A STARBUCKS staff member who always writes a terrible misspelling of your forename on your cup does so because the consensus of the staff is that you are an arsehole.
Barista Sophie Rodriguez has a perfect grasp of the English language and a Classics degree, but has singled you out as the worst kind of coffee-purchasing bellend and consequently will not refer to you accurately.
Sophie said: “Funnily enough I can spell Tom. But the way you enunciate it implies I can’t. So I shall be spelling it Thoomb.
“I do it to every prick who regards me like I don’t understand the concept of milk. Debra with the fancy look, she’s now Zebra. James becomes Germs and Linda becomes Lidl. It’s the only power I have in this corporate hellscape and I will abuse it.
“But you’re the worst. The way you strut in here, filled with an exaggerated sense of your own self-importance, arrogantly saying ‘my usual’. We still haven’t forgiven you for requesting your almond croissant be warmed.
“Eventually, enough of our customers will have heard our inaccurate renditions of your name for it to become common currency. You’ll be called Thaume in your own office. Your own home. It’s all you deserve, you latte-swilling shithead.”
Colleague Oliver O’Connor said: “It’s a bold etymological experiment that explores the dialectical linguistic relationship between consumer and server inherent in a capitalist culinary environment. And you’re a twat.”