That's for their benefit, not yours: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080801/how-hard-could-it-be-good-system-bad-system.html http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080801

That's for their benefit, not yours: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080801/how-hard-could-it-be-good-system-bad-system.html http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080801/how-hard-could-it-be-go... They're taking your order as soon as you walk in the door so that by the time you realize that you'll be standing there for 20 minutes waiting for your coffee you're already committed. You'd feel guilty walking out, so they get your business where they otherwise might not.