I went in to Starbucks about 10 minutes ago, having been asked by my aunty to see if I can procure some Chai tea.
"Excuse me, I wonder if you can help me at all. I'm looking for some Chai tea bags."
"I'm sorry sir we're out of stock at the moment", the girl behind the till replied.
"No you aren't, look behind you. There are loads of Chai tea!"
"I'm sorry sir I can't sell you those."
An expectant pause follows, as if I should totally understand why. The confused look on my face suggests otherwise.
The girl clarifies with "Well I could sell you some of those, but I'd have to charge you a lot more than the box of Chai tea bags."
"Erm, why?"
"I'd have to charge you the same as it would for many cups of tea"
"Couldn't you put them through at the same price?"
"Nope."
"Why?"
"It would muck up the inventory system."
Why is this so complicated? I mean, it's not as if I'm asking for anything ridiculous: I want to spend money, in their shop. If this was before the days of computers (or even before the days in which big cities were littered with coffee shops) then I would have been told "certainly sir, but I'll have to have to give you them singularly. That will be the same price as the box."
Alas, the computer says no. I'll get the tea from somewhere else.
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