Smarten up!

I hate drive-thru's. Drive-thru's are epitome of laziness. I especially hated them working at Starbucks.

Honestly, some days, I would show up for work at 4:55 A.M. at the E. Hasting store, and by 5:30 A.M., there would be a line-up of 10 to 15 cars outside. But there wouldn't be a single customer in the store.

Was it too cold to walk to the store?

Not really. Here's our weather forecast this week. Compare it to the rest of the country. Our climate hasn't really changed since I worked there.

Was it a high-crime neighborhood?

Not really. If you view the store on Google Street View and play around a bit, you'll see that it's not a long stroll from the parking lot to the store.

It's sad to say, but people who use drive-thru's (with some rare exceptions, such as those customers with limited mobility) are lazy. Some of our customers could have saved 10 to 15 minutes of waiting in line had they simply parked and walked 30 seconds into the store. But they'd rather sit in their air-conditioned cars while pumping noxious fumes into the atmosphere and listen to whatever is playing on their radio.

I shouldn't be complaining. I'm harnessing the power of laziness when I come across a drive-thru equipped Starbucks. Sometimes, I make eye contact with someone in the line, go in, get my drink, and come out. Then I make eye contact with that same person, who has perhaps moved 1 car length in line.

I'm busy. I don't like wasting time or money. So for me, a drive-thru is a fool's errand.