Starbuck$
I have a confession to make: I love Starbucks. To protect my identity I won't tell you my favorite drink, but no place I've tried around here makes it like Starbucks. I crave it. Also, I love the cute young girls that work there. They always seem so happy to see me, they remember my name, and quite often on slow days they will start making my drink even before I've ordered it. Once they even gave me one on the house! One day I came out of Starbucks with my favorite drink in my hand and got behind the wheel when I heard a knock on my car window. A strange woman who had been standing in the parking lot handed me a pamphlet and told me I shouldn't patronize Starbucks because they are unfair to coffee farmers and the cream they use comes from cows that have been mistreated, etc. I felt bad and stopped going to Starbucks for awhile, mainly because I didn't want that woman to see me. I started patronizing a local, independently-owned coffee place which will remain nameless. I went there at least 3 times a week for several months. But I often was made to feel like I was interrupting them from their reading or socializing with each other. They sometimes seemed annoyed to see me, and on at least one occasion I skipped stopping in for a coffee because I didn't want to bother them. I never got one on the house, that's for sure. Well, I am happy to tell you that I am back at Starbucks now, and they noticed I was gone and welcomed me back! I'm sorry, but if you want my hard-earned $3.85 you are going to have to offer me more than just "we are locally owned" or "we are native city people." Business is business.
posted @ 2/27/2006 10:29:00 AM
33 comments
33 Comments:
It's true. I've tried to avoid it, but something in their beverages keeps calling me back... I think it's heroine.
If you stopped patronizing every business that someone was boycotting, you'd be living in a cave.
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i'm completely of the belief that if we truly want to avoid any contamination that may accompany future terrorist attacks and the spread of bioterrorist blah blah blah, we need to put the antidote in starbucks beverages. everyone in this country would be immune in a matter of days!
haha, it sounds like smears had a shitty childhood and he's taking it out on the internet!
It's quite fascinating how I stumbled upon this post. I, after two e-mails to the company, learned that Starbucks will be installing a cafe (even with a drivethru!) in Williamsport, FINALLY! Now, Williamsport is a nice-sized city, the home of Little League, and gets much attention for several things...it is the home, also, to three colleges/universities, so it was basically ridiculous to not have Starbucks anywhere within a 50-mile radius - absurd. I only learned of this yesterday (at least, it had only been confirmed then), and today, only by some effed-up off chance, I found your blog while updating my own...there are many strange things that tend to connect in my life, usually all at the same time, and then a long stagnate. Thanks for increasing the mysteriousness of my life!
Ok, terribly sorry for posting again, but I just ran into the most annoyingly connected part of my life, the number 27. Twenty-seven appears quite often in my life, especially coupled with 9 and 3. You see, my full name has 27 letters and 9 syllables...I was born on 9-27. If that's not freaky enough...3 has always been my favorite number 3^2=9 and 3^3=27. And if THAT'S not weird enough...3^3^3=19683, which doesn't look significant until 1+9+6+8+3=27. I even tried it with other numbers - it doesn't work. I had just navigated away from your page when I realized it's the 27th...which connects all things ME...including my likes (i.e. Starbucks). I think you are now part of my life ^^
I think Starbuck's should slowly transition to being a gas station chain. Then we'll be like "wow...$2.30 for a gallon of gas...but it's Starbucks gas..."
I love your journal.
I'm a big fan.
I am sure there is opium in it, how can one test it by government?
They don't even need the opium with all the cute little collegiate hussies there making sure they learn your name and smile at you in that certain way...and smother you with that "legendary customer service" like it was a hush-hush french kiss that the cute girl in marketing gave you in the conference room after you were eyeing her all meeting long. Sorry, got a little carried away there...but the mochas are top-notch.
I must say, I LOVE Starbucks. It's my home away from home. Let's see... I've been in Starbucks in 4 countries and they all provided great service. I say that's worth the extra $$ any day of the week.
Starbucks is coffee for swines. Or those who don't understand fine coffee. They burn their beans, don't you know. We need to go back to the days where coffee was coffee, not a theme-park of orange and teal with Dean Martin playing on the overhead speaker.
Starbucks is the McDonald's of coffee. Poo on that!
I find it strange that you would listen to some crazy hippy on the street.
I have a love/hate relationship with Starbucks. It made for a valuable gift when I brought a bag of their coffee to Ireland. They say it's like gold over there. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I do like that it's a place one can hang out for a long period of time without buying a three course meal. Sure it's slightly overpriced, but someone has to pay their rent!
For me it's comparable to bookstores. I want to support the independently owned ones, and I do, but I also enjoy hanging out at Barnes and Noble and getting classics for $4.95. Plus, they have a Starbucks in B&N by me, complete with Harney & Sons tea! Who can resist?
As far as conscience is concerned, nearly everything we eat or wear is a result of exploitation somewhere in this world - it's really the system that's messed up, not just the coffee.
Oh, but their wi fi access leaves much to be desired.
Its wifi by t-mobile that you have to pay for.
I really love your blog! Really funny and different... inquisitive also...
congratulations!
why do people think heroin is spelled like the pluckyi heroine of a romance novel? jesus it's a drug epidemic. next you'll be spelling meth "mehth"
How does such a crappy blog generate so much traffic? Why am I here?
These questions also apply to Starbucks.
I figure if people are willing to pay $2.50 for coffee, taxes are not high enough.
Forget that lady, what has a cow ever done for you. We shouldn't have to mistreat them if they'd just give us their milk and shut the hell up. Anyway, I like your blog, and I'm not sure what this guy above me is talking about.
My Blog
I love Starbucks as well. You are absolutely correct. No one makes espresso, lattes, and any other drink like Starbucks. Even though it's alias is 'Suck-ur-bucks' I can't help but go there and indulge.
I do love Starbucks, however, the taste is not consistent nationwide, which bothers me. Some of the employees are getting slack and some places I get whipped cream and other places I don't. I don't know about you but I don't apreciate that.
Preach on! I love supporting local business, but I want not only quality, but I want it to be better service than Starbucks.
Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A have the customer service thing down to a science!
we dont have starbucks here, the company wants a million bucks as the franchise royalty.
oh i just remembered, we dont even have coffee here.
oh well!!
I myself have never had a cup of Starbucks coffee that I liked. I am not unhappy that our town is too small to have a Starbucks. Every coffee I have had from there has a strange aftertaste to it that I can't stand. My independent local coffee houses have great coffee most of the time, even at its worst its better than the best Starbucks I have had. It is a part of our culture though and quite frankly, like many have said, if you stopped going everywhere that had some kind of social/economical boycott associated with it, you wouldn't be able to go anywhere!
Only $2.50 for a cup of decent coffee? We have a pseudo-Starbucks about a mile from my house that charges at least $3.50 for that and it's a drive up at that!
I've read that European coffee shops were places where people would gather and have intelligent conversations. I don't know if that happens in Starbucks but it would be nice if it did. We could use gathering places other than bars in the US of A.
The reason you crave Starbucks dishwater/coffee is because they put heroin in it.
Um... I frequent Starbucks for its non-coffee beverage: hot chocolate. =P~
I went to a Starbux once. I am an espresso drinker. Milk is not a good thing to put in your coffee. Please stop doing it!
http://factorytown.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-to-drink-espresso.html
Check out my blog for a history lesson about the Starbucks logo!
Starbucks buys the worst commercial grade of coffee for less that $1/pound, burns it (french roast) and
then sells it to people too stupid to know the difference. But you knew that.
I too love starbucks and shall remain anon
I used to live close to a proper italian cafe. They had the best latte possible. Every time I've gone to Starfucks, I've been horribly disappointed. At least my well-trained "coffee-bitches" got my drink right, and often gave me freebies ; )
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