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Two Pots of Coffee

For McDonald's and places like it
 
(+1, -1)
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McDonald's, as most of us are well aware, serves very hot coffee. The famous lawsuit levied against this powerful restaurant corporation was not based on the fact that there was no warning about the hotness printed on the cup (there was), but that the coffee was so hot it wasn't even safe to drink, let alone spill on oneself. The defense team AGREED, stating that they did not intend for the coffee to be sipped right away when they served it. They claimed that they made it so hot so it would stay warm during a long commute, that most drivers would let it cool a bit before drinking so it would last the duration of their drive to work.

Well this is all fine and good for the drive-through, but they use the SAME pot of scalding coffee to serve their walk-in patrons as well, and have the gall to post a sign up above the booths saying that patrons loitering more than 30 minutes will be asked to leave.

So I'm left wondering if I should stage a sit-in one day, claim I'm waiting for my drink to cool, and refuse to leave, or sue them again for serving this dangerous coffee to people who do NOT expect it to last a long time.

In case you're wondering what the idea is, read the title. The idea is for drive-through-equipped restaurants to have two pots of coffee. One that makes overly-hot coffee for commuters, and another that makes a batch that's safe for walk-in patrons to start sipping right away. In short, fast coffee for fast food.

21 Quest, Oct 13 2011

I was hoping it would be more like this http://www.halfbake...0Cups_20Of_20Coffee
[zeno, Oct 14 2011]

[link]






       //the coffee was so hot it wasn't even safe to drink, let alone spill on oneself// are your lips less sensitive to heat than your skin?
po, Oct 13 2011
  

       Actually they are more sensitive, which was the plaintiff's point. If that coffee was hot enough to cause third degree burns on her skin, imagine what it would do to a person's lips if they tried drinking it at that temperature.
21 Quest, Oct 13 2011
  

       ah I see, its a language thing...
po, Oct 13 2011
  

       MFD flavor. I mean, temperature.
swimswim, Oct 13 2011
  

       //patrons loitering more than 30 minutes will be asked to leave//
  

       The Mickey D's near my house not only doesn't apparently care about loiterers, it actually seems to encourage them, what with the free wi-fi and the newly updated "café" atmosphere and all. Every time I go there, there are at least a couple people—sometimes as many as half a dozen—occupying one of the back booths, complete with (plugged-in) laptop, presumably working on their scripts, or whatever it is that people do in coffee shop type establishments with laptops. I seriously doubt that the employees of your local McDonald's will actually enforce the 30-minute rule, unless you're making a scene or otherwise deliberately trying to draw attention to yourself.
  

       Anyway, the coffee is deliberately hot so that you can add creamer and whatnot to it, which brings it closer to an appropriate drinking temperature. And frankly, if you prefer it black, you should be drinking better coffee than McDonald's.
  

       In summation: To paraphrase Zoidberg, your idea is bad and you should feel bad!
ytk, Oct 13 2011
  

       I'm giving this a plus, because although mostly a rant, there's an idea in it, and it's not a bad idea either.... as I read it, that idea is to have two temperatures of coffee on sale, that are clearly labelled. One for travel, and one for on site consumption. [+]
xenzag, Oct 13 2011
  

       Just add ice to your coffee to make it instantly drinkable. If I am stuck in the drive through, I order a coffee and a cup of ice.
  

       But if your angst against McDonalds still runneth over; I'm always down for a good skirmish. What McDonalds, and when?
  

       //if you prefer it black, you should be drinking better coffee than McDonald's//
  

       No, damn it! I'm trying to find WORSE coffe!
MikeD, Oct 13 2011
  

       [MikeD], you haven't had your coffee yet this morning, have you? sp/coffe/coffee/
swimswim, Oct 13 2011
  

       I thought about the ice, but that makes it watered-down coffee.
21 Quest, Oct 13 2011
  

       Isn't all coffee watered down, relatively speaking?
theleopard, Oct 13 2011
  

       Considering fast-food menus now feature large pictures that vaguely represent the actual products sold, in order to better facilitate American customers whose communication skills have largely devolved to the 'point-and-grunt' method, how are we supposed to tell the difference between a picture of piping-hot coffee and a picture of less-hot coffee. For that matter, how are the employees expected to do same?
Alterother, Oct 13 2011
  

       The piping hot coffee has a large, friendly image of a car on the pot. The pot that is merely tubing hot has an image of a pedestrian standing at a cash register.
21 Quest, Oct 13 2011
  

       <points, grunts, calls lawyer>
Alterother, Oct 13 2011
  

       //a car on the pot//
Is that a euphemism for an oil change?
swimswim, Oct 13 2011
  

       // tubing hot //
  

       Good one, [21].
  

       I suggest that McD's could have two pots of coffee, one HOT, and another one drinkable, and add a mixer valve. Patrons could specify their desired temperature.
  

       I'd guess that intervals of 5 degrees would suffice, and the total desired range would only be about 30 degrees F. Folks could ask for "piping", "hot", and "cetera".
  

       I'd also say that with the prevalence of insulated cups, dispensing everything at just above drinkable would be best.
baconbrain, Oct 13 2011
  

       I agree completely, Bacon. When you order most breakfast meals at McDonald's, the ONLY included drink is a coffee. If you want something cooler (say, a fountain drink or orange juice) you have to pay extra for the substitution.
  

       So when they make the coffee so hot you have to let it cool for 10-15 minutes before drinking, what exactly do they expect you to wash the food down with while you eat? If I want to wait that long to start on my meal, I'll go someplace a little nicer than a fast-food joint. When I go to a McDonald's, I expect my food *and* drink to be immediately ready for consumption. That is, after all, why we go to fast food places. It sure as hell isn't for the service.
21 Quest, Oct 14 2011
  

       It's for the ambiance, silly.
blissmiss, Oct 14 2011
  

       They would likely be exactly the same coffee, with different temperatures heating pads. Which means, I could get one cup, from each, drink half of each, and then pour the remaining together, resulting in one cup of two coffees, or two cups of the same coffee. Talk about a philosophical epiphany!
RayfordSteele, Oct 14 2011
  

       I'm tempted to do the math on exactly how many ice chips are required to lower the coffee from temperature <x> to temperature <y> ... not *that* tempted mind you.
FlyingToaster, Oct 14 2011
  

       Exactly! They always ask if it'll be 'for here or to go'... but they don't make the coffee cooler if you say 'for here'.
21 Quest, Oct 14 2011
  
      
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