Monday, March 31, 2008
Why We Should Root for Starbucks
Here's an article about how the success (or failure) of Starbucks might be an indicator of how our economy is doing and where it's headed. I don't necessarily agree that their coffee "stinks" but I do agree that the recent downturn in affordable luxuries like a cup of Starbucks coffee might be a sad harbinger of worse things to come.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Don't hold your breath, Starbucks is easy to hate.
Should we be rooting for them to keep stealing from their employees too?
Or should we root for them when they refuse to follow the law and court orders when similar behavior on the part of an actual American citizen would land them in jail?
http://sugarfreak.typepad.com/mobtownshank/2008/03/wtf-burnin-the.html
(And yes, I'm one of the haters of that burned bean flava too.)
I do get and agree with your larger point that when the economy can't sustain a cup of coffee, that could be the proverbial canary in the coal mine. But I think Starbucks may also be suffering from an over-saturation problem as well.
I mean, how many Starbucks does a one block stretch of Manhattan really need?
It could definitely be a matter of over-saturation, not to mention getting into areas where they're not really qualified (breakfast sandwiches, music, etc.). Why not stick with the one thing you're good at or people think you're good at?
My favorite quote overheard at a Starbucks recently was this remark made by one barista to another, within about two feet of a half-dozen customers: "When I tell people I work at Starbucks they're like 'Wow, that must be great.' And I say, 'Yeah, you would think that. For like a minute.'"
Frankly, it would never cross my mind that working at Starbucks would be "great".
Ha! So true. I managed a Coffee Beanery while in grad school for a year way back in the '90s.
It was many things, and "great" was not one of those things.
Post a Comment