Suffering Starbucks
Decatur Metro | January 31, 2008 | 10:21 am
A year ago, the sky seemed to be the limit for Starbucks. Plans for 40,000 stores worldwide were met with some skepticism, but most seemed to think if anyone could do it, it would be Starbucks.
But then, as 2007 got into full swing, the wheels started to come off.
It became apparent that while Starbucks still had tremendous growth opportunities overseas, things were very different on the domestic front. Same store sales data seemed to show over-saturation and the stock fell 40%. The once trendy status symbol, which I once heard described as a “four-dollar Mercedes”, wasn’t so trendy anymore.
Others looked past the saturation argument and instead blamed the quality of the product. These folks accused the fully-automated machines that could better handle the growing lines at the counter, but removed much of the “je ne sais qua” that the friendly, but fiendishly busy Barista provided.
Regardless of the reason, in 2008, Starbucks is looking to reinvent itself. CEO superstar Howard Schultz is back in the saddle and has promised that the company will return to its roots. That means no more hot breakfast sandwiches, which were being tested in many metropolitan areas, as well as many other secret plans not yet revealed.
So, after that brief recap here’s the question of the morning: Do you think Starbucks can pull it off?
If the coffee chain were to revert back to a time when their service was more personalized and focused on the coffee, would you make a point to stop on the Square a grab a cup? Or are the Decatur coffee animals (Java MONKEY or Dancing GOATS) more your style? Perhaps you just prefer to brew your own…
Related Posts:
-
April 17, 2015 Hop-N-Shop Owner Considering Redeveloping Site, Adding 2nd Story (24)
-
April 19, 2015 City Commission To Decide on Drive-Thru Juice Bar After Planning Commission Recommends Denial (21)
-
April 20, 2015 Planning Commission Tables Oakhurst Dog Park Subdivision Request One More Time (4)
I have a feeling that McDonald’s, with its new-fangled coffee bars and critically acclaimed coffee, will give even a reinvented coffee and customer service-centric Starbucks a run for its money with more frugal consumers. And I don’t think that people who frequent independent coffee chains (and probably developed an appreciation for “fancy” coffee at Starbucks) will choose to start drinking coffee at Starbuck’s again. I think that the best change that Starbucks could make company-wide would be to provide free wireless internet in every cafe. That, more than anything, would be a determining factor in my choice of a coffee shop.
I agree regarding the internet. That would certainly increase their business but I would think they would need to establish some dollar limit spent to get the password or limit it to 2 hours use or something like that.
Although I like the taste of Dancing Goats coffee a little more than my Starbucks, what keeps me coming back is the fact that the people at Starbucks make a concerted effort to get to know their regular customers. Nothing turns me off more than going into an independent coffee place and having to deal with a total lack of customer service or a surely attitude from some 20-something hipster just because my grunge days are over. I am not saying this happens at Dancing Goats but it certainly has at a number of other independents around Atlanta.
I like Dancing Goats, but what is with all that empty floor space? You can hardly ever find a seat but there is plenty of “dead” space for more tables.
Agree about free wireless. That is the main reason I don’t visit Starbucks much anymore.
Well, free wireless seems like a pretty manageable solution, if SBUX can get out of whatever deal it has with T-Mobile. They certainly were on the cutting edge by predicting that wireless would be important in coffee houses, but were a bit off base (and maybe a little greedy) in thinking that people would actually pay for it.
I think the dead floor space at Dancing Goats might just be the result of an oddly long building. Or maybe they don’t want the shop to feel overly crowded?
As someone who used to travel and greatly benefited from the reliability of T-Mobile HotSpot, I’d have to say I greatly appreciated it. It’s still only $19.99/mo if you’re a TMO customer, and you have the ability to use it all sorts of places (I used to spend as much time using it at Borders as at Starbucks). Each location has a full T-1 which is very helpful for people using VPN (particularly business travelers at whom the service is targeted). Many places with free access have the equivalent of a DSL “lite” connection which is horrible for upstream.
Although I’ll admit I don’t personally patronize SBUX 8206 in Decatur, I’ve heard from many others who do so because of the consistently friendly service. I’ve been a huge Batdorf fan for nearly a decade, often going out of my way for their products, but I’ll admit that the service at DG often leaves much to be desired. For better or worse, SBUX has a standard that all customers must be acknowledged within 30 seconds. I’ve often had to wait several minutes at DG before even being noticed because the people are “busy” (talking to each other with their backs to the front, doing something in the back room, freaking out, etc). And as a regular, I feel I get acknowledged as such only half the time. To me, the fastest and most consistent place downtown is still Indie Coffee.
I also meant to mention that if SBUX does indeed lower the price of short coffee nationwide to $1 (as they’re testing in Seattle), I’ll likely go there. I resent every other place insisting that I should want a minimum of 12 ounces. Even Javamonkey has small cups but only allows their use for espresso beverages–not drip coffee. Batdorf recently switched from 10 to 12 ounce cups at their Westside location (they never offered them at DG despite having them in stock) and raised the price from $0.93 to $1.50. That’s quite a hike for two additional ounces; gotta pay for those leaky Ecotainer cups somehow, I suppose.
SBUX also offers only rBST-free milk nationwide; on the downside, they no longer offer certified organic milk (formerly available at a surcharge). It’s interesting that in other cities, even smaller Southern ones like Nashville, there are coffee houses that use exclusively organic ingredients for all items including food products. You’d think we’d have a place in that category here, but at least DG offers locally-roasted coffee and locally-produced baked goods. (I suppose SBUX does offer “locally baked” items produced en masse, but their ingredients generally cause them to be more in the non-food category in my book).
Well, here’s almost exactly what you WiFiers were seeking…
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Starbucks-ATT.html
I love you guys I really do. And please, don’t get me wrong. I love free wifi like the rest of you but hey, you gotta give these guys a break. It costs a lot of money to operate a cafe anywhere in the USA including Decatur GA and even if you are Sbux. Some of you my dears are giving us cafe-computer users a bad name. C’mon you guys, taking up valuable table space for hours ticking away at your key boards, ordering 10 oz drip coffees and nursing them for like 4 hours. That my friends is poor manners. Don’t get me started on stingy tipping! I am one of you. I need my free wifi and a beautiful environment to blog endlessly in. I am willing to pay for it because I can and it is the right thing to do. I love Dancing Goats for their tasty drinks in any size and their wifi!