the Way of the Turtle

Just How Stupid Do They Think We Are?
Tuesday, July 21, 2009

All my travelling along the NYS Thruway means I frequently stop at the rest stops and get something to drink at whatever fast food joint is there... sometimes I even buy something to eat. And recently I've noticed an annoying trend which was emphasized for me today when I ordered a large drink at a Roy Rogers and was handed what is obviously a medium cup... namely, keeping all the prices the same but changing the sizes (so a small becomes the new medium, medium the new large, and large becomes extra large.)

I don't have a huge problem with places raising prices as their costs go up... that's the way the system works. But I find it highly offensive when they play stupid tricks like this to make us think nothing had changed, just assuming we either won't notice or won't care that what we're now getting for the same money and name is actually one size smaller than it used to be.

Kudos to the gal at the cash register who when I questioned the size and shook my head in disgust at her explanation simply handed me an "extra large" cup and refused to charge me the extra money for it (which I would have gladly paid.) And now I just have to remember to order an "extra large" drink when I'm looking for fluids to suck down during my travels.

JMH