12 Secrets of Starbucks Employees

Suzi Pratt/Getty Images for Norwegian Cruise Line
Suzi Pratt/Getty Images for Norwegian Cruise Line / Suzi Pratt/Getty Images for Norwegian Cruise Line
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8. Starbucks employees know you get confused about the drink sizes.

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Starbucks has drawn criticism for using Italian words for their drink sizes. A tall is 12 ounces; a grande is 16 ounces; a venti hot, 20 ounces; a venti cold, 24 ounces; and a trenta (only available for certain drinks), 31 ounces. Owing to confusion or indifference, many customers still use the more common “small, medium, large” terms. If you're wondering whether that irritates partners, the answer is no. “I would say 30 percent of people use our terms and know what they mean,” AJ says. Others use the more common sizes, or whatever size they happen to see on the menu. The problem, AJ adds, is when customers order a size in Italian and then complain they didn’t know what it meant, necessitating a time-consuming change in the order.