Recently a couple of drive-through Starbucks opened in my area. I have to say at first sight I thought - That is so dumb!

I am embarassed to admit I have it used it a couple of times. I am now one of those people who cannot even get out of their own car to get a chai latte, I would rather spend my ten minutes waiting in a motorcade of other lazy people.

Why a drive-through?

It seems so unnecessary doesn’t it? I mean a dunkin donuts drive-through sort of makes more sense. If you are stopping to pick up several coffees and boxes of donuts for the office, it is much easier to get them handed to you through the window then try to navigate the parking lot holding several items. But how many people go to Starbucks to get coffee and muffins for 10 people? Almost no one I would guess.

I think the drive-through Starbucks was created simply because they knew people would use it. Perhaps even people who normally stop at Dunkin in the morning would see this new option and give it a whirl. Americans love anything that allows them to exert less energy right? We love getting food delivered, movies delivered, our coffee handed to us through a plastic window without having to move more than one arm to retrieve it. We love this stuff!

While I enjoy the convenience of these things, it also makes me worry. How lazy are we getting? Did we forget that half the fun of going out to eat/get coffee/whatever is the human interaction? Yes we have forgotten. And soon we won’t even have the option because everything, including the service industry, is moving towards the automated future. Soon there won’t be a waitress taking our orders, we will just hit a keypad on the simulated menu and our food will be brought out to us…hopefully by a human.

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