• Published:July 14th, 2008
• Comments:4 Comments
• Category:Blog Comments, Product

Boing Boing, Mecca of all small incidents blown way out of proportion, links to the story of an under-caffeinated fellow who takes umbrage at the posted policies of a local coffee shop and a particularly obstinate coffee-slave who seems destined for a life in the 9th level of the bureaucratic hell of government service. This post is not about that incident. This post is about the day the ENTIRE GODDAMNED INTERNET shared in that cup of coffee.

From the comments at the original post, by a person going by Heyheyhey:

this isn’t about coffee, this is about the barista doing his job the best he can and you totally disregarding the store policy and then proceeding to be a dick. that photo of the dollar you left speaks a ton about you. you’re an ass and i hope for the sake of the baristas at [coffee shop in question] you don’t go back.

Another commenter, apparently wedded to the sanctity of capitalism, responds:

This dude was RECEIVING MONEY to create a beverage that was apparently beneath him and his store’s policy (what happened to the customer is always right, folks?) and then had the AUDACITY to deny said beverage, potentially losing a customer and money, not to mention being a royal dick about it. Heyheyhey - you’re way out of line.

Lucky for us a fellow is there to jump in and link to his flickr page with a picture of the coffee shop policy, and the infamous dollar bill mentioned above:

I know you felt affronted by this, but there was a big sign saying what they wouldn’t do.

Also, your message to them now proudly hangs in their Hall of What Not To Do board at the register:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tbridge/2667261495/in/photostream/

On that flickr page are more comments (surprise!) from more people who want to drink deeply of such an infamous and vainglorious cup of coffee. For example, here’s a threat that carries deep and economically apocalyptic ramifications:

I will never patronize [coffee shop in question] with my business. Granted, I live in Alexandria & do not get to Arlington that much, but if I’m ever in their neighborhood & want coffee, I wont be going there.

Tremble at the power of this man’s dollar!

But most luckily for us, there’s a link in the flickr page comments to someone ELSE’S blog about this very same incident:

The behavior that caused this particular dollar to be written on was VERY rude and unprofessional. www.andiamnotlying.com… A different take on the same incident here www.welovedc.com… Snobbish people irritate the crap out of me, especially in customer service positions. The jerk is lucky he got a tip at all (other than “find a line of work where you don’t have to deal with people who offend you by wanting something you don’t approve of”).

welovedc.com backs up the original blogger’s version of events, and of course, there are more people who wish to indulge in such a pointlessly famous cup of coffee:

Straight espresso and the classic cappuccino are signature beverages at [coffee shop in question]. They don’t ice them, they don’t serve them to go. Saying no in these particular instances shows the pride they take in their work. It might cost them a few customers, but it helps build the company culture of being the most devoted to coffee quality in the DC area

And, what’s this? A few comments down, a link to the original post:

This entry on And I Am Not Lying may interest you.

Whereupon the original blogger notices the trackback and responds:

Hey man — I can freely admit I was being a dick. And I’ll even admit that sometimes I’m a barbarian that doesn’t appreciate the subtleties in things. But being a dick doesn’t start out of nowhere. Usually rotten customer service brings out the worst in people.

He goes on, adding nothing but fuel to this now coffee-soaked, orgiastic, incestuous, self-referential, internet camp-fire. That is, until he closes his comment like this:

And, dick or not, it’s still just coffee.

That’s right people, in the end it’s just a cup of coffee. A cup of coffee, incidentally, THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE, WHATSOEVER.