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3w ago

Ordering coffee in the USA triggers me

I went to dunkin' the other day and asked for an iced latte with less ice because it's winter and I wanted less ice. They gave me a cup that was halfway full of coffee. So I asked why and they told me they press a button on a machine, it fills it halfway full with coffee and then they add ice. So when you get a medium iced latte, you're not actually getting a medium latte, you're getting a small or a kids size nowadays of coffee, and then they just fill the rest of it with ice. If you ask for less ice, no screw you, you're not getting the full amount of coffee that you paid for...

I have never heard of this in any other country. What the hell?

123 comments

If you ask for less ice, no screw you, you’re not getting the full amount of coffee that you paid for…
Actually you got exactly what you asked for: you asked for a product with less of something...
- Sorry: no. I call bullshit. I ordered a beverage.
  You provided the ice.
  I will not sit and let someone take the apologists route for a corporation on this. Drinks are, without question, the highest margin item on the menu in most places and frequently are over iced past recommended mix levels (by the drink manufacturer) as a way to stretch that further.
  I personally rarely get ice because those machines are rarely cleaned and are mold nightmares. Go ahead, ask your friends in the industry why they don't use the ice machine.
  Edit: I actually bothered to look it up-
  A large Late (Hot) - $6.30
  A large Late (Iced) - $6.83
  That's right: the same drink with less beverage costs more
  Expensive ice I guess. Turns out OP was doing them a solid.
  
  If half of the drink is ice and you order it without ice then it's to be expected that the cup would only be half full.
  
  A little injested mold isn't going to hurt you. If the ice looks clean, it's clean enough.

If they have a machine, you're getting exactly the full amount of coffee you paid for; you're just not getting more by removing a filler that they normally include, and that some people like. Now, I'm not saying there's anything morally wrong with gaming the menu at a giant chain if it can be done without fucking over the staff, or that it wouldn't be shitty if Dunkin' has done some sneaky shrinkflation, but there is a certain mechanical clarity here that I can't get too riled up about.
- Yeah... you're be getting exactly the same amount of coffee you had been paying for before. Getting upset at how little that coffee amounts to normally is one thing, but getting upset with the notion that you are now getting -less- coffee is just silly.
  
  Let me pose a question here: most chains actually sell coffee at the same (or similar) price as any other fountain drink. What's the difference then? Was the 1/2 ice too hard of an order? The machine is preprogrammed for roughly the time it would take to fill an ice filled drink. Was the person filling the drink pre-programmed to not be able to problem solve? Based on the thread responses I'm inclined to answer that as self evident.
  Edit:
  Called It. What's the excuse now?
- Dunkin' has done some sneaky shrinkflation, but there is a certain mechanical clarity...
  I promise you that they have done just that: like every other corporation has. The mechanical clarity is imagined but provides a fine excuse. That machine is configurable - just like any other timed / measured device. Yeah you pushed the 'small latte' button ... but is that the same small late that x franchise sells across the street (who owns the same machine but different size cups?) It's software. Anyone who doesn't think that dunkin' - a profit driven organization - isn't going to milk the customer for every penny they can get... is either daft or willfully ignorant.
  edit: wording

Go to a real coffeeshop.
- Man unless they state somewhere that each drink only contains x oz I'd be a cunt and tell em to keep pouring. After that: yeah last time I'm visiting that chain. Customers aren't always right but in this case they probably are.
- And experience the exact same thing. A real iced latte will still be a standard amount of espresso and milk.
  
  Except with better service, better atmosphere, and no premixed crap being spat out of a big machine, all while you support a local business instead of a multinational anti-labor behemoth.
- I truly pity the cities that don't have a coffeeshop in an old photomat.

I've never heard of a country where places give you extra drink for free just because you asked for less ice, to be honest. I know some bartenders who joke about the people who think asking for less ice will get them more.
- So with a soda fountain or similar soft-drink dispenser at most fast-food or fast-casual restaurants int he US, asking for light ice or no ice will still get you a full cup. That said, the general understanding here has always been (don't know if it's strictly true across time and space) that the cups cost more than the drink, and even if the particular place is not offering free refills or you're ordering to-go, that's a pretty normal expectation so being stingy with the Coke would reflect poorly on the restaurant beyond the value of saving a little bit of syrup and CO2.
  Dunkin' is definitely a massive fast-food chain, but a latte beverage, even iced, is kinda pushing the boundary of even what most Americans would expect with generous pours. OP might have reasonably hoped to get a full cup, but IMHO they shouldn't be disgruntled that they didn't get it.
  
  I'm with you on that: but generally speaking a lot of the non iced variants cost the same because it's hard to explain to people how little they are getting with ice. This was more an issue with the person serving the beverage than the cost. Admittedly it could have been a training issue but I cannot come up with a good valid reason for the choice.
  Edit:
  Turns out iced costs more. OP was actually helping them out.
- As an (ex) bartender I know what you're talking about... we would never over pour a spirit ... but if asked we'd generally have no issue topping off the mixer. There is a difference. The literal difference between a modern iced beverage and an uniced one (depending on cup size and ice) can sometimes be 2-3 times the beverage... which while quite significant amounts to pennies in cost (if that.) More will be lost to a line cleaning, incorrect orders, etc than to a customer request. The fact that so many in this thread are defending the chain is mind boggling. This same chain likely has been upping the recommended ice and even potentially messing with the mix % to further dilute the beverage in the name of profit. Fuck that. These chains frequently show a cup size and list the oz on the container. They rarely, if ever, list the oz of the beverage in said cup because it would cause a riot. Unless they say 4oz of coffee per 12oz cup of iced coffee somewhere: the customer is absolutely right to expect however much coffee fits in the damn cup and not a drop less. That's what they were advertised- and that's what they paid for.
  Some of y'all need to realize you're in a guilded cage and that you are indoctrinated by capitalist owners. This isn't even a big issue.
  Edit:
  Fucking lol. Jesus.
  
  The fact that so many in this thread are defending the chain is mind boggling
  Lot of contrarian keyboard warriors on here lately and it's almost like they're disagreeing just for the sake of arguing
- Ordering light ice at McDonalds always results in a full cup with less ice.

You asked for a hamburger with no toppings and are surprised that you just got meat and buns.
They didn't give you less meat they just gave you less toppings. You're noticing the sandwich is pretty empty, because you ordered it that way
- This is rather silly. I've seen people order drinks with no ice tons of times, and they always fill it to the top. That's probably what they would've done here, too, if given the choice.
  
  But they explained it isn't the choice

If your barista just presses a button and hands you a cup, you're at the wrong place for coffee.
- Automated espresso machines are becoming the norm all over the world tbh.

Did you expect them to offset the less ice with more coffee?
In my experience, many iced coffee drinks are made a bit warm and more concentrated. The ice melts a bit, diluting the drink and giving more liquid overall.
Do they do that to an extreme? Probably. But there's also more to it than "I got a drink with less ice and it wasn't very full"
- Is there a big difference in price and/or size if you'd order a normal latte? If not, yes, I'd 100% expect similar sizes.
  
  Again, part of the overall drink is supposed to be made of the water from melted ice. It's hard to compare sizes perfectly with that in mind, but it's a less-extreme similarity to comparing a jug of orange juice with a can of concentrate (the kind you mix with water in a pitcher at home). Different products, but also different sizes for a reason.

It triggers you to receive exactly what they offer?

I went to dunkin'
Ordering coffee in the USA triggers me
As if Dunkin' Donuts is representative of the thousands of independent coffee shops around the US...
- It's like the eastern Walmart of coffee shops. Pushing out all the local shops in small towns and replacing it with its subpar coffee and it's mass produced, small generic chemical tasting donuts.
- To be fair Dunkin' is probably a recognizable chain and OPs experience was undoubtedly bullshit.

You are actually getting exactly the same amount of coffee you paid for, without the ice.
Which is half a cup full.
By the way, this isn't a "coffee in the USA" thing. It's a Starbucks thing.
In most diners, coffee shops and restaurants in the US, you get as much coffee as you want, with free unlimited refills.

Have you tried ordering a medium iced latte with light ice in other countries?
- I've not tried but...

So these comments aren't going the way you thought they'd go...
I have never heard of this in any other country
Which countries give you more coffee than you paid for just because you asked for less ice?
- well, it used to be every country did this because they didn't have the portioning technology to prevent overpouring for those who asked for less or no ice (because they wanted extra beverage). people got used to be able to game the system, the companies knew they were doing this, and put an end to it the second they could.
- Ours apparently.
  Turns out OP actually has a valid complaint. Social media warriors CBA to check prices before rushing to defend the poor defenseless corporation. 😅

This “triggered” you?
I have to say, as a therapist who treats people with actual trauma, I find it mildly infuriating that people today use the word “triggered” to refer to something that mildly infuriates them. The concept of a mental health trigger refers specifically to something that reactivates a traumatic memory and induces serious distress in the person triggered. Using the term to refer to something that just annoys you trivializes and dilutes it as a term.
I get that language is a living thing and people who use the term this way don’t mean to be trivializing the issues of people who have real trauma, but it still irks me whenever I see people use that word this way.
You do you, OP, don’t take this as serious criticism. I just felt the need to get that off my chest.
- The iced latte incident. Just like back in 'Nam
- I feel like this word is just used to mean that something caused a certain emotion. Maybe it was co-opted from the world of mental health. Either way, saying it triggered me is less descriptive than saying that it annoyed or infuriated me, but it's popular now.
- The concept of a mental health trigger refers specifically to something that reactivates a traumatic memory and induces serious distress in the person triggered
  the trauma or stress is that everything costs more now in the USA, and provides diminishing returns. This is definitely a trigger. Everything is more expensive, and every place is giving you less of it than they were a decade ago or more. When I was in high school around the 2000s-2010s, you go to a coffee shop, there was no malicious hyper-profit maximizing bullshit. $2-3 max for an iced latte or coffee, and you could just have it customized. You want more milk, less ice? Sure! Now everything is maximum cost, and no. No, we can't customize that, but it costs 250% more than it did 5 years ago. So yeah, it's triggering, and I can say it's triggering because we are FUCKING TIRED OF THIS SHIT. EVERYTHING COSTS SO MUCH MONEY. $6 for a coffee which is HALF ICE???? I can go get a huge ass bag of ice FOR $3!!!! Why am I paying SIX DOLLARS... FOR A CUP OF ICE?!?!?!?!?1?!?!?

If you went to any other coffee store that isn't a mcdonalds-ified chain, they would have given you what you wanted.
This is like you complaining about not getting a medium rare burger from mcdonalds.
- In a real coffee shop you'd get a fixed amount of espresso and milk. A proper latte doesn't just add milk to fill the cup, and "no ice" isn't some hack to get an extra shot.
- This is like you complaining about not getting a medium rare burger from mcdonalds.
  lmfao careful commenting this, some "influencer" is gonna try that now and post it YouTube

No I understand this. When someone is pricing a product, they price it off of how much it costs to make a specific amount. In this case it would be the amount of coffee in the glass given the glass has ice. Additionally when buying coffee or alcohol you are paying for the coffee or alcohol by the shot (30ish ml) and that is then diluted. For your case it would be diluted in milk. So by ordering without ice you are either going to get a diluted product, more than what you paid for or a less full glass.
I mean come on they literally gave you exactly what you asked for. What do you expect of a drink that you specifically asked for an ingredient to be removed from. Obviously you are gonna get less. They teach this shit in grade school. Would you prefer them to have just topped your cup with water, if so fucking ask ughh.
Sincerely a bartender sick of everyone's shit.
- sick of everyone’s shit
  This is exactly the problem with most retail employees: they treat everyone like the small fraction of scammers that exist.
  If it were my coffee shop, I’d just spend the few cents to fill that cup and I wouldn’t treat it as a problem until a significant portion of people were obviously gaming the system.
  Penny pinching just gives off the impression that one doesn’t care about one’s customers.
  In my opinion, commerce is a platform upon which community takes place. The people are the point.
  
  Go fuck yourself
- Dude you're comparing something stupidly expensive like liquor to coffee. like what?? 10 years ago, you could get an iced coffee less ice, it had like 5 ice cubes in it. Now they just give you half the amount of coffee what the hell? How can you even justify that? If we're talking about some expensive top shelf liquor that costs $30-80 a bottle, sure, I get that. But this is literally sugary coffee and milk!
  
  Bars/Cafes also have to buy the fucking product. Do you not have object permanence? Are objects and processes outside of your direct field of view intangible to you?

I think this is about presentation,
If you had ordered a hot latte, they would have put it in a cup so it looked full.
If you order just a ice latte, then put it in a cup so it would look full.
You ordered something they hadn't designed for, and it's really up to the barista at the moment to decide how to handle it. At larger organizations they probably just have a policy, it's smaller organizations the barista might top you up.
If you're not getting a good experience, switch locations.
- Dunkin is a franchise, so the local owner should have the ultimate authority on this policy.

I mostly care about how much caffeine I get, which I understand to be the same regardless of how much ice there is. Generally, small or medium is 2 shots of espresso, and a large is 3 shots.
- If you want two espresso shots, then you could just have them straight up. It doesn't really make sense why you would water them down with a bunch of ice, because then it tastes like crap. If I get an iced latte, it should taste like an iced latte, I shouldn't have to struggle through it by dumping more sugar into it like I'm taking some sort of medical concoction. There are so many things they could do to fill up the cup, add a little bit of milk into it. You guys don't have milk? I asked them that. Oh well it's extra to put more milk. Ridiculous I swear
  
  it’s extra to put more milk
  More product costs more? Outrageous!
  
  If you want two espresso shots, then you could just have them straight up.
  Do you know that a latte is espresso with milk?
  It doesn’t really make sense why you would water them down with a bunch of ice
  Why not order a hot latte, and a cup of ice on the side so you can add a couple cubes? or simply wait for it to cool down to the temperature of your preference.
  
  You were in the right and have a valid complaint. The people stating otherwise are making a bad faith argument not even based in fact.
  Sorry you had that experience - the cashier was a twat; a number of these posters apparently aspire to be like him.

I'll just get my popcorn for this. Must be some really expensive ice.

Technically you got the coffee you paid for. You got the same amount of coffee as you would have if you got normal ice. It's priced based on the amount of coffee provided not the size of the cup. The cup being not full is more psychological than anything. If we want to get real technical, the price of a coffee is mostly labor and overhead not the ingredients. Thats why a large doesn't cost that much more than a medium.
- Are you a corporate apologist or something? cause your reply sounds like the most absurd logic ever. Back in 2010 I remember dunkin giving you more milk if you got a less ice coffee, it wasn't an automated machine.
  
  No, thats just the real world dude. It's the same math that a locally owned coffee shop has to use.
- Bootlicker logic spotted...
  Well akshually, 🤡

Premeasured devices have been around for awhile. Fewer user errors and they can use the customer's mug/thermos if they want to.

It's not just coffee, soda cups have ice lines and a growing number of soda machines have automated / measured filling. And if you go to a theme park your cups are RFID chipped so you can't get refills (or only a certain amount of refills).
- What a waste of RFID chips.
  
  Factoring in the actual cost of manufacturing that cup vs the cost of the soda? God yes.

What do you mean "in the USA"? You went to a Dunkin Donuts... Lol. That's not a Cafe, that's a place to buy mass produced, shitty donuts.
This was entirely your fault is your were after a great cup of coffee.

Just make it at home its so much better and cheaper.
- Gee, I'm sure OP didn't think of that one.
- And there's lots of subjectivity with coffee; you can get the tools to dial it in exactly how you like it, or just a machine that makes it really easy, with lots of space in-between.

Bro in literally every other country they press the button on the espresso machine to decide how much coffee you get

Okay so I'm going to answer this with soda. So when people order soda no ice, they think they're being smart and getting more soda. Well, define soda.
You see, most of those drinks are specifically designed with the ice in mind. All drinks are some sort of mixture with water, and they take ice into account, they expect the ice to melt and become part of the drink. With soda, they made the drink with the ice melting in mind.
So when you order a soda no ice, you're not getting more soda necessarily, justa. More concentrated sugary syrupy drink that isn't properly mixed.
- most of those drinks are specifically designed with the ice in mind
  Citation Needed
  
  I mean I don't have one, but my wife is a food scientist working in the drinks industry, so I've learned a lot
  
  also is a really dumb logic anyways, the ice don't melt until later while you most likely is going to start drinking immediately, and I don't find it enjoyable to have the first 25% of my drink taste different than my last 25% of the drink.
- But this isn't a fountain drink
  
  Doesn't mean they didn't plan the drink with ice in mind
- With soda, they made the drink with the ice melting in mind.
  I don't think this is true. The soda machine is probably programmed to deliver just enough soda so that it doesn't overflow the cup. Now, if you order it without ice it'll deliver the exact same amount of soda but the cup wont be as full due to lack of ice.
  
  It also delivers a set amount of ice

On the plus side, if this is the worst part of your day, you had a pretty good day
- It's not. I wish it was
  
  Sorry to hear, I hope your day improves or that tomorrow is a better one

Sometimes i order a cortado/flat white (it's on the menu, i swear) and get a 16 oz paper cup filled to the top. What am I drinking?
- A flat white is like a latte but smaller (traditionally around 5 oz). It doesn't contain less espresso than a latte, just less milk. A cortado is even less milk than that, it's about a 1:1 ratio of milk to espresso. Cafes may add an extra shot for those larger sizes, but frequently it just means extra milk
  
  Yeah but traditionally they don't come in a 16 oz cup. It's basically a fuckin latte at that point is it not?
- cortado

I don't get overpaying a shop for coffee. I can get over 43 16 oz cups from a 2 lb bag of whole bean. Not the cheap shit, either. I buy the good stuff from a co-op in Wisconsin. With my minimal time and labor investment, I end up paying about $0.85 for 16 oz.
Why go to a shop? Human interaction?
Edit: Look y'all, do what you want. I'm not your dad. Well, probably.
- Do you never leave your house? If I want a warm coffee while I'm out and about, I'm not going all the way home for it
  
  We have the technology to keep hot things hot. :D
  https://thermos.com/

I went to dunkin’
What did you expect? If you want a coffee, and not dirty asswater, go to an actual coffee shop.

Go to a real coffeeshop. Even we know Dunkin isn't real coffee.

Any coffee with milk is a milkshake and is for children. Drink your coffee black like your God intended.

A lot of bootlicking going here...
OP voted with your money and next time just deny the parasite profit.
This ain't negotiation and a lot of these consumer discretionary business forgot who pays them. Too much daddy owner attitude, not enough work.
But I guess normies LARP it, so why would am owner respect the customer?

~~Ordering coffee in~~ the USA triggers me
- You might be saying it ironically but honestly: yup. This thread is littered with examples why.
  
  No irony or sarcasm. The USA really triggers me.

That's just dumb. You couldn't make it up. I guess there was plenty of vocal-fry going on too?
Do you know if it's a corporate dictat thing (so I have to eat my words)?! Anyone with any common sense would just put two of those in to fill the cup up.

Let me give you a tip for free coffees the easy way:
I'm a smoker, and after each drag I spit straight into a plastic cup that I carry around with me. I usually fill my cup up in about fourteen days (I like a medium too!) which means that if I start on a Monday with my pre-work cigarette, I'll have a medium drink ready to go by lunchtime a week on Friday! The tobacco colours my spit brown, and the residual nicotine in the saliva actually gives me a kick (I can feel it in my heart and brain). It's free, and it's healthy because you're spitting out all the really unhealthy stuff in cigarettes! I hope this helps, good luck!

123 comments