Coke vs. Pepsi

You may recall that I asked to be reminded to blog about Coke vs. Pepsi. And what do you know, Mary reminded me! (Thanks, Mary!)

If you've been reading this blog awhile, you know how I feel about Coke vs Pepsi. I'll drink Pepsi, but I prefer Coke. I was practically weaned on it.

In my travels hither and yon, I've found that when I'm ordering food and I ask for Coke, the odds are pretty even whether I'll get Coke or Pepsi. When they carry only Pepsi, the server will ask, "Is Pepsi okay?" and I'll grumble in the affirmative. They have to ask if Pepsi is okay. If you ask for Coke, they have to give you Coke or ask if they can serve something else. Coca-Cola has people checking to make sure that this happens.

Anyway, when you travel you can generally find that some places serve Coke, and some serve Pepsi, and the balance is pretty even. Unless you travel to Atlanta, where it's overwhelmingly Coke. Ahhhh, Atlanta. Love that town.

And then there's Bend.

Overwhelmingly Pepsi.

"Can I have a Coke, please?"

"Is Pepsi okay?"

rooba-rooba-rooba

Why is Bend a Pepsi town? Someone pay off the city council? Street gangs knocking off the Coke trucks? Enquiring minds want to know.

Some people, when confronted with a mystery, just ignore it. They're non-confrontational. Not I. Above asking I am not. Yoda I am not. Why speak this way am I? Now where was I? Oh, yeah.

So I started asking. "Why do you serve Pepsi and not Coke?"

I got answers. It's all about service. Pepsi has been in Bend longer. And they have better service. The Pepsi reps show up at restaurants once a week, whether they're needed or not. You need Pepsi service, they're there. The Coke guys, on the other hand, don't give good service, I'm told.

I walked over to a neighbor's house the other day and introduced myself. I like knowing my neighbors. Turns out he used to work for Coke. He said the Coke distributor in Bend doesn't treat its employees well. He left and went to work for another beverage distributor, and he said they treated their employees really well.

You'd think Atlanta (meaning Coke headquarters) would notice the disparity in distribution here and kick some bottles. I wish they would.

In the meantime, I stock up on Coke at home, and I drink Pepsi when I go into Bend. It's a hard world out there.


Blog Tag: Chatter