"A couple"... To me it means two of something. Weather it be two people, two bananas, two hammers...whatever. I don't understand why other people don't translate the word "couple" into the number two. Especially fast food employees.

I am a regular customer at McDonalds. Sometimes I get the Number 1 extra value meal which includes fries, a drink and a Big Mac. Now, the Big Mac does not come complete with ketchup like its other hamburger cousins. So I always request a couple of ketchup packets when ordering a Big Mac. Two is the perfect amount for me. One for each hamburger patty. But when I request a couple of packets, I am ALWAYS handed a heaping handful of packets. Who in their right mind would use 16 ketchup packets with one meal? Certainly not me. I would use two, and then throw the others out. What a waste. So I always end up giving some back.

Similar situation at Subway. On a six inch sandwich, I enjoy two pickles. Any more and the pickle taste overpowers the sandwich. So the other day I request "a couple" of pickles on my Italian BMT. But there must be some new Subway training procedure in which their employees are taught that "a couple" means "12 or more". Do they think they are doing me a favor by putting more pickles on my sandwich? Hardly. My completed sandwich had a layer of pickles that was thicker than the layer of meat. Nasty style.

I have now set out to find a fast food employee who is familiar with the term "a couple." And when I find that employee, it will be a glorious day.