, why we had to get fucking hall passes to go three doors down to a friend's room to do homework, why we couldn't wear shorts, why we weren't allowed to drive into town when our parents' trusted us enough to lend us cars, and finally, why they didn't bother understanding the reasons behind the rules and just blindly enforced them instead. Unfortunately, their inability to explain reasons behind the rules is the main reason (that and being unemployed) that I don't give back to that particular school.
These days, if you can't explain the reason behind your policy, you'd better be able to think up something, FAST. A policy to not negotiate with terrorists? I can understand that. A policy to tack on an 18% gratuity to parties of six or more when the service is undeniably lousy? Sorry, I don't buy it.
*
I went to another branch of the evil coffeewhoreshop later and ordered a venti ice water to go--apparently it wasn't their local policy to not give them out, or else it wasn't important enough to enforce. Either way, for once, I left a tip at Starbucks.