Here’s my “black coffee” this morning.
Double infuriating: everytime I tell people that “baristas” and coffee people can’t comprehend the concept of black coffee, I get back talk. Here’s the first coffee I’ve ordered in 10 years because of this persistent problem, guess what, they lived up to the complaint… they can’t formulate the concept of black coffee in their own mind.
OK, sure, they should know. I agree, but it takes absolutely minimal effort to add “no cream no sugar” when you order.
You can be stubborn and insist that you shouldn’t have to endure the trauma of all that extra effort on your part so that you can get the wrong order and then complain about it.
There are many fast food places (in the US South, particularly) where you can order a Coke, and they’ll ask you what kind. Because saying “coke” to some people just means “soda”, not necessarily “Coca-Cola”.
I’m saying it’s a psychological thing. Coffee is black, so when someone says “black coffee”, it may not click in the barista’s mind that they actually want percolated/drip coffee with no cream or sugar. All they hear is the coffee part, and so they serve it the way most people want/expect it.
Ultimately they should ask, even if you say “black”. I’ve worked fast food, and so many people just don’t know how to even order the things they want. But if they don’t ask, you - as the customer - should be able to make it clear. What do you get out of not clarifying?
To me, it’s more I wouldn’t want to sound weird to everyone else around me. Asking for a black coffee with no cream or sugar is to the same effect of saying “hi yes I would like scrambled eggs cooked please”.
If I went to my bank teller and said “Yea I would like to cash this check please” you aren’t expected to have to say “I would like to cash this check back as cash please”
These are just examples of what I mean, it’s expected that someone working in a shop that specializes in a specific topic, to at least know the basics of that product. I would definitely classify “black coffee” as a basic topic in a coffee shop.
It’s along the same lines as you wouldn’t want to be caught saying “I went to the ATM machine” it’s already defined earlier in the sentence so its redundant.
For all the examples you listed, how often is the result wrong to to lack of communication? Have you ever ordered scrambled eggs and received them uncooked, because they didn’t understand what scrambled means? Have you ever asked to cash a check, and the bank teller gave you…something other than cash?
Those are examples of things that don’t require clarification, ever. Because there is no variation of those that is even slightly common. No one ever says they want scrambled eggs raw. No one ever asks to cash a check in any other way than to receive cash. There’s no common precedent for a mistake here.
But black coffee is, evidently, just enough of a fuzzy area that it happens sometimes. I guarantee you that people order black coffee with cream and sugar, because they either think “black coffee” means “coffee” or because they think saying “black coffee” means “drip coffee” and distinguishes it from espresso.
Yes, it shouldn’t be a problem, but it is a problem. So where’s the harm in changing how you order it and saying “coffee no cream no sugar” instead of “black coffee”? Just don’t say black coffee and it won’t sound redundant.