Before you Blame Starbucks
Slate has a series of interesting articles out pertaining to the caffeinated juggernaut.
Save your Starbucks!
Don't Fear Starbucks
Hacking Starbucks
The Rising Cost of Living Well
And honestly, I wasn't surprised by what I read. I never pictured Starbuck's as the evil cooperate conglomerate many do. Yes, they are aggressive in their expansion, and yes, they flood the market with that sweet sweet caffeine fix. But contrary to popular belief, they are not responsible for the closing of many local coffeehouses. I certainly didn't pin Rred Elephant's closing on them. For one, the nearest Starbucks is several blocks away and nestled in its own niche of bank and cooperate coffee addicts. Most of the artsy Chinatown community do not venture that way lest to cash a check. Nor do the office workers frequent Chinatown except for after hours when bars are the prime draw. Also, Starbucks has nothing to do with the rent going up, nor have they made any plans to purchase the spot soon to be vacated (to date anyway). Starbucks is hurting like the rest of the coffee community...616 planned closings this year.
Why do I not jump on the anti-Starbucks wagon? Several reasons. First and foremost, despite their cooperate mentality and cookie cutter design, they take care of their employees, from heath and dental benefits to stock options to 401k. Even for those only working part time. Tag on a sense of job security...if you move, you can more likely than not pick up a job at another Starbucks (I just hope to God none of them actually want to make a career out of it). Granted like any major business in any industry, internally the employees face bullshit including inexperienced managers, poor shift scheduling from lack of hours to understaffing, crappy/cheap/violent/obstinate/rude/etc customers, ever changing product lines and menus, and overwhelming work loads from corporate. Yet all of their employees (at least from my embarrassingly frequent trips to their stores across the country) are friendly, prompt and well trained..or at least keep up that facade. And you can chalk that up to their cookie cutter design.
Yes, to set up a store out of a box, manual include, you loose a lot of individuality...no kitschy beverage names, no tattered board games off to the side, no random postings near the bathrooms. A uniformity. But that uniformity is part of Starbuck's massive success. Unlike other less tightly knit franchises, when a Starbucks opens you are almost guaranteed that the skinny triple venti caramel macchiato will be exactly the same as the skinny triple venti caramel macchiato you get on the other coast. (by the by...most of their drinks I find FAR too sweet...I tend to stick with no frills coffee or lattes). They train thoroughly. They have standards to be up held (as much as following the 6 guiding principles piss off employees). They have a reputation to maintain. I don't like surprises in my coffee...and consistency sells.
And according to the numbers, Starbucks has not strangled the life out of the local coffee house. If anything, business booms for the locals when a new Starbucks opens nearby. The name and reputation brings all of the coffee converts to the area. And when lines become too long, or the Starbucks faithful has a wondering eye...the local shop is there across the street or right next door, waiting. Starbucks is free advertising, especially in the controversy surrounding a new opening. Even the Starbucks mecca known as Seattle has an unwritten rule...you frequent the local shops unless none are to be found nearby. Coffee in general has boomed (though like most rapidly expanding bubbles, this one may be near bursting). Local shops and Starbucks alike have been spreading like wildfires. And new shops fair quite well their first years.
Don't get me wrong. I prefer my local shops to the cooperate. But even that is after the choice of brewing my own coffee at home or work. Art houses, independently owned cafes and ma and pa joints are the top of the list for grabbing a drink on the go. But Starbucks will always win out over the convenience stores and gas stations...I like my coffee dark, not burnt. Which means I avoid Dunkin Dounuts like the plague as well. It all boils down to personal taste. Starbucks suits mine when my own coffee or the local cafe's aren't to be had. I don't expect it to suit others, but it obviously does. Why else would Starbucks have taken off like it did? Or how else could you explain people willing to shell over $5 a drink? A $5 drink w/o alcohol mind you.
Which is yet another reason I don't blush when I admit frequenting the cooperate monster. I like my coffee strong. Very strong. I get funny looks from people when I admit to buying a grande Kona coffee or French roast. Why? It's so bitter! It's so strong! Are you really going to drink that black!? Yup. Every ounce. You are talking to the person who loves Guinness, red wine, and dark chocolate. Oh, how dark and bitter. Must be a reflection of my inner Gothic self.
And what does Starbucks do with the cash they suck in? Invest it right back into new stores and expansion certainly. But like Target...another cooperate conglomerate I am proud to support...they put money into good causes. They help supply clean water to third world communities (and not caffeinated...though that would be a sneaking tactic). They support sustainable coffee production...from aiding small farmers, pushing organic and free trade blends and promoting conservation. Their packaging is largely post-consumer waste. Now if only they could train their consumers to be more responsible with their waste...
Bring in your own coffee thermos damn it! It's cheaper for you, less wasteful for them and environmentally friendly!
And how can you not smile at the fact that this is a company named after the first mate in Melville's Moby Dick?
Save your Starbucks!
Don't Fear Starbucks
Hacking Starbucks
The Rising Cost of Living Well
And honestly, I wasn't surprised by what I read. I never pictured Starbuck's as the evil cooperate conglomerate many do. Yes, they are aggressive in their expansion, and yes, they flood the market with that sweet sweet caffeine fix. But contrary to popular belief, they are not responsible for the closing of many local coffeehouses. I certainly didn't pin Rred Elephant's closing on them. For one, the nearest Starbucks is several blocks away and nestled in its own niche of bank and cooperate coffee addicts. Most of the artsy Chinatown community do not venture that way lest to cash a check. Nor do the office workers frequent Chinatown except for after hours when bars are the prime draw. Also, Starbucks has nothing to do with the rent going up, nor have they made any plans to purchase the spot soon to be vacated (to date anyway). Starbucks is hurting like the rest of the coffee community...616 planned closings this year.
Why do I not jump on the anti-Starbucks wagon? Several reasons. First and foremost, despite their cooperate mentality and cookie cutter design, they take care of their employees, from heath and dental benefits to stock options to 401k. Even for those only working part time. Tag on a sense of job security...if you move, you can more likely than not pick up a job at another Starbucks (I just hope to God none of them actually want to make a career out of it). Granted like any major business in any industry, internally the employees face bullshit including inexperienced managers, poor shift scheduling from lack of hours to understaffing, crappy/cheap/violent/obstinate/rude/etc customers, ever changing product lines and menus, and overwhelming work loads from corporate. Yet all of their employees (at least from my embarrassingly frequent trips to their stores across the country) are friendly, prompt and well trained..or at least keep up that facade. And you can chalk that up to their cookie cutter design.
Yes, to set up a store out of a box, manual include, you loose a lot of individuality...no kitschy beverage names, no tattered board games off to the side, no random postings near the bathrooms. A uniformity. But that uniformity is part of Starbuck's massive success. Unlike other less tightly knit franchises, when a Starbucks opens you are almost guaranteed that the skinny triple venti caramel macchiato will be exactly the same as the skinny triple venti caramel macchiato you get on the other coast. (by the by...most of their drinks I find FAR too sweet...I tend to stick with no frills coffee or lattes). They train thoroughly. They have standards to be up held (as much as following the 6 guiding principles piss off employees). They have a reputation to maintain. I don't like surprises in my coffee...and consistency sells.
And according to the numbers, Starbucks has not strangled the life out of the local coffee house. If anything, business booms for the locals when a new Starbucks opens nearby. The name and reputation brings all of the coffee converts to the area. And when lines become too long, or the Starbucks faithful has a wondering eye...the local shop is there across the street or right next door, waiting. Starbucks is free advertising, especially in the controversy surrounding a new opening. Even the Starbucks mecca known as Seattle has an unwritten rule...you frequent the local shops unless none are to be found nearby. Coffee in general has boomed (though like most rapidly expanding bubbles, this one may be near bursting). Local shops and Starbucks alike have been spreading like wildfires. And new shops fair quite well their first years.
Don't get me wrong. I prefer my local shops to the cooperate. But even that is after the choice of brewing my own coffee at home or work. Art houses, independently owned cafes and ma and pa joints are the top of the list for grabbing a drink on the go. But Starbucks will always win out over the convenience stores and gas stations...I like my coffee dark, not burnt. Which means I avoid Dunkin Dounuts like the plague as well. It all boils down to personal taste. Starbucks suits mine when my own coffee or the local cafe's aren't to be had. I don't expect it to suit others, but it obviously does. Why else would Starbucks have taken off like it did? Or how else could you explain people willing to shell over $5 a drink? A $5 drink w/o alcohol mind you.
Which is yet another reason I don't blush when I admit frequenting the cooperate monster. I like my coffee strong. Very strong. I get funny looks from people when I admit to buying a grande Kona coffee or French roast. Why? It's so bitter! It's so strong! Are you really going to drink that black!? Yup. Every ounce. You are talking to the person who loves Guinness, red wine, and dark chocolate. Oh, how dark and bitter. Must be a reflection of my inner Gothic self.
And what does Starbucks do with the cash they suck in? Invest it right back into new stores and expansion certainly. But like Target...another cooperate conglomerate I am proud to support...they put money into good causes. They help supply clean water to third world communities (and not caffeinated...though that would be a sneaking tactic). They support sustainable coffee production...from aiding small farmers, pushing organic and free trade blends and promoting conservation. Their packaging is largely post-consumer waste. Now if only they could train their consumers to be more responsible with their waste...
Bring in your own coffee thermos damn it! It's cheaper for you, less wasteful for them and environmentally friendly!
And how can you not smile at the fact that this is a company named after the first mate in Melville's Moby Dick?
posted by Unknown at
3:02 PM
3 Comments:
okay, okay, you win. I have to admit I do not hate Starbucks--it's far too easy to jump on that bandwagon, but I do have my personal reservations about it. I think it's more to do with my general dislike of the spread of "named" stores and restaurants--I hate when everyone gets excited because "we're getting a TGI Fridays!" Although, I was excited when Lane Bryant opened in GB and saved me the ride to Appleton.
Anyhow, I lived with a Starbucks barrista, and I have to admit his enthusiasm for the company was quite unlike anything I've seen--for any company, anywhere.
So I won't hate on Starbucks anymore. Consider me chastened. I think I'll stick to my PG tips...a box is $4, the equivalent of one latte, and it lasts more than a month. :)
although--Starbuck is now one of my favourite characters from Moby Dick, but I can never name my dog that, because I would spend the rest of my life trying to explain it's a literary reference and not a corporate one.
I'm going to name my second daughter Starbuck after the BSG character and everyone will think her name is STARBUCKBATTLESTARGALACTICA because every time I tell some her name I'll have to whisper Battlestar Galatica or mouth it silently so they'll know.
I know you're right, Sam, about Starbucks. Honestly, I never thought so much about this one corporate coffee shop and the hate them/not hate them dicotomy. I just made a knee jerk reaction decision to not buy coffee there when Brent was living with S**** and he came over to our house one day and was like "Starbucks puts an addictive chemical in their coffee which makes me buy one every day on the way to school for $8." and I'm like You spend $8 a day on coffee? I can't afford $12 a month to sponsor a child in India...OH I HATE YOU AND I HATE THE WORLD. And that's about the extent of the reason I ever chose not to buy coffee there - a choice which ended when I walked through their doors a few times. I distinctly remember three times in my life I've been in a starbucks - no four, but once was in New York with you guys when I went in to use the bathroom and I didn't buy anything and the bathroom was really nasty. Man - those were the days - in the USA where you can use nasty bathrooms without making a purchase!
Ok. Too long a comment.
Not sure who to blame..but Starbucks is closing its store in our smaller town which was just freshly built and recently opened. Less than a year. Long enough to to become accustomed to my morning Mocha. Blame it on??..the economy??
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