Piccolo on Common Sense

A few days ago we went into a Starbucks here in Montreal. I ordered my regular drink, a Double Short Americano, and my wife ordered her Tall Soy Milk Latte. The dude at the counter shouted the order over to the barista - "One Piccolo Double Americano and one Mezzo Soy Milk Latte!!". Huh? The man told us that in Quebec Starbucks is not allowed to use the words Short and Tall.

After a long absence from Quebec I had forgotten how ridiculous the French language protection law can be at times. Somehow replacing English words with Italian words will, I am sure of it, protect the usage of the French language. This in a place where the French language is regularly massacred in prime time television. Maybe they should clean up their act before trying to force others to learn Italian.

One last comment......My thoughts wandered to my trip to Japan last year. There I was able to order a Double Short Americano...where this is a menu item. I just went to the Starbucks Coffee Japan website and, behold, the sizes Short (S) and Tall (T) appear. Maybe in Japan they should be forced to use Petit and Moyen.

Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!

Comments

Dominic said…
Tres bon blog...keep it up, love your ideeahs!
October 07, 2009
Anonymous said…
Do like I do and order a Tall Unarmed American...

MVP
October 07, 2009
remyvhw said…
It's not illegal to use those terms (as it would also be illegal to use italian... the bill 101 and other language related laws in Quebec do not discriminate openly against english but anything but french). It's only a matter of cultural difference. Using English for this kind of things is generally perceived as some kind of cultural bullying by francophones. But Starbucks is Starbucks, so they can't only use basic names that make actual sense, they must fancy all up with italian. Anyway, just a matter of good use of marketing. The same reason Starbucks offers different drinks in different markets. Like it or not.
December 20, 2009
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