# Do you refuse to say gimmick names for chain restaurant food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280 "2019-03-17T23:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/41 "2019-03-19T00:03:27Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Yeah, I’ll back this up. Small, medium and large, kid. Just make it happen. > > I’ve even adopted ‘No hablo Starbucks’ from Questionable Content when they try to specify. So you prefer to act like a dick to the person who is only trying to help you get what you want? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/42 "2019-03-19T00:12:40Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > If you can’t bring yourself to use the cutesy name, just point at the darned thing on the menu. That’s all you _can_ do at the new McDonald’s. They have converted the order desk to a touch screen. No need to even be able to read or speak as long as you can view the pictures. if you don’t see it, you can’t have it. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/43 "2019-03-19T00:39:22Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > That’s all you _can_ do at the new McDonald’s. They have converted the order desk to a touch screen. No need to even be able to read or speak as long as you can view the pictures. if you don’t see it, you can’t have it. Where is there a McDonalds without a counter to place an order? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/44 "2019-03-19T00:44:29Z")
> [@Mikemike2](#): > > Was going to say this. I’ll have your middle sized cup please. Me at local (campus) Starbucks: “Drip coffee, dark roast, whatever you call medium.” Teen clerk: _"We_ call it… _medium."_ (said with mischievous smile) > [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Where is there a McDonalds without a counter to place an order? Yeah, we have one with kiosks, but there’s still a counter for the traditionalists. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/45 "2019-03-19T01:09:03Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > What’s the big hangup? Do you think they are laughing at you for having to say the names that they thought up and put on the menu? Why is it “embarassing”? It’s a little know fact that whenever someone approaches a counter at a fast food restaurant, the kitchen clerk’s all huddle up just outside the customer’s field of vision, snickering to themselves in anticipation as they wait to see whether the customer will call the food by its advertised name, placing bets on the funniest one they’ll say. I’m told that “I’ll have a Baconator” is considered the gold standard of hilarity. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/46 "2019-03-19T01:17:52Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I agree with “don’t be an ass to the server”, but I also agree with this. I also agree with calling the “small” a “small”, even if the idiots labelled the “small” drink the “medium” drink. And, yes, I’ve seen this done. So was it marked up as medium, large, extra large? That actually would make some sense, as there is a “small” size called a “short” that they don’t really advertise. And the middle size of the usual three – tall, grande, and venti – means “large.” (Apparently, the original two Starbucks sizes were “short” (8 oz) and “tall” (12 oz.) ) So I can get it, but that is a bit unusual. I usually just use the words “small,” “medium,” and “large,” and those have always corresponded to “tall,” “grande,” and “venti” to the servers I’ve used it with. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/47 "2019-03-19T01:29:55Z")
Just fyi, it wasn’t Starbucks that did this. And naming the smallest item in a 3-item list as “medium” is stupid, regardless of how it can be explained away. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/48 "2019-03-19T01:54:22Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Where is there a McDonalds without a counter to place an order? Yeah, literally all of them here in the Charleston area. At least the ones I’ve been to in the last six months all got converted over to kiosk. I find it doesn’t work too well. ---
**Author:** ![customdistro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb9ed0/32.png) [@customdistro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/customdistro)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/49 "2019-03-19T02:22:20Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Whenever a chain decides to have a “fun” name for a staple menu item do you say that name or just use a generic term for it? i wont even say “venti” at starbucks-- not that youre likely to find me there. corporate and cute do not go well together. id consider ordering something with a stupid name if it were local. i do business with large corporations all the time, but im not going to start speaking their language if i can help it. dominos is suggesting people show support by high-fiving the box the pizza comes in. what a pointless, stupid idea. you wouldnt high-five the pizza delivery person, unless you were both fans of the same football team and they scored a touchdown while they were in the doorway-- why the heck would you do that to the box? people sit in meetings and come up with this nonsense. its fake and ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/50 "2019-03-19T02:23:39Z")
I go with whatever is most likely to result in accurate communication between me and the minimum-wage kid taking my order. For names of dishes, that usually means the name as it’s presented on the menu, because they might have many similar dishes, and the minimum-wage kid might not know all of the details. At Starbucks, that means specifying a size in ounces, because they know what that means, but I don’t know what all the size words mean. And no, I’ve never had any problem with a Starbucks order-taker not knowing the ounce sizes, or giving me any sort of grief at all for ordering that way. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/51 "2019-03-19T02:32:02Z")
> [@customdistro](#): > > i wont even say “venti” at starbucks-- not that youre likely to find me there. Of all the size names, this is the one that actually make sense. Venti is 20 in Italian and you get 20 oz. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/52 "2019-03-19T02:45:38Z")
There’s a difference to me between “cutesy” names and just giving things special names. I’ll use special names, but if the name is too cutesy, I won’t use it. And if the name is hard to remember, I’ll use a simplified name that gets the idea across. I’ve not been to IHOP in over a decade, but I would probably refer to the silly sounding thing as “That Rootie Fruity thing.” However, I will full out say “Nachos al Libre” or whatever they call it at the Mexican restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/53 "2019-03-19T02:50:00Z")
I frequent Moe’s but refuse to say most of their menu names. “Home wrecker” is okay but I’m not saying “Joey Bag of Donuts” or “John Coctostan” when I just want a freaking burrito or taco or whatever. I think these too cutesy names can work against them. I once was behind an older woman in line who was struggling to order with the stupid Moe’s names, got flustered and finally sputtered “I just want a burrito!” I actually thought she was going to break down and start sobbing. ---
**Author:** ![customdistro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb9ed0/32.png) [@customdistro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/customdistro)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/54 "2019-03-19T02:52:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My two were the Hunters Club and Bootlegger. > > Hunters is roast beef with provolone cheese. Bootlegger is roast beef & turkey. thats the thing though-- those arent stupid names, theyre just trade names. i dont even have a problem with “mcnuggets.” its when the trade names get stupid and try to be cute (yes its subjective, so do it based on your own criteria) that i draw the line. if someone enjoys ordering “moons over my hammy,” knock yourself out. i go to restaurants for things to be less trouble, not to learn and perform lines from a ridiculous script. if im going to play a clown id at least like to write my own jokes, rather than have some guy in a boardroom write them. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/55 "2019-03-19T03:14:29Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > There’s a particular thing in this field, about which I maybe go to extremes. My country (UK) produces – often in restricted localities – a vast range of beers and ales: the marketing folks knock themselves out inventing quirky names for the endless numbers of these, which periodically wax and wane – a more-than-tiny minority of such names, are for me embarrassingly silly to the nth degree. (Many of such, involve bogus “rustic-speak”.) Those beers whose names I find, in that way, just too goofy and awful: I refuse to try, or have anything to do with – let alone saying the name – I don’t care if the beverage concerned is, in itself, the best beer in creation. This is a ridiculous, arbitrary standard which I heartily endorse. I refuse to buy alcohol with what I deem to be silly names, with “silly name” having a somewhat vague and shifting definition. Arrogant Bastard beer might be the finest beer in all the land, but I’ll never know. Drinking Moose Drool beer or Sheep Dip scotch might be like kissing God, but it’s not worth it to me. I refuse to encourage that kind of marketing stupidity. > [@Chronos](#): > > I go with whatever is most likely to result in accurate communication between me and the minimum-wage kid taking my order. For names of dishes, that usually means the name as it’s presented on the menu, because they might have many similar dishes, and the minimum-wage kid might not know all of the details. At Starbucks, that means specifying a size in ounces, because they know what that means, but I don’t know what all the size words mean. And no, I’ve never had any problem with a Starbucks order-taker not knowing the ounce sizes, or giving me any sort of grief at all for ordering that way. You’re far too reasonable and agreeable for this thread. FWIW, I only go into Starbucks occasionally, but I’ve never had any problems ordering a “large plain black coffee”. Maybe there are Starbucks employees who fail to negotiate the transition from “large” to “venti” or whatever it is, but I’ve yet to meet one. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/56 "2019-03-19T03:37:23Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Yeah, literally all of them here in the Charleston area. At least the ones I’ve been to in the last six months all got converted over to kiosk. I find it doesn’t work too well. Huh. No counter ordering, at all, just the kiosks? ---
**Author:** ![customdistro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb9ed0/32.png) [@customdistro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/customdistro)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/57 "2019-03-19T03:43:59Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Of all the size names, this is the one that actually make sense. Venti is 20 in Italian and you get 20 oz. never knew that. i think i could get past it if a significant number of coffees in italy were that size. the coffee i used to get regularly (the bartender was from portugal) was more of a dieci (dez in portuguese) but the machine itself was probably italian. > [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Huh. No counter ordering, at all, just the kiosks? they discourage counter ordering-- if its not on the kiosk (square eggs after breakfast is over) then you have to order at the counter. california has an increasing number of restaurants with robot workers. im not saying theyve taken over yet, but its very clear where mcdonalds is going with this. plus i have no problem with pressing a picture that says “moons over my hammy.” its not ideal, but it neatly solves this minor problem. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/58 "2019-03-19T03:52:25Z")
> [@customdistro](#): > > i wont even say “venti” at starbucks-- not that youre likely to find me there. > > corporate and cute do not go well together. id consider ordering something with a stupid name if it were local. i do business with large corporations all the time, but im not going to start speaking their language if i can help it. > > dominos is suggesting people show support by high-fiving the box the pizza comes in. > > what a pointless, stupid idea. you wouldnt high-five the pizza delivery person, unless you were both fans of the same football team and they scored a touchdown while they were in the doorway-- why the heck would you do that to the box? people sit in meetings and come up with this nonsense. its fake and ridiculous. Reminds me of another stupid thing about Cold Stone - they make their employees sing when you tip them. It would get to the point where I’d either say, “I’ll tip you if you promise not to sing,” or wait until their backs were all turned and then slip the tip into the cup. I do \*\*not \*\*like random people singing to me because they’re forced to by their stupid corporate overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/59 "2019-03-19T04:45:22Z")
This needs to be here: [Super Troopers...Shenanigans - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok85BmPyl_I) ---
**Author:** ![customdistro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb9ed0/32.png) [@customdistro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/customdistro)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280/60 "2019-03-19T04:53:59Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Reminds me of another stupid thing about Cold Stone ive never been to a noisier ice cream place, and the noise had me try it out about three times before giving up on it. when parents have kids that make that much noise, people complain. but with cold stone it was the people behind the counter, and i felt bad for them-- still worse for my ears. im not sure what they got right-- the ice cream itself was okay? theres no ice cream place more in need of a drive-through. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-refuse-to-say-gimmick-names-for-chain-restaurant-food/831280.md?page=4)