53 Comments

1. e:

I’m reluctant to criticize Starbucks for selling expensive coffee. If they’re satisfied with their current market share then their prices are good enough. I think in order to stay on top Starbucks will need to remain ‘upscale’ by having greater varieties of drinks (coffee and otherwise) and maybe cater to the ’socially conscious’ by selling low environmental impact or fair trade drinks. Maybe up the importance of their pastries too.

I agree with you about McDonald’s change to upgrade their coffee. That is one of many wise business choices they’ve made in the last few years. The economy may be down, but McDonald’s sales are up.

Feb 14, 2009 - 11:43 pm 2. Emma:

If you seriously want to impress people with your self-sacrificing ways, brew your own coffee and put it in a thermos. You’ll make those McDonald’s-drinking moms look like rich selfish fatcats.

Feb 15, 2009 - 2:09 am 3. Sara for America:

What creeps me out here is your heightened concern about what other people think of you.

Why do you care so much? Are you buying into the agenda that says individualism is bad, the collective is good?

This bothers me very much. I’ve been a fan of your posts, you seem to be a pretty normal mom with a rational thought process.

If you have the money to spend, and that’s the way you want to spend it, quit apologizing.

Geez.

Feb 15, 2009 - 5:41 am 4. Kyle:

Not all of their drinks are expensive. There “regular” coffees are not $5. I believe their large (Venti) coffee is $3 and change. I get their medium (Grande) coffee or iced coffee for $2+.

Yes, they do have expensive latte drinks that have enough carbs & sugars to kill an elephant. I believe the Venti Strawberries & Cream frap. has more than 2,000 calories. There’s no reason to buy that regardless of price!

Nonetheless, not all their drinks are outrageous. Their coffee is competitively-priced, and their stores, if you have time, have an enjoyable setting in which to enjoy your drink, catch up on email, read a book, or have a good conversation with friends.

Kyle
Savannah, GA

Feb 15, 2009 - 5:48 am 5. Craig:

$883/yr. Impressive. And she’s probably quite typical. Scary.

Feb 15, 2009 - 5:50 am 6. MikeD:

Agree with Emma. Cheap and easy to maintain. The thermos is my best friend! I did stop ONCE to a Starbucks and when I told the young lady behind the counter, I wanted my coffee black. She asked, why! Well, I said, that’s the way I like it, black! She immediately responded and said, “no body orders a black coffee here. That’s ridiculous!” My only comment, “well, just call me No Body because that’s what I want.” After paying for the coffee for me and my friend, she laughingly said, do come back ok? Needless to say, I only responded by saying, not on your life sweetheart!

Feb 15, 2009 - 5:58 am 7. Tom:

You wanna save? Simply brew it at home, pour it in a double-metal vacuum thermos and bring it with you. My thermos keeps it warm to hot for up to 5 hours. And, you get it your way in taste just the way you like it.

This isn’t rocket science we are talking about.

Feb 15, 2009 - 5:58 am 8. Sgt. Mom:

During a long drive from Texas to California and back again last year, my daughter and I discovered that the Pilot truck-stops had an excellent variety of very tasty coffees on offer… and half-and-half on tap, for about a third the cost of a Starbucks cuppa. The only frill that the Pilot stores lacked in comparison to Starbucks was the ability to do the frothed milk on top and the little packets of demerara sugar. And the baked goods, of course.

Feb 15, 2009 - 6:23 am 9. Michael O'Brein:

I’m not an everyday-must-have-Starbucks kind of person, but if I want a a really good venti latte with a triple shot of espresso, then I’m going to stop and buy one if I happen to be passing by.

If I were to ever ditch Starbucks, it would probably be due to my getting sick and tired of their leftist green ideas being shoved down my throat. But so far, I’ve been able to ignore it. But that new commercial they have about organizing in your community, well that one is getting to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xAwKBywrEk

Feb 15, 2009 - 6:25 am 10. MikeD:

AMEN Tom, you got it right! Plus, most “upper class” don’t appreciate me trying to bring my big truck into a parking lot just for a cup of coffee!! Nope, a Peterbilt and uptown coffee shops just don’t fit!!

Feb 15, 2009 - 6:29 am 11. Bohema:

…A 2lb, 7oz can of Classic Roast coffee from Target – $5 bucks

… Travel mug with lid – $2 bucks

Fresh brewed, perfect coffee every morning of the week – priceless!

Feb 15, 2009 - 7:03 am 12. bvw:

I go to Starbucks all the time. Why? Because the coffee is an few orders of magnitude better than a convenience store or a McDonald’s. It is an order of magnitude better than a Dunkin Donuts, in taste and in consistency. There is a too much store-to-store variation at the competitors.

Very few coffee shops equal or best the Starbucks quality. Plus at Starbucks the greeting counts — come to a Starbucks and you are greeted by a clean, welcoming visual environment and employees that speak clear English as a first language.

I have talked to Starbucks employees about the recent cost-cutting. I tell them a rules of business I learned long ago — back in the dismal age of Carter: No business ever ran by cutting costs. Businesses need costs to survive — if they cut costs, that means they are giving up, going out of business.

Starbucks had better be CAREFUL with the cost-cutting measures it has taken. They are making me, a constant customer a bit itchy. Some of them are impacting what I come to Starbucks for. You mentioned one — the running water. Here’s two more: no longer double cupping Americanos by default, not alloting specific labor time to clean-up. Clean-up now has to be part of other duties. That’s not good.

It is okay to provoke, to disturb, to motivate by a temporary “cost-cutting”. It is okay to cull out deadwood employees using the excuse of “cost-cutting” — it prevents acrimony. But “cost-cutting” is poison to business. To thrive a business needs to increase costs!

Feb 15, 2009 - 7:42 am 13. AnninCA:

Sara, I must say, the concern over “looking” thrifty jumped out at me, too. My goodness. It reminds me of the attitude I see on various blogs today, where everyone MUST think in lockstep, or there’s an all-out war, complete with banning of participants, etc.

It blows my mind, frankly. Since when did we all become such conformists?

Starbucks over-expanded, and it was obvious. Good gravy, they stuck a store on every corner. Now, it’s a good time to weed out the bad choices. I presume that they have leases coming up for review constantly, so it’s not hard to dismantle a store or even expensive.

It’s a smart corporate move.

I personally wouldn’t mind if they got back to selling coffee and skipped all the other junk. When they introduced those overpriced breakfast sandwiches, I had to switch to another coffee place since the lines slowed down to an unacceptable place. I might pop for my overpriced latte, but I’ll be darned if I’m going to wait 20 minutes for the pleasure of spending that money.

Feb 15, 2009 - 8:07 am 14. Northern Light:

In Canada the major coffee pusher (hey,it’s an addictive drug, right?) is a franchise called Tim Horton’s. The lines are long but the service is fast. The servers are kind of snarly, but the prices are pretty low (20 fl. oz. coffee is $1.79).

We have Starbucks here too, but they have been dealing with the pretentious yuppie crowd while Tim Hortons serves the masses.

Starbucks can’t match Tim Hortons prices and this recession is going to kill pretentious yuppies. Starbucks is in trouble here.

As to McDonald’s, every few years McDonalds spends millions of dollars in advertising telling people their coffee no longer sucks. They did this about two years ago here and I tried their coffee again. Maybe their coffee doesn’t suck now, but I have been disgusted by their coffee too many times to try their foul brew again (It tasted like they made it out of used dishwater).

I don’t know the US situation, but I am pretty sure that when people look for ways to economize that expensive coffee will be high on the list. I use a thermos too (I figure I pay 20 cents a cup), but if I needed a fix and the thermos was dry I would go to Tim Hortons before Starbucks. Besides in Canada there is a Tim Hortons every fifty feet across the country.

Feb 15, 2009 - 8:16 am 15. jfm:

Am I the only one that thinks Starbucks’ coffee typically tastes watery and burnt? I can make better at home and, with the help of a thermos, take it with me.

Feb 15, 2009 - 8:18 am 16. Susan Katz Keating:

Yes, jfm!!! I’m with you! Starbucks coffee is like liquified mud. I can barely stand the stuff. The coffee at McDonald’s is MUCH better! Same with Dunkin Donuts. If you want to preserve snob value, you can always buy McD’s or DD coffee, and pour it into your Starbucks cup….

Feb 15, 2009 - 9:16 am 17. James:

HEY! Starbucks represents something here: THE ABSOLUTE WEALTH THAT EVERYDAY AMERICANS HAVE ENJOYED THE LAST FEW YEARS, AS WELL AS THEIR UTTER FAILURE TO APPRECIATE HOW GOOD WE HAVE IT! I can see putting out $5 for a fancy coffee drink after a Friday night footbalL game as a treat, but as a daily event? I know everyday people who went to Starbucks everyday, dropping $4+ on a coffee and $1.60 on a donut! Such special people too!, with their laptops, and designer sneakers, and that “well-to-do” look about them. At my local Starbucks, you often saw at least two Prius cars parked outside at any given time (Yes, I’ll pay an extra $9,000 for a car that saves me $12 a month in gas!). Too many of us have lost sight. On the other hand, what a great cup of Joe that place makes!

Feb 15, 2009 - 9:27 am 18. David P:

Over time most retail stores will fail as we become increasingly dependent on internet bargain hunting. Amazon.com offers deep discounts on most items if you’re willing to delay gratification for a few days. In today’s economy the $4 fast food meal will take precedent over the $4 coffee.

Feb 15, 2009 - 9:46 am 19. Mike T:

Who in their right mind would shell out $5 for coffee in a recession like this when, just around the corner, they could get caffeinated for a fraction of the price?

Who in their right mind doesn’t just buy an espresso maker and milk frother, then? When I had my cheap espresso maker, I could make a cappuccino at home for less than you guys buy a large cup of coffee at McDonalds.

Feb 15, 2009 - 9:57 am 20. Mike T:

Yes, they do have expensive latte drinks that have enough carbs & sugars to kill an elephant. I believe the Venti Strawberries & Cream frap. has more than 2,000 calories. There’s no reason to buy that regardless of price!

It doesn’t have anywhere near that many calories. It has 750 calories, with whipped cream. You can easily find out how many calories they have on their website. 750 calories is too much for me, but let’s not get into spreading misinformation when they make the right information so easily available.

Feb 15, 2009 - 10:01 am 21. Latte Rules!:

Nothing’s worse than a reformed drinker hectoring people about alcohol. Now the man that went cold turkey on Starbucks insists it was all a good times excess, like owning a yacht, and we are fools for even going there.

People who chose Starbucks (or the better Coffee Bean when you can find it)are doing what they want, with their money. Others go to movies, eat out, buy jewelry or smoke. I work hard, support 2 kids, an ex-wife and don’t smoke or don’t hang out in bars much.

A morning latte is a necessity for me, and if there is no Coffee Bean, I’ll head for the nearest Starbucks, especially in London. I too have experienced coffee from large restaraunts that tasted like it was filtered thru a dishrag, or at least a coffee container washed with an old disrag. Coffee Bean and Starbucks –the salvation of the working class!

Feb 15, 2009 - 10:54 am 22. Former Barista:

Goofy article. As others have mentioned, the author’s obsession with what other people think is disturbing and frankly one of those weird suburbanite mom derangement syndromes. Has she also quit buying bottled water?!

Starbuck’s brewed coffee is the same price as anywhere else, ranging in price (in my city) from $1.66 for 12 oz. and under $2 for the 20 oz.

Comparing brewed coffee to lattes is apples to oranges.

For 2 years, I worked several days a week for Starbucks in addition to my full-time job. Their training program is outstanding.

(Message to Schultz of Sbux: Sell your HR training & management program to other businesses to raise some cash!)

It is a smart idea for McD’s and I imagine it is an drinkable latte, but it won’t be the quality of Starbucks. Like comparing a McDonald’s hamburger to a restaurant burger. Just isn’t the same. Edible, but not the same quality, customization or service.

If you don’t like your McD’s latte, will they say, “I will remake it for you”? I think not.
Because they don’t really know how it is supposed to be made, and can’t be expected to when they are so busy ringing up other customers and waiting for fry orders etc.

What you are paying for a Sbux with the espresso bar drinks is serious quality & customization. That is the only job of the espresso bar barista. To get it right. The temperature, taste, weight of the beverage. Is the espresso shot more than 10 seconds old? Toss it out, do it again. If you mess up anything, do it again.

You can order a half caf – 2 pump – nonfat – vanilla – xtra hot no foam 1 – 2 Splenda latte and the barista will not blink. You will get what you asked for. This will not occur at McD’s. (At the McD’s near my downtown office, you are lucky to get a hamburger and fries without getting an attitude and sometimes a cursing out from the staff.)

Starbucks hires exceptional people and invests heavily in training them. If you don’t like the coffee or the price, don’t go there or cut down. I for one would prefer a well-made latte once a week, to a mediocre one every day.

Funny that the author appears to be ridiculing and blaming Starbucks for her $1000/year carmel macciato addiction. Damn that Starbucks for making a tasty, unique product and creating an entirely new retail segment!

And offering the employees health insurance if they work an average 20 hours per week. I’d rather support a company that treats their workers well.

BVW’s post above is very good. The cleaning hours are cut and much is expected to be done while the store is open. Not so good. Same with the no double cups.

Sbux can do some cost savings that won’t hurt the service. Good idea to cut out the decaf in the pm. 4 minutes isn’t long to wait for a fresh cup of decaf or I’m sure they would substitute a decaf Americano. We threw out gallons of decaf a day. The milk being steamed ahead of time – that was cut out. Good idea. Gallons of milk are wasted every day.

The running water thing is silly! When dealing with dairy products, I want that spoon to get completely and continuously washed off. Don’t want to get sick from a spoon that has been sitting in stagnant water for 4 hours.

Sbux should keep focusing on the coffee – forget the food! Pastries are a huge waste of time. Partner with a REAL local bakery and let them stock the pastry case. The frozen stuff is OK, but not worth the time of the baristas.

Viva Starbucks! They are lefty and a bit pretentious for sure, but I very much enjoyed working there, learned a great deal, and respect the values that they want to uphold… all while trying to make a buck the old fashioned way… providing quality products and exceptional service.

Feb 15, 2009 - 11:59 am 23. AnninCA:

Honestly, I bought my own machine. It broke within a year.

Yikes!

That dang machine was expensive as heck.

I concluded that the machines in stores are truly much sturdier.

Which is necessary for lattes.

My drink of choice is a simple……latte.

Nothing added.

But making them at home has cost me a lot more than digging in for my vice.

Feb 15, 2009 - 12:23 pm 24. OSweet:

Black and strong. Like my men.

Feb 15, 2009 - 12:37 pm 25. Cathy:

MikeD, when I visit a Starbuck’s, all the coffee is served black. That’s what the condiment counter is for — to add sugar, three differents types of milk/cream, or ….. NOT. The barista was most likely responding to your attitude, I’ve never had one “doctor” my brew for me.

Feb 15, 2009 - 1:08 pm 26. Noah Nehm:

I seem to remember that a while back Jay Leno joked, “Apparently, a man won 4 million dollars in a lawsuit for finding glass in his frappucino. When asked what he’ll do with the money, the man said he’d buy another frappucino.”

Feb 15, 2009 - 1:28 pm 27. Delia:

I’m a hard-core coffee slut er “connoisseur” for those of you whom prefer ‘fancy shmancy’ words as opposed to pedestrian, crude, ‘Anthony Bourdaine” lingo [he-he].

Anyway, I prefer to grind my own organic, dark-roasted coffee beans for each pot of coffee I brew and my particular coffee pot uses a charcoal filter for a cleaner tasting pot O’ dee-lish java. I froth my own hot half-n-half mixed with goat milk using an immersion stick-blender and I abhor the use of any sweeteners in my cup-a-joe. Savory and good to the last drop.

Feb 15, 2009 - 1:31 pm 28. JFM:

I have been twice ina SWtarbuck. Their coffe is not specially good and not specially strong nut it is specially expensive. If my memory is any good ay east two euros for a coffee who by the taste seemed to be at least part Robusta (for non connaisseurs, Robusta is low end, good coffee is made from Arabica). Oh, but ghe walls were plastered with posters ans stories avout how Starbusvk was a fair trade shop. and how wonderful was the life of its coffee famers.

Let me tell some problems about fair trade:

1) You aren’t told nothing about how much of the two additional dollars you are forking respective to a coffee sowewhere else will go into farmer’s pocket and how much in Starbucks (*). Could be 1 cent versus 1$99

2) There is no divine law telling that Seńor Cobos in Colombia must grow coffee. Without fair trade (who amounts to a hidden subsidy) perhaps would he grow tomatoes instead and get nearly as much money. Or perhaps he would go to a city and his children would become engineers instead of farmers.

3) Let think on the lowering effect on prices by keeping the marginal producer above water. In other words the people who aren’t selected as fair trade partners will be poorer.

4) Last but not least you aren’t told how fair trade producers are selected. I have only seen one in a documentary and guess what??? He was a militant of the local (leftist) dictator. Could be a coincidence or could be not. Anyway I am far from sure he was the poorer (in fact his income was above county’s average), hardest working or nicest guy in the county so why him?

These are things you should consider before you fork your hard earned money at Starbucks or at any other fair trade shop.

(*) The reader should not let himself impressed by the classical demagogic assertion the producer is paid ten cents and price multiplies by ten before itb reaches the costumer. Consider transporting one ton of tomatoes paid 1000$ to the producer. 1 dollar pêr kilo. But transportation is two dollars per kilo. Transportation a kilo of gold is also two dollars but is barely noticeable. Ojn our tomatoes it has already trebled their price before anybody makes a cent because we have a cost who is not a multiplier of the initial price but is added. Now consider that on average one half of those tomatoes get spoiled before they reach the final customer. That means they cannot be sold below 6 dollars. And nobody has made a cent and we have not ended adding factors who don’t depend on tomatoes initial price. That is why the “producer gets only ten percent of waht the customer pays” is a fallacy and a swindle.

Feb 15, 2009 - 1:45 pm 29. Eric:

I spurned Starbucks for McDonald’s only to find a better and cheaper Cappuccino at the gas station down the street for $1.30 and $0.88 for a refill.

Feb 15, 2009 - 2:23 pm 30. Fantom:

I have bought a few cups from Starbucks, in fact just discovered “Sumatra Mandheling” from a gift pack my nephew gave me for Christmas. Then I proceeded to find a non-left coast, gay-pride sponsering, America hating place to buy from.

http://www.cw-usa.com/coffee-beans-varietals-sumatramandheling-1lb.html

Brew your own, or buy local, and quit funding the left wing enemy.

Feb 15, 2009 - 3:05 pm 31. st louie mo:

….”What creeps me out here is your heightened concern about what other people think of you.”….

That my friend is the whole concept behind SB’s, conscious, ostentatious, consumption, by little lefties who can’t afford a membership at the local private club.

I used to work with the a bunch of left coast lefties who could prove their credentials by cutting out of work in the afternoon, driving, 5 miles to a store for some obscure blend. I never could figger out the economic waste of travel and time for this little pretentious display.

The only thing funnier (sadder) then looking at the underachievers sleeping an afternoon away at SB’s is looking at the guys next door at Whole Foods squeezing melons.

Feb 15, 2009 - 6:06 pm 32. whiskey:

Starbucks is like Apple Computer, at risk for huge loss of sales. People just don’t have the money. Period.

A cup of coffee, the smallest, is $1.70 in my area.

That’s too expensive, as are $5 lattes.

FWIW, I buy cheap coffee at Trader Joes, grind it myself, drip filter into a thermos. Cheap, and far better than the blend at Starbucks. Which is too dark, over-roasted, bitter, to stand up to all the lattes and milk in coffee that people put into it. If you drink Coffee black, Starbucks is horrible, burnt and bitter.

A lot of retailers are going to be out of business, in times when consumers just can’t afford high prices.

Feb 15, 2009 - 11:12 pm 33. vivo:

Starbucks is a winning concept. But only when the QUALITY is HIGH. I had great servings in some places and really lousy ones in others. The price is the same. So I guess someone is messing with the coffee or the chocolate or the tea, or the baristas are not paying attention.

McDonald’s coffees are the same. Sometimes it tastes great and sometimes so-so. Better prices though. And the same goes for Peet’s and independents.

So, the less satisfaction, the less I buy. Just keep up the high quality and you will flourish.

Feb 16, 2009 - 12:23 am 34. Emma:

So I gather from James’ post that it is now unPC to buy snobby designer label stuff, even if you can afford it.

I will look forward to seeing someone accept their Oscar wearing a feed sack and flipflops.

Feb 16, 2009 - 12:58 am 35. Little Banana:

For once, I have to agree with Vivo. Starbucks’ quality varies, not even from store to store, but on each visit to the same store. Notwithstanding, overall, I think the coffee is poor.

I bought myself a Nespresso machine last year and have never looked back. I got the cheapest one going (€169 in Ireland) and the coffee is excellent. It works out at €0.33 a “pod”). Any dummy can use it.

Latte Rules @ 21 – forget Starbucks when you’re in London – Costa is infinitely better!

Feb 16, 2009 - 3:35 am 36. liamascorcaigh:

A Pithy History of American Obsessions

FDR – “A chicken in every pot.”

HT – “A Red under every bed.”

Ike – “An Edsel in every driveway.”

JFK – “A man on every moon.”

LBJ – “A marine in every paddy field.”

RMN – “A microphone in every lampshade.”

JEC – “A malaise in every living room.”

RR – “A cut in every tax.”

WJC – “A stain on every dress.”

GWB – “A terrorist in every gunsight.”

BHO – “A vanilla latté in every minivan.”

Feb 16, 2009 - 8:24 am 37. D:

Gimme break. Who the hell gets a triple venti caramel macchiato every day???????? I freaking love Starbucks because they MAKE THE BEST COFFEE period. Also I don’t have to deal with having 10 packets of sugar in my coffee when I specifically said NO SUGAR which happens all the time at DD and McD. A tall coffee is $1.75 at my local starbucks and the same size coffee from DD is $1.68. So give me a freakin break people and shut up and go have the disgusting coffee at DD if you love it so much, I’ll stick with the REAL coffee.

Feb 16, 2009 - 10:07 am 38. john from cinncinatti:

the best starbucks coffee, bar none is in El Rosario Baja Calif at the hotel restaurant on the edge of the ville. i grew up with coffee pots with a sock, brewing on a campfire, best fishing ever. a good cup of joe is like the holy grail. location and atmosphere…yes sir

Feb 16, 2009 - 3:54 pm 39. greg:

Your premise is flawed. People aren’t bailing on Starbucks because of the price. Starbucks has been a sinking ship since long before last Fall’s economic meltdown — for example, Howard Schultz’s infamous memo was from Valentine’s Day *2007*. And a year ago, Starbucks was blaming their woes on the high consumer prices of gas and food, if you don’t recall.

Case and point:
* Starbucks predecessor and high-end coffee chain, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, has continued to post quarter-over-quarter profit increases just as Starbucks floundered. Just last week Peet’s posted a 21% growth in profits:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/02/12/ap6047653.html

* Small, high-end neighborhood coffee shops are posting double-digit growth also at the same time, as reported in this AP piece over the weekend:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6263405.html

Starbucks would love you to believe that their problems are macro-economic. It would absolve them from massive internal problems at the company. But their competition is proving that it’s just not true — and neither is your article’s premise. Upscale coffee is doing just fine, thank you very much. It’s just been a decade since the bloated corporate behemoth known as Starbucks qualified as “upscale”.

Feb 16, 2009 - 10:46 pm 40. Gene Lalor:

Starbucks, schmarbucks! We are in hard times! Witness:

Tough times call for tough measures!

New York’s Default Governor David Patterson is proposing a porn tax: In addition to a 4% tax on movie downloads, his plan would extend to downloads of internet pornography: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/02/15/2009-02-15_adult_download_tax_proposal_awaits_clima.html.

Porn purveyors are furious as are the hundreds of thousands of simple servants who spend most of their work time viewing t&a on state computers. The witty Daily News headline: “Adult Download Tax Proposal Awaits Climax in Albany.”

Chief problem? How to enforce the new tax short of assigning each employee another employee to monitor the downloads.

Australia demands two on a pull: Aussies say, if it’s brown, flush it down; if it’s yellow, let it mellow: “Householders would be charged for each flush under a radical new toilet tax designed to help beat the drought:” http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,24659589-5005369,00.html.

Sounds like a great idea to me, except that it would encourage disease and could lead to a renaissance of everyone’s old favorite–the backyard outhouse.

Oregon plans a 1400% hike in beer tax:

Read the rest of these tough measures at http://genelalor.com/.)

Feb 16, 2009 - 11:03 pm 41. Bob:

If you can drink McDonald’s super-sweet “Cappuccino,” good luck to you. Starbucks is a world-wide enterprise but, like other American success stories, it can’t expect its past success to carry it forward. Starbucks needs to improve its product line and value to stay competitive, but it’s hardly alone in that respect.

Feb 17, 2009 - 3:55 am 42. bvw:

Follow-up: In re the response of Former Barrista. Thanks!

Note to Starbucks — I’m available for management and marketing consulting. But you’ll have to find me!

To make it easy: Ask at the Yardley PA store. Also, I checked there, and they are keeping their water running to keep the utensils clean.

Feb 17, 2009 - 4:11 am 43. Amphipolis:

The problem with Starbucks is that they over built. They are just not special when they are found at every corner, like McDonald’s.

Somehow they forgot that they were selling a luxury product. People began to look at them as a staple, and what do you know? Now they can’t compete.

Feb 17, 2009 - 8:04 am 44. Kay:

Chiming in with the rest of the ‘burnt mud’ crowd. Nothing impressive about Starbuck’s coffees.

Feb 17, 2009 - 12:34 pm 45. HT:

Do you know what the mermaid is holding?

Her legs. The original Starbucks in Seattle has a wooden emblem of the famous mermaid spreading her legs. The corporate logo is just a zoom-in.

So you were expecting conservative views from this company?

Feb 17, 2009 - 1:29 pm 46. dancingnancie3:

Starbucks is convenient and tasty, but not that much better than a coffee you can buy elsewhere. I’ve started to brew my own coffee because i’d rather dish out for a nice lunch than buy an overpriced coffee from Starbucks. No wonder why they are having so much trouble… people are realizing it’s not worth it.

Feb 17, 2009 - 2:06 pm 47. Joe Ferguson:

An interesting factoid. According to Consumer Reports’ taste testers, Eight O’clock Colombian at $6 – something/lb in a bag in the supermarket is better than a one-lb bag of Starbucks Colombian at $11- something.

I gotta try that.

Anyway, I agree with comments above: brew your own. Less time, less money, fuss and bother.

Here in Austin we have Anderson’s Coffee, a small shop locally-owned with outstanding coffees of all kinds from maybe $7 or $8 / lb and up. Perfecto!

Feb 17, 2009 - 8:33 pm 48. Brandyjane:

Really, HT? If she has legs, then how is she a mermaid?

One thing that always irritates me is when I click on an internet link with a title like “Easy Ways to Save Money,” and it’s full of tips such as, “Cut back on your Starbucks lattes.” Well, duh! Can you imagine someone reading one of those “self-help” columns and thinking, “Oh, wow, I never thought of that”?

Feb 18, 2009 - 4:15 am 49. Donna B.:

I knew Starbucks was on its way down when they put one in a small strip mall next to Cici’s Pizza and a dollar store.

It really was a hoot watching people browse the dollar store carrying a $4 cup of coffee.

When I visit Barnes & Noble, I will buy a caramel macchiato because it actually saves me money — I can’t carry as many books to the register. If book stores had buggies, I’d have gone broke years ago.

Starbucks black coffee is just simply horrible. I prefer to brew my own for my daily caffeine fix.

Feb 18, 2009 - 12:07 pm 50. juliet:

I personally think Starbucks coffee is bitter & weak. I will take a cup of cafe au lait at any Cafe du momds or Morning call in New Orleans for a1.50. Because of it being alot of milk I get a big wallop of calcium with my caffinne fix. Thank God for good old cafe au lait. If I really cheep I drip my own french markeat blend & I am in heaven

Feb 18, 2009 - 12:47 pm 51. BradG:

Let’s face it: Starbucks is an image that if fun to make fun of, and to some extent maybe even deservedly so. I am aware of their Greenie philosophy, but I don’t pay any attention to it; it certainly isn’t something that has any impact on me when I get a coffee, sometimes twice daily — a $4 coffee, mind you. The employees there are quite personal and friendly — and for the $4.00, I recieve a drink that I enjoy, as well as an environment that is comfortable. It would be difficult to compare this to any trip I’ve ever had to a McDonalds or a D&D. If you drive a truck for a living, most likely the Starbucks concept doesn’t appeal to you, and is really something to make fun of. I doubt you’ll ever have to worry about Starbucks popping up in any of the highway truckstops.
I regard my own little trips to Starbucks as mini vacations from what might otherwise be a tedious day. I consider the extra stimulation I derive from them more than adequate to energize me enuf to produce more than the coffees have actually cost me. I work for myself, and enjoy these breaks. Sure, like anyplace you go, there are some twirps who go to Starbucks. I don’t go there to commune with them. I don’t like Stabucks regular brewed coffee either, and prefer McDonalds.

Feb 18, 2009 - 1:21 pm 52. HT:

Here is a news article about their “retro” use of the original logo:

http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/05/29/tantillos-branding-bite.aspx

Wikipedia also has a discussion of the woodblock outside their original store. I guess I misspoke, though. She is a siren, rather than a mermaid. Sirens apparently have two leg/tails.

Feb 18, 2009 - 2:16 pm 53. Lisa:

This thread has been incredibly insiteful to me. In preparation of writing a paper on how the economy has affected “guilty pleasures” such as Starbucks, your comments have been a wonderful source of information.

As a non-coffee drinker (when I do embibe, it has to have so many shots of sweetener in it you might as well consider the coffee flavor an afterthought) I never understood the whole Starbucks mistique, but know that coffee lovers know a good cup of joe when they taste one and that every taste bud is different. Thank you for taking the time to comment on this subject.

Feb 20, 2009 - 11:39 am