Starbuck's asks for your advice

A new site has been opened by Starbuck's asking
folks to e-mail advise on how to savetheir sinking ship.
On the first day they received thousands of pieces of mail
------they must really be in trouble.

They wouldn't be interested in my advice! ~(;-D)

Yea Mellow your probably right. Just send money !!!

See in the news that Starbucks is going back to basics and coming out with a everday coffee. Maybe something drinkable.

McDonalds is kicking serious butt and has been rated the best coffee.

Starbucks...overrated and over priced.

Interesting - I was just reading this article the other day.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7219458.stm

They have the whole problem nailed....

There's nothing wrong with serving a good cup of coffee at a fair price. And that is what they should do.

I'm a serious coffee drinker and happen to like Starbucks even though I do prefer two other chains in Minneapolis/St. Paul (Caribou and Dunn Bros.) over them as a first choice. They are way better than McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. I have been to Starbuck's headquarters in Seattle and know first hand how serious and knowledgeable about coffee they are. I was on the team that introduced the Starbucks coffee shops inside SuperTargets. But that was a decade ago.

I am very familiar with McDonalds coffee being on the road a lot in our camper van. McDonalds is often the first stop in the morning after hitting the road for a cup of coffee. I can tell you their quality control is abysmal compared to specialty coffee shops like Starbucks. McDonalds doesn't have comparative coffee brewing equipment and apparently less training in the brewing process.

That BBC article was perceptive. Starbucks has become a commodity and is now under appreciated and closely and acceptably copied. If you can think back before Starbucks expanded and expanded quality coffee into th public consciousness, coffee was generally not very good. They've caused everyone to step up their game. Their new initiative

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=850

is stepping up the brewing process and equipment in order to make it extremely hard to compete with them and thus differentiate again. The Pike's Place coffee, which I haven't tried yet, sounds a bit retro to me. They did acquire Seattle's Best which I thought was very good and maybe that's where Pike's Place got its inspiration.

I drink my coffee unadulterated black because I like coffee and can taste the differences.

Everyone likes to talk about how much they hate Starbucks, but they now have over 150 stores in Manhattan, and I've never seen one without a line. They obviously must be doing something right.

I have sampled McDonald's new coffee and it was indeed excellent that one time.

Mr Schultz has himself been brutally honest about where Starbucks has gone wrong, admitting that it now has too many outlets in the US, which is "cannibalising" sales between branches only a short distance from each other.

Apparently it takes firing the old CEO and bringing Schultz back in as the new one to finally realize something I've been saying for years, and I'm just a big dumb fireman. They should have hired me.

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

Everyone likes to talk about how much they hate Starbucks, but they now have over 150 stores in Manhattan, and I've never seen one without a line. They obviously must be doing something right.

Those would be sheeple. I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I can assure you that I have patronized Starbucks exactly twice in my life, both times because someone else insisted on going there, and both times more than eight years ago. I don't like their coffee and I don't like their prices, so I vote with my wallet.

You cannot satisfy everyone. Starbucks drinkers are not sheeple. You should accept there are a lot of people that like a premium coffee and a strong one at that. Maybe I am on the other side of the fence. I look at people who turn their coffee into coffee flavored milk with sugar or people who like bland watered down coffee as people who really don't like coffee at all and may only be addicted to the caffeine. It took Starbucks to save us from Folgers, Hills Bros. and Maxwell House in the can complete with some inert ingredients that smelled vaguely of sweaty horse hair.

sorry Davydd, but people standing in line for ANYTHING are sheeple.

I've never stood in line at a Starbucks except on one afternoon day they were giving out a free drink. I have noticed in downtown Minneapolis some fairly long lines at morning break when 60,000 downtown employees spilled out looking for a brew but those lines were at Caribou, Dunn Bros and McDonalds alike. I drank my one cup at 7:00 AM in the morning and that was it long before the hordes arrived. Now I brew my own at home and grind my own beans.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

You cannot satisfy everyone. Starbucks drinkers are not sheeple. You should accept there are a lot of people that like a premium coffee and a strong one at that. Maybe I am on the other side of the fence. I look at people who turn their coffee into coffee flavored milk with sugar or people who like bland watered down coffee as people who really don't like coffee at all and may only be addicted to the caffeine. It took Starbucks to save us from Folgers, Hills Bros. and Maxwell House in the can complete with some inert ingredients that smelled vaguely of sweaty horse hair.

I LOVE a premium coffee, and a strong one at that. Which is why I refuse to drink Starbucks coffee. It's weak and tasteless without all the extra crap in it.

Meh, whatever. I still maintain that the bulk of people who regularly patronize Starbucks, just like the bulk of people who regularly patronize most chains, are sheeple. My personal definition of sheeple is "people who refuse to step outside something the TV or their friends and co-workers tell them they should like to try something that is actually good".

My advice to Starbucks would begin with renaming the various sizes of their coffees. If your smallest cup of coffee is called "tall", this is not a very realistic description of the product, and is ultimately pretentious, as well as misleading.

I go to Starbucks rarely, as I find their product to taste burned (hence their nickname, "Charbucks") and I have a difficult time finishing a cup as a result of that burned taste. And, on the rare occasions when I do order coffee at Starbucks, I always ask for a SMALL cup of whatever they are brewing that day. They may call it tall, but I don't have to play their game of semantics.

I make an excellent cup of coffee at home by freshly grinding Whole Foods Organic Pacific Rim Blend, and using a goodly quantity of it in my drip machine, as I do like strong coffee (Note: Strong coffee is NOT the same as coffee that tastes burnt!) By taking a travel mug of my coffee with me in the car, I can enjoy an excellent, strong coffee that is made exactly to my taste, and at a much lower cost.

If I am on the go and I want coffee, I will seek out an independent coffee house, Panera, or McDonald's. While I agree that McDonald's quality control is variable, overall I find their coffee preferable to Starbucks and to Dunkin Donuts. Dunkin Donuts has HIGHLY variable quality control, and as a result, I have poured many a cup of their brew down a sewer because it was so weak!

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067



I LOVE a premium coffee, and a strong one at that. Which is why I refuse to drink Starbucks coffee. It's weak and tasteless without all the extra crap in it.

Meh, whatever. I still maintain that the bulk of people who regularly patronize Starbucks, just like the bulk of people who regularly patronize most chains, are sheeple. My personal definition of sheeple is "people who refuse to step outside something the TV or their friends and co-workers tell them they should like to try something that is actually good".

This is nice to know but you have not mentioned if you are out and about where you buy your coffee.

quote:

Originally posted by sk bob

sorry Davydd, but people standing in line for ANYTHING are sheeple.

That's absolutely ridiculous.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067



I LOVE a premium coffee, and a strong one at that. Which is why I refuse to drink Starbucks coffee. It's weak and tasteless without all the extra crap in it.

Meh, whatever. I still maintain that the bulk of people who regularly patronize Starbucks, just like the bulk of people who regularly patronize most chains, are sheeple. My personal definition of sheeple is "people who refuse to step outside something the TV or their friends and co-workers tell them they should like to try something that is actually good".

This is nice to know but you have not mentioned if you are out and about where you buy your coffee.

If I'm out, there are several local (Grand Rapids, MI) independent coffee shops where I'll stop. They each have one location. They are: Four Friends, Local Mocha, The Brittany Cafe, Schuil Coffee & Tea Shoppe, and Common Ground.

OK, Felix, had you said Dunkin' Donuts or McDonalds I would have had to say "sheeple" to you too.

Independent shops are iffy. Our son-in-law and his family owned three coffee shops in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul but sold them. They weren't making enough money. Our nearest independent to our house succumbed to a Caribou moving into the area. I worked with a guy whose wife tried to make a go with a coffee shop and didn't last a year. The coffee varies a great deal with independents as well. Some roast their own and some don't and are dependent on down the chain with wholesalers and roasters who are also just as iffy. In MSP we have a very good regional chain in Caribou Coffee and local chain in Dunn Bros. Coffee. Caribou is bigger than Starbucks near us. There are 3 Caribou shops within two miles of our house in the exurbia Lake Minnetonka area. I would have to drive at least 7 miles to find a Starbucks.

Coffee shops are so ubiquitous now and the trend curve might be on the down swing causing Starbucks' crisis. Starbucks intends to up the ante in quality with what they describe. It should be interesting.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

OK, Felix, had you said Dunkin' Donuts I would have had to say "sheeple" to you too.

Actually here in Rhode Island I call them the "Dunkin' drones"

MR WJ I will be looking for you in RI starting April 23rd in Westerly. Maybe you'll be
at the Dunkin' Drones. Probably going to dinner at Spain that night.

Actually, Davydd, I would be more than willing to drive a few miles out of my way to find Caribou...it's one of the highlights of my trip whenever I fly through MSP. I can get the Caribou granola bars here, which are fabulous. And you're right...just like with any other roadfood, you take your chances walking into an independent coffee shop. But I know for a fact Starbucks tastes like crap, so I'd rather take the 50/50 chance on an independent if I'm not where I know the local places.

I guess it is just a difference in opinion about the taste of Starbucks coffee. I've never had a problem with them but then I like a strong brew. I have to give them credit for raising the level of consciousness for good coffee. Before the advent of the neighborhood coffee shop I thought coffee in general was pretty bad. They made McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts step up. They caused a lot of independents to come on board with the concept. They freed coffee from the can. Outside of the Pacific northwest there were very few good coffee shops before Starbucks started to go nationwide. In fact, there just weren't coffee shops similar to Starbucks in MSP. Now there are a lot of competitors. If you like Caribou, try Dunn Bros. the next time in MSP. Each shop grinds its own coffee. It is a franchise chain.

The saturation is why I won't go there. The coffee is very good. I just can't support a place that is say four to a block in the city and if there is a supermarket or bookstore then add two more.

I don't mean to go off topic but Subway is the other chain that has become out of control imo. For the price and with every available veggie, it's a good value, but I just can't support it for the saturation aspect.

Welcome to Roadfood.com forums No Talent. How do you feel breaking the ice with your first post? Fun I hope.

What is the problem with saturation if the place is good? I do think in doing so they are possibly harming and cannibalizing themselves but they think they are doing so for convenience to the customer and of course maximizing profits. Starbucks has pretty much admitted they've over done it and that is one of the things they are working on fixing. Another reason for saturation especially in downtown office locations is service. People have complained about long lines at a Starbucks. Multiple locations help alleviate that.

In my neighborhood just two miles north up the road we had two Caribou Coffee shops. One was a standalone and the other was inside a supermarket. The standalone closed. One mile south down the road was another Caribou and another mile further south another Caribou and I am in exurbia.

Yeah, chains saturate because it works. I'm just as attitudinal as many of you about eschewing the stuff that everybody seems to go to, but when I want X and don't have a lot of time and it's in front of me, I'll go in. It could be Satanbucks, and I'm still going.

I actually come at this from the other side of the coin; I have zero palate when it comes to coffee and as often as not, I'll walk into the local gas station and pay 99 cents for whatever crapola they have burning on the warmer back there, because I don't have much palate and I'm looking for enough caffeine to ward off the 10 am headache I'll get if I don't have some. I've had McDonalds, it's fine, I've had Starbucks--the only difference is it's so high-octane I won't usually have more if it's Starbucks. Starbucks is probably just at this point in their growth curve, and they're going to have to deal with the fact that they're on the top of everybody's "economize" list now that the economy's going into the tank. Maybe they should start pushing those cappucino makers.

I don't go to Starbucks because I think the beans are overroasted. But what I do appreciate about them is that their saturation raised the bar for better coffee at other places. I don't think Charbucks overcharges for a standard cup of coffee, it's all those specialty drinks that seem outrageous to me. I cannot imagine buying a small child (or myself) a drink that costs $4.00+.

Thanks Davydd. Your comment about saturation surprised me. Maybe you're thinking of facelss boulevards and strip centers which I don't care much about.

It's the city centers and small town USAs that concern me. They have less and less personality.
Haven't you ever pulled off the highway onto a leafy main street and thought it was wonderful only to see one chain after another and then see a second Starbucks and Subway. I think it's sad.

On a lighter note since Starbucks is in Barnes & Noble I guess they needed to do something different in Borders Books & Music so they use their Seattle's Best Coffee brand.
I actually enjoy seeing different graphics and have had coffee there. It's a little game we play pretending it's not Starbucks!

Ah, you are talking more about urban blight. Every retailer contributes to that. Starbucks actually does integrate well in decently planned developments. Interestingly, had not Starbucks expanded the way they did we probably would not have neighborhood coffee shops like we've come to know them. Then a lot of independents sprung up emulating Starbucks and then eventually got rubbed out by Starbucks' expansions. The good independents survived.

Starbucks bought Seattle's Best. I actually thought Seattle's Best coffee was better and both brands sell in the grocery stores side by side and the coffees are different. I also tried Seattle's Best in downtown Seattle long before Starbucks bought them. I haven't had their new Pikes Peak blend yet but I bet they are taking their queue from Seattle's Best on that one.