Feel the Difference, Sir!!!

The weekend that just sped by saw A and me embark on a shopping spree! Having had quite a number of things to buy, it didn't take too long to lighten A's wallet by a considerable amount! Moreover, walking in the heat rendered sore our tired and aching feet. Driven by the sole aim of quenching our parched throats with some delectable fluids, we entered one of the million Cafe Coffee Days that dot this city! As is usual, the place was teeming with a considerable number of people. We quickly settled into two cane chairs, feeling blissful at finally being able to rest our posteriors! Quickly skimming through their fashionable Windows Vista promotion menu card, A and I soon decided what we'd like to have. I settled for an Iced Caramel, while A chose a Strawberry Smoothie. When I proclaimed what I'd like to have, the guy taking our orders nodded wisely and said "Caramel Temptation". We figured that was another name for the drink that I'd ordered. Having placed our orders, we got down to general bantering. In a short while, our drinks arrived. Mine looked like a lovely snow-capped mountain peak, with a generous swirl of ice cream and cream forming the topmost layer on a pleasing, twirling concoction of brown chocolate and beige caramel filled milky liquid! A's was a similar creamy hilltop, albeit in pink. A good way into my drink, a realization suddenly hit me. I looked at the huge menu board they had on one their walls, at the bill (which, as is wont in Coffee Day outlets, was brought even before the orders had been!), and then at the surreptitious looking menu card, using which I'd made my choice! Iced Caramel in the menu card read Rs. 47/-, on the massive board, Caramel Temptation was priced at Rs. 62/-, while in the bill itself, Iced Caramel Temptation was at a whopping 93 Rupees! Flustered, I brought this to A's attention, who, in turn, became perplexed at the anomaly!

We beckoned to a young girl employee and asked her to send the young man who had taken our orders, to our table. She asked us whether she could help us with anything, and we proceeded to explain what had taken place; how I'd ordered for a particular drink, the name and price of which had apparently changed thrice by the time it reached my side! Having patiently heard us out, she proceeded to explain how the Caramel Temptation that was listed on the menu card and the one that I had been served, were not the same drinks! On asking her how two drinks could have the same name, she blinked stupidly, and soon gave way to the man who had taken our orders. We launched into the lengthy explanation once again, having to repeat it many a time before he could grasp the situation! He promptly launched into an explanation of how he had let us know that Iced Caramel was not served on weekends, instead of which, the Iced Caramel Temptation with cream and ice cream and some other frills, was served! When we declared in no uncertain terms that he had done nothing of the sort, he again launched into the aforesaid explanation, letting the conversation go round and round and round in circles that had no beginning or end whatsoever! By then, I was glowering with anger at having been made to drink a drink that I hadn't even ordered, when something the guy said made both A and me almost choke with suppressed laughter! He went, "..... but Sir, the one on the menu is Caramel Temptation, the one I served is Iced Caramel Temptation, (he then proceeded to open the bill, which, along with the total, also listed what went into each drink, and with a flourish and wave of his hand, he exclaimed...) feel the difference, Sir!" Unable to stop smirking, I vehemently explained how he hadn't done his job well, having failed to inform us of the unavailability of the drink we'd ordered, assuming instead that I'd automatically prefer to have the weekend special one! After his hasty retreat, we thought it'd be funny to pay only for the drinks that we'd really ordered, and not the special one that had been forced on us, and then ask the same young fellow to "feel the difference"! We didn't do anything of the sort, but it sure is not one statement I'm going to forget in a hurry!