But in your area, where coke means almost anything fizzy, then you would be dumb to expect a Coca Cola.


I respectably disagree. Trademark and fraud laws being what they are, if I ask for a coke, then I expect to be informed if they don't have it and give me something else instead. If I am not, then the vendor is commiting fraud. Regardless of whether I really wanted coke, or some other fizzy drink.
Can you imagine what would happen if this abuse of trademarks was extended to other items in estores?
How pissed would you be if you had ordered an 'empeg' and got sent a neo?

Wow, I was never aware that this was such a widespread problem.

Worse yet is the Dr Pepper vs Mr Pibb issue. Mr Pibb is not the same as Dr Pepper. Therefore when the waitstaff assumes it is, and doesn't tell me they don't have Dr Pepper, and they bring me Mr Pibb, it becomes a problem... It's iced tea (unsweetened) if that's the case.

Absolutely. Mr Pibb isn't even close. I drink DP almost exclusively, and when I expect DP, and Mr Pibb touched my lipps, I almost gag. Iced tee is propmtly ordered.

I like both, but they're not even close to the same.

Is this anything like the fact that eskimos have 40 words for snow? You can imagine, what do you mean snow?


I wonder if 1 of their 40 words describes "yellow snow"

but thats not the point, I see what mean and sit on that side of the fence.
No trademark or laws about it, in some regions coke means fizzy drink and not Coca Cola product.
As an example, in Russia, pampers is the generic word for dipers (or nappies), so asking for pampers in Moscow and expecting to get that brand is not going to happen.
The same applies where any brand name has become the generic word to describe the type of product, like xerox for photocopier etc.
The word "empeg' is not (yet) the generic term for a cool car based mp3 player, although maybe it should be
Personally, I think the use of coke as a generic term is a plot by Pepsi to boost thier sales and confuse the marketplace. Possibly by forcing people to use the word Pepsi just to make sure they get what they asked for

I wonder if 1 of their 40 words describes "yellow snow"

hmmm... nope

Most of us just want a cola-flavored soft drink and it doesn't matter which brand. I hate ordering a Coke and being asked "is Pepsi OK?",

I'd rather be asked, since...

even if I did care which brand I got, I wouldn't be able to choose

...that statement is incorrect. If I'm asked "Is Pepsi OK?" I say "No, I'll just have water, thanks." Looks like you can still choose after all.

If I didn't specify clearly "no Pepsi", then I shouldn't get upset if I get Pepsi.

When you say "Coke", that is saying "no Pepsi". If I order a specific brand, I expect to be served that brand. If I order Coke, and am brought Pepsi without being asked, the server can kiss a big chunk of their tip good-bye, in addition to a) bringing me a new drink, and b) removing the Pepsi from the bill.

What really annoys me is when I ask for a medium and am told that for twenty pence more I could have a large. Yes, and for twenty pence less I could have a small one, but I didn't ask for that one either, did I?

I know it's upselling, I know they're told to do it, but I would really like to be taken at my word and given what I damn well asked for!

Bryan.

>>like xerox for photocopier etc

Although I have noticed more and more folk say Dyson instead of Hoover in conversation, even though almost no-one would say Electrolux in the same context.

I guess it may be because Dyson had a sufficiently innovative idea to be distinguished from Hoover.

And I have no idea what a zamboni is. From the earlier posts it obviously has something to do with ice-rinks but it has never impinged on my consciousness. Is it American?

I have noticed more and more folk say Dyson instead of Hoover in conversation

Even as a verb? I can believe people now talk about "the Dyson" rather than "my hoover", in the same way that others will talk about "the Kona" rather than "my bike" or "the 911" instead of "my car", but I've never heard of people dysonning their living-room.

Peter

Can you imagine what would happen if this abuse of trademarks was extended to other items in estores?
How pissed would you be if you had ordered an 'empeg' and got sent a neo?

If I went to an estore and told it that I wanted a hoover, I wouldn't be surprised to receive a Dyson or Electrolux. Perhaps this is another regional thing, but I wouldn't be surprised (and probably wouldn't notice) if I got a Pepsi after ordering a "coke", but I'd be surprised if I got a Pepsi after ordering a "coca-cola".

Peter

A zamboni is used at ice skating rinks to smooth out the ice. Usually in a break from play in an ice hockey game, it'll come out. They're usually pretty large machines that are driven by somebody.

If it's American, I wonder how they smooth the ice in other countries. Or do you not have ice rinks in Europe?

Yea and Snoopy used to drive one.

What really annoys me is when I ask for a medium and am told that for twenty pence more I could have a large.

What I hate is having to scan the menu trying to find out if they have Small, Medium, and Large, or Small, Large, and Extra-Large, or Medium, Small, and Biggie, or Large, Biggie, and Extra-Biggie, or Medium, Extra-Medium, and Jumbo, or whatever. Not to mention that each individual restaurant can't even keep their sizes internally consistent, so that a Large Fries might be the medium size, but the Large soda might be the small.

Not to mention fast food joints that provide free refills, yet encourage you to order the large anyway. Greater price for the same amount of beverage.

I don't understad this either. Having a large, extra large, and some other exremely large size is sort of acceptable. What I can't stand is when they have a medium, large, and extra large. I'm sorry, but when there's a medium, it has to be in comparison to something!

Well, it's no big deal to me. When/if I go to Starbucks, I order a small coffee. I know they don't have small on the menu and I'm quite sure they don't have "coffee" either, but I always get what I wanted.

Yeah, I know this small coffee shop that sells their latte's as 'single, double, or grande'. Grande is about the size of the starbucks venti (and a bit overpriced), but a lot of people are just so used to ordering a 'grande latte' that it actually must be quite profitable

I know they don't have small on the menu and I'm quite sure they don't have "coffee" either, but I always get what I wanted.

Starbucks is IMO beaten only by Subway in the field of making it unnecessarily difficult to order the one thing the company is nominally in business to sell. If I want to micromanage my sandwich on a tomato-by-tomato and dressing-by-dressing basis, I'll make my own sandwich. If I'm buying a sandwich in a shop, I expect the shop to have done all the difficult design work already, and to present me -- they are, after all, meant to be the sandwich experts -- with carefully-optimised results that are good in ways I wouldn't necessarily have thought of myself.

Peter

Your point is very true and I never thought of that before.

I just want to say that I love Subway. Italian BMT is [tfabris]THE BUSINESS[/tfabris]

I would like Subway if they didn't all smell funny and feel stuffy/humid whenever I walked into them. Anyone else notice this, or is it just a fluke of the few I've been in?

And jeez, Peter, don't that have delicatessens in Cambridge?

I'd say it's just a fluke. I know Subways can vary in quality by quite a lot. There are 3 by me within a 5 mile radius of each other. One of them is always manned by a thug, one has Raid ant traps on the couter tops, and the other one is just right. I was in one in White Plains that was outstanding. Very clean and efficient. Usually Subway is manned by only one or two people. The White Plains one had at least 4.

I think Subway's bread is what keeps me coming back. I know the meat is mysterious and the veggies could be fresher, but that bread rocks.

I think I'm with you Tony. All the Subways I've ever been in smelled funny to me too. And their ingredients don't seem to taste like they're supposed to...

Anyone else notice this, or is it just a fluke of the few I've been in?

The one I went to wasn't stuffy. I can't remember where it was now: the only place I've had to fend for myself recently in the US was New Orleans, and I don't suppose a Subway would stay in business too long anywhere within 100 yards of a good po'boy place (i.e. anywhere in NO).

And jeez, Peter, don't they have delicatessens in Cambridge?

Um, I'm not sure what you mean by this. If it's "What are you doing eating at Subway if there are real delicatessens in Cambridge instead?", then see above (I don't think you get Subways in the UK; no-one calls those rolls "subs" for a start, so the pun is a bit wasted). If it's "If you think ordering in Subway is unnecessarily difficult, try a delicatessen", then I've never had that problem with Cambridge delis.

The best sub-like filled rolls I know of come from Chatwin's bakery in Nantwich (and branches in about a dozen nearby towns) in Cheshire.

Peter

Something like that. What I meant was that when one orders a sandwich in a US Deli (at least in my experience), it's a lot like Subway, where you spec ingredients. Just less "corporate-assembly-line" style. I think that what the Subway people were trying to do was turn the Deli experience into a fast food chain. Seems they've been pretty successful, and there are a lot of imitators now.

They don't smell funny to me personally, but my s/o will NOt eat there because she says the smell makes her nauseous. She will eat it if I bring it home, just not in the store.

Also, has anyone else noticed that all Wal-Marts smell the same? I mean all of em, no matter where you are in the world, and it's a distinct odor too.

Yup, that's me in a nutshell.

anyone try Quizno's (sp?)? I see ads on the tube all the time, but can't find one. good ads, by the way.

around here (south of SFO ) I think 'togos' started the fast-sand thing. I can remember them as far back as the late 70's.

(tube,. tele, TV ) you know what i mean. right?

Quizno's is rather good. I worked for one of the first ones to open ages ago. One of the interesting choices is a beefeater, with turkey instead of roast beef. The workers always look at me funny when I ask for it, but I did the same thing to the customer who ordered it from me until I tired it.

There is a Quiznos in The Westchester Mall that I've been meaning to get to (about an hour away). Everytime I see that sandwich floating through the toaster on the commercial, I feel like Homer Simpson. Mmmmmm.... toasty..... gggggggggggggg.