I love coffee. I have been drinking it since well before I was probably old enough to be drinking coffee and I usually put down a couple of cups a day. But for me, it's a drink that's either a very addictive vice, or a necessary evil to get me through my day.

As a rule, I try to avoid Starbucks at all costs. I've gotten over its ability to over-commercialize my daily cup of joe, but I simply can't handle the over-the-top giddiness of most of the workers and I especially loathe the repeated efforts to force me to use its special lingo. If a "tall" is actually small, and large is "venti" why can't you just say so?

Seriously, if I want the biggest cup of black coffee you have, don't try and get me to say the ridiculous word you have for it. And when I say "I just want the biggest cup of black coffee you have", that should mean -- explicitly -- that I do not, under any circumstances, want any sort of flavoring added to it.

I would go out of my way to find a George Webb's or a gas station instead of going across the street for Starbucks. Sorry, but it's a personal preference. Unfortunately, though, options are sometimes limited.

A recent stop for coffee while in Wisconsin Dells led us to Starbucks. Let's just say the boys and I were feeling somewhat sluggish that morning. One of the first rules of retail is to read your customer before serving them. Don't engage them in pointless small talk if they look to be in a hurry or otherwise disinterested in anything other than quickly purchasing whatever product you're peddling. At Starbucks, that is definitely not the case.

I was supposed to meet a friend for coffee this morning at the aforementioned national chain, and luckily, the friend canceled. Instead, I stopped at Stone Creek Coffee on my way to class. This particular location is right across from my campus and was busy, but not the least crowded. I came in, I placed my simple order and I was done. No annoying small talk, no stupid language and no suggestive-selling.

This ... this is what I am looking for when going to get my morning caffeine fix.

A cup of coffee should be one of life's simple pleasures and not some sort of culture. I'm all for being a good and friendly employee, but it is possible to go too far and take things a little too seriously. The big, bad national chain with stores on three of every four corners could learn a few lessons from Milwaukee's own Stone Creek.