Let's face it. The only reason to venture inside a Starbucks location is to get noticed. After all, how else can you explain why someone would pay three times as much for a mediocre cup of coffee? The other 85% of their die-hard fans who drink this stuff are the ones who sit for 20 minutes in the drive-thru on their way to someplace else.
But hey, this place ain't so bad, after all
This morning I was super early to church, for a change. That's only because I had to stop at the drugstore on my way in. It only took a few minutes, so I stopped at Starbucks near my church to discover what the famous coffee shop was offering these days and to see if there were any nice ladies to chat with. After all, I hadn't been to Starbucks in a very long time.
I sauntered to the counter and ordered the acai strawberry lemonade since I no longer drink coffee. The inevitable chastisement from the pretty young barista came when I ordered a "medium." She smiled as she spoke the size of the drink in a foreign language, and at that point, I stood corrected.
An okay place to flirt and make new connections
Meanwhile, an attractive, well-dressed woman about my age– no, I'm not going to tell you what that is, nice try– came in as if she owned the place and ordered her drinks like she knew what she was doing. She then sat at a table near where you pick up your order. It clued me into the fact I was at the wrong end of the counter!
This well-put-together lady seemed like she might be receptive to a first contact – I'll show you the signs in another post– so, I went over to her and blurted out, "Good morning, how are you today?"
"Oh, pretty good. How bout you?"
"Okay," I replied, "But I think someone should write a book titled
How To Starbucks."
She smiled, so I continued.
"Several years ago, a guy wrote a book titled
How To California. In one of the funniest parts, he explains how every citizen there is responsible for having a nice tan."
"That's about right," she mused.
(Sorry if you're from California, but your beautiful state bears the brunt of many jokes where I'm from).
Of course, the pretty young barista felt compelled to break up our wonderful conversation by invading our space and saying, "Your order's ready sir. Your order's ready ma'am."
Sometimes, it's best to quit while you're ahead
I noticed my new lady friend was getting her order to go, so I wished her a wonderful day and told her goodbye. Then, I plopped down on an extremely long couch where no one else sat. In fact, there were only two other guys in the Starbucks with me now, so I observed what they were doing.
One young man was college-age and hiding behind his laptop. The other man had movie-star looks and was also hiding behind his laptop. What a shame, I thought. Here are two good-looking, lonely guys who came to Starbucks for the sole purpose of meeting their dream woman, only to let their shyness thwart their chances.
And don't give me that line about how they were just there to catch up on work! Remember, it's Sunday, and college classes are already finished for the semester. The sad fact is that they were both dripping with obviousness.
It's easier than you think to start a conversation
If you're shy about talking to women, you're not alone. After all, it's not some elective subject you can take while in high school or college, somewhere between world history and trigonometry.
The good news is that any man, no matter how shy, can develop the skills to talk to any woman, no matter how beautiful. You don't need looks or money or a special opening line.
In the next post, I'll show you how a single word can give you the confidence to work into a full-blown conversation with anyone, including that beautiful lady you've had your eye on for a while now.
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