"From the Comfy Chair": Juan pits Starbucks against McDonald's -- and declares a winner

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"

McDonald's
316 S Everett Mall Way
Everett, Wa.

Starbucks
515 S Everett Mall Way
Everett, Wa.

This week we take time out from the Juan Valdez "Beat Up On The Cowtown Starbucks World Tour” for a bit of fun. Given all the recent hoopla surrounding McDonald's renewed emphasis on their McCafe offerings (and a bit of urging from Jimbo, Starbucks Gossip founder and webmaster), I thought it might be instructive to do a comparison of competing coffee products from McDonald's and Starbucks. So I sunk my spurs into the burro's side, kicked him into overdrive and hightailed it back to the Seattle area because I knew just where to find the perfect candidates for this little brouhaha.

Here is a picture of me and the burro, on our way back to Seattle, moving as fast as the speed of light.  More or less.

Please welcome our contestants. In this corner, direct to you from Everett Mall Way in Everett, Wa., we have the challenger - MCDONALD'S!! And in the opposite corner, one block east and across the street, is the reigning champion – STARBUCKS!!!

Here's how this will work. I chose to rate each store on a scale of one to ten in the following areas:  overall cleanliness, service, drink quality, bathroom cleanliness (you knew that was coming, didnt you?) and speed of service. One is crummy, ten is awesome. Before we get to the ratings, I want to quickly describe my experience in each store and then we'll do the ratings thingy and declare a winner!

Let's start with McDonald's, shall we?

This particular McDonald's has gone through a complete remodel including all new furnishings, a television area for the kids and a full McCafe backdrop along the front counter between the front registers and the drive through. The McCafe package includes a warm, comforting brown color scheme and a separate menu.  The heart of the espresso (don't call it expresso or we'll kick your butt - I learned that on my first day of training) experience is a rather small espresso machine with futuristic bean hoppers sticking out of the top.

The restaurant was steady with five employees on the floor when I walked in during the morning. It was also as clean as a button; even on the outside. Not a cigarette butt or wrapper to be seen. It was a great first impression. The register person was polite and outgoing. /CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT

Comments

[JUAN VALDEZ]

I ordered some breakfast and a latte. The lattes are about fifty cents less than comparable Starbucks sizes and they come with four choices of syrup. In order to keep things fair, I ordered mine sans syrup.

After sitting down to eat my breakfast, I could see why they automatically offer syrup with the lattes – you need the taste of the syrup to cover the taste of the coffee. I am the furthest thing from a coffee snob but, even to me, this some was nasty stuff. The milk and coffee came out of the machine with one press of a button and the result actually looks like a macchiato...the top of the milk marked with a big plug of coffee. There was no foam to speak of and the taste was horrible. The drink's flavor was mostly that of milk with a slightly sour coffee like aftertaste that eventually hit the back of my tongue and hung around; like an uninvited house guest. I was only able to drink half and I gave up. It was weak and watery and, for better or worse, I got the impression that's exactly how it's supposed to be.

One other note...the bathroom was also impeccable with one exception – the stall door was covered in graffiti and I mean covered on both sides. It was clear someone had tried to scrub the door but all it did was spread the coloring around. McDonald's has pretty high cleanliness standards and I was befuddled as to how anyone could allow this door to remain in that kind of shape especially in an otherwise very clean store. For five hundred bucks, they could get a new metal one that would both eliminate the problem and make it harder for the taggers to do their damage in the future. Truly amazing.

Now...a hop, skip and jump over to the Bucks, a bit later that same morning. They, too, had five partners and were a bit busier than McDonald's. I'm sorry to say the store wasn't nearly as clean; especially on the outside. Folks entering the lobby were greeted with debris all over the patio and a couple of outdoor tables with empty cups. There were some issues with the condiment bar and even the front counter however the partners made a really good effort to keep up. I just wish they'd managed to get outside. At one point I thought one had because there was someone out there, wiping tables but then I realized it was an employee from the Baja Fresh next door and she literally stopped her efforts at the building line, leaving plenty of SBUX trash unattended.

This Starbucks team on duty was fast and efficient. They went about their business in a very professional manner while still managing to smile and connect with customers. It didn't take much time to see these folks knew what they were doing. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them go through their paces. They kept the lobby clean, the pastry and cold case were stocked and clean and, by God, the bathroom was in great shape except for the big roll of paper towels which stood on the back of the commode like a lonely tower of Babel; an apparent substitute for the empty towel dispenser.

And, even more importantly, my latte was awesome. I'd forgotten about the ole taste test we used to do with new partners where we'd go get a couple of cups of a competitors brew and compare to our own. Well, that was driven home in full force during this visit. The SBUX latte was clearly superior in taste. And the rocking bar partner had given me the perfect 1/4” of foam at the top. Trey bien, muy bueno. All in all, it was a very good visit!

So..let's get to the scoring shall we?

Drink Quality
McDonald's 3 (bland, sour)
Starbucks 10 (tasty, carmelly sweet)

Service
McDonald's 7 (engaging but basic at times)
Starbucks 9

Cleanliness
McDonald's 10
Starbucks 5 (the patio really did look bad)

Speed Of Service
McDonald's 10
Starbucks 10

Bathroom Cleanliness
McDonald's 6 (lost points for the gross stall door)
Starbucks 8 (clean but the roll of paper towels and some scratches on the mirror lost points)

Total
McDonald's 36
Starbucks 42

The winner is STARBUCKS!! This was actually a very close battle with a big miss on each side. It was ultimately lost in the one area where McDonald's seeks to challenge Starbucks – the coffee. I can't imagine anyone who's serious about coffee viewing McDonald's offering as a viable alternative. The cheaper price and free syrups can't possibly make up for the lesser quality drink. Still, about three quarters of the customers I saw had a coffee drink of some kind. I seriously doubt McCafe will hurt Starbucks in any way except, perhaps, on a macro level where tiny gains here and there might add up to enough of an impact to skim some of the cream, as it were, from Starbucks P&L. Unfortunately, given all the other economic headwinds buffeting the good ship SBUX, it won't take much to get that job done.

Well, I'd love to sit around and type some more but I've got to get down to the Starbucks at 538 S. Virginia St in Reno, Nevada in time for next week's column.

I keed, I keed. I didn't break off my trip to do this column...I did it after I got back. We just decided to break up the trip columns to get this in as it's topical. We will continue with the Reno trip next week and that will start with the store at 538 S. Virginia St in Reno. With a couple more Reno stores to follow. And some other surprise locales beyond that. Yeah, I'm speaking to you, brown dot. :)

Overall SBUX rating: B+

Time of day: middle morning


# of partners on the floor: 5




Service time: 2.5 minutes


Business level: busy

Was the bathroom cleaner than a gas station bathroom?: yes


Legendary service: yes




Would I recommend to a friend: yes

COLUMN STATS


* # of stores reviewed where a partner has tried to connect with a customer – 8 out of 23

* # of stores where they've offered samples of anything – 2 out of 23





* # of stores that could have been considered "understaffed" - 0 out of 23

* # of stores with a clean bathroom – 12 out of 23

"Juan Valdez" is the nom de cyber of a former Starbucks manager who became disenchanted with the increasingly bitter taste of the Starbucks experience and fled to the mountains of Colombia where he now rides his burro and ponders the glittering sunsets. On a crisp clear day, when atmospheric conditions are just right and the moon is in the seventh house, Juan can be reached at juanvaldezsbux@gmail.com

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Thanks Juan. It's good to see that the old Siren still has it in her.

[brown dot]

Juan, Glad to hear you are doing some other surprise visits. I look forward to you coming to my store. Remember, I am in the top 10 in CV LOL So bring it on! LOL

[Richard]

Starbucks is officially better than McDonalds!
fewf.

[lingosnob]

It should be Tres bien......

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

"Every day the man went outside and shortened the dogs chain by just on link. The dog lost his freedom so slowly over time, that he never knew it...until it was to late."

Thats what senior leadership is doing. Before you know when we're doing it doggie style.

[:';;;'';']

Wow something I didn't know already...Juan retire, your thread is Doo-Doo like McCafe

[lingosnob]

"Thats what senior leadership is doing. Before you know when we're doing it doggie style."

Hmmm, this isn't necessarily a bad thing....

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Juan,
You should go back to your old store and do your column there. Wear a disguise of course.

[fluffykitten17]

I hate to admit is, but the Mocha's at McD's aren't bad. Then again, when you use whole milk and add enough chocolate syrup, you're not tasting the coffee (or espresso, as the case may be) anymore.

[sbux slut]

Love the review. Come to the East Coast if you'd like to see understaffing.

[#1]

I think the fact that you're comparing Starbucks to McDonalds says a lot more than the results of the comparison.

[Asher]

Juan -- I wonder if there's any way when reporting the staffing levels of the stores you're visiting, if you could also somehow include the weekly sales volume of the store? I think that would shed a lot of light on the west coast-east coast staffing debate...

[spence]

I loved your blog.

[Juan Valdez]

@#1
Actually, I think the fact that at least half of the Starbucks I've visited so far wouldn't beat McDonald's except for maybe in the taste of the coffee says a lot more.

@asher
That would be nice but I don't have access to weekly sales volumes. That's the reason I note the level of business and time of day when I visit - so there is some context.

[MissLee]

I live in a mid-Atlantic state with really no Starbucks easily close by. I was really excited when the McCafe's came into town, finally espresso with a drive thru. I can't figure out what it is, but the milk tastes rancid to me, EVERY time. When McCafe's first opened up it was pretty easy to get a coupon for a freebie, even now they do 2 for one drinks between 2-5... so they are REALLY cheap, but bleh. I can handle the watered down taste, just can't figure out the sour. And getting an iced mocha with flavor and whip doesn't cover it up!!

[Thought of the Day]

Mickey D's - $tarbucks - Same breath - Same column - comparison? Oh, so $tarbucks has come down a few rungs in the food chain.

[soydork]

How can you "penalize" the starbucks bathroom in terms of cleanliness for a scratched mirror? Scratches cannot be cleaned off. Should stores order a new mirror every week when someone scratches them? I don't think that's the best way they could spend their money.

[Everett Barista]

This is my store and I'm so glad you had a good experience.

The paper towel thing has been bugging me too but they came this morning in our huge delivery (not sure what time it got unpacked.)

Our patio does need help... We often open to find beer bottles all over our parking lot and patio.

The comparison was interesting since we have about 2-3 regulars that work at that McDonalds.

[SPORK]

This post was very satisfying.

[SBUCKS DRONE LOS ANGELES]

Lingosnob, it's Tres Bueno because Juan Valdez is from Colombia, haha. He COULD also be from France though.

A great post nonetheless from Juan. I too tried the new McCafe beverages and was truly disgusted with the quality of the drinks. McDonalds pretty much caters to people who want something fast, on the go, therefore, they place no real effort in making quality beverages. The only DECENT beverage I enjoyed was the Iced Mocha (and it only comes in a Medium size, which is great).

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Sedg,
If you watch the video with Cliff Burrows on MSI Partner, it seems that he is implying that we do not have to brew BOLD on demand for anymore customers even if they request it. I guess Melody, will now have to deal with an Americano or Pike with a shot of espresso.

Starbucks being known for its legendary customer service, will now be known as following corporate policies concerning being thrift and cheap.

It is no surprise that Howard SCHULTZ, runs a company like this?

I seem to forget who was complaining and wandering in the desert back in the day?

BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL
PRIMUS INTER PARES
STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE
AIM SN: BOSTONSTARREBEL

[NespressoBarista]

I don't know what beans McCafe uses in the states, but over here in Europe there beans are pretty good (they get them from third party supplier Kenco) and their drink are much cheaper and there is a lot more competition. On a European level Starbucks is still the biggest, but on a national level quite often not.
1. Starbucks, 1303 outlets in Europe
2. Costa Coffee, 980
3. McCafé, 913
4. Tchibo, 800
5. Segafredo, 420
6. Caffè Nero, 395
7. Caffè Ritazza, 282
8. Cafe Revive, 255
9. Coffee House, 221
10. Shokoladnica, 204
McCafe only operates in Germany and the UK and has got more stores in those countries that Starbucks.
Nero and Costa combined have twice as much stores in the UK than Starbucks.
McCafe is a force to be reckoned with, but don't forget the other competition.
Maybe not for quality, but certainly for price, and price is what people are looking at in these times of recession.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Uncle Howie would say people are looking for value and willing to pay a little more if they are getting something worth it. At other places, you don't.

[SBUX Alum Bill]

@ Juan

I noticed that your scoring system didn't include any points for product pricing. I know that you ordered a scaled-down drink at SBUX in order to compensate for this, but I think price is actually a very important element in the competition for the mainstream US customer (as opposed to the market for coffee connoisseurs). That is the market that SBUX must appeal to if it wants to sustain a network of 7,000 or so owned US stores.

[Barista Babe]

Go Greentree Plaza!!! Juan, I've worked with a couple of partners from that store and they rock. I'm sure if the manager hears about this she will address the outside getting hit during ten minute timer.

Thank you for the taste test, I haven't been able to bring myself to throw down hard earned tips for a substandard Latte, something that I rarely drink in my own store.

Good to know that I'm not missing anything.

[SBUCKS DRONE LOS ANGELES]

@ SBUX Alum Bill

I see your point, but once things start to pick as far as the economy go, those folks who probably made the switch to Mickey D's will realize that enough is enough and at the end of the day, quality will really really matter. It's not only about appealing to the connoisseurs (which I think drives people away more than prices do), but appealing to the common folk who want a damn good cup of coffee and are willing to shell out a couple of more cents.

[Sneaky]

@soydork

No - new mirrors should not be ordered each time there is a scratch but the store should have the 'new" mirror installed (not really new). It is a mirror with a replaceable film that goes over it that can be scrathced but protects the actual mirror glass. The replaceable films are super cheap and the partners can do it themselves with a srewdriver.

Problem solved.

[NespressoBarista]

Uncle Howie also said that we were recession proof and that we would grow to 40,000 outlets worldwide.

[Beth]

I've tried McDonalds and had the same bad milk experience in my coffee drink (have only tried the hot). However we don't have many drive through Starbucks here in South Jersey. So, the next time I need a drive through coffee drink - I'll skip McDonalds and head to Dunkin Donuts.

[Supposed Eric]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Starbucks does a great job compared even to lots of independent places. If it were easy to do on a mass scale there would be more competition.

[soydork]

@Sneaky-
well alright then! thanks for the info.

[Canadian]

Just as a heads up, Store # 4767 in London Ontario Canada was just told it will be closing next week.

[SBUCKS DRONE LOS ANGELES]

@ Canadian

I am sorry to hear that, best wishes to those Canadian partners out there.

[Link]

The whole experience sounds interesting but you want to know the truth? people can't afford SBUX prices anymore and its true that when the economy goes down, WALMART AND MCDONALDS always make profit. Just look at the stock value and you will find the results. The market is the judge not partners or the media. Right now is not about value or customer service. Is time for who has the price i can afford to pay and still have my coffee and food.

[Not rich, but....]

>>>>> can't afford SBUX prices anymore

I can afford the $1.93 incl. tax for my grande drip coffee.

[SacMan]

Not sure if they've changed recently, or perhaps if it's a store by store or regional decision, but I tried McDs once recently and they don't offer soy. That's enough reason alone for me to go elsewhere and pay a higher price. That said, because I prefer plain soy rather than having every drink taste like Vanilla Soy, I've found myself choosing to go to Peet's more frequently instead of Starbucks (though I still choose Starbucks for my Iced Coffee).

[leccy]

All I can say is that Juan's description of McCafe coffee matches to a T the coffee I always seem to get from Starbucks in Australia.

Undrinkable.

[StLouieDrip]

I also can still afford drip coffee. The economy is not the only reason your customers are disappearing.

[Mike in Seattle]

Let's get real here. This is an insane comparison. The quality of the actual coffee served is weighted half as much as how well the crew picked up litter?
An undrinkable latte hurts less than a messy bathroom? What are we measuring in these reviews. As a customer, I doubt I see the inside of either a Starbucks of McDonalds bathroom more than once per 30 visits and the appearance (not health but scratches and graffiti) count as much as the drink?

Let's reweight this to fit what people actually care about. Moving the drink to 50% of the total score, service to 30% and cleaning to 20% we get the following:

Drink Quality
McDonald's 15 (bland, sour)
Starbucks 50 (tasty, carmelly sweet)

Service
McDonald's 11 (engaging but basic at times)
Starbucks 14

Cleanliness
McDonald's 10
Starbucks 5 (the patio really did look bad)

Speed Of Service
McDonald's 15
Starbucks 15

Bathroom Cleanliness
McDonald's 6 (lost points for the gross stall door)
Starbucks 8 (clean but the roll of paper towels and some scratches on the mirror lost points)

Total
McDonald's 57
Starbucks 92

[Juan Valdez]

Nice try Mike. My original scoring system was based on 50 total points (10 per category). For reasons known only to yourself, you decided to jack up the overall point total to 100 points which, when combined with your decision to apply more weight to the coffee, certainly increases the difference between the two point totals. This is quite disingenuous.

Everyone has different ways they judge their consumer experiences. If you choose to weight the scoring in favor of the coffee, more power to you. If, however, you insist on comparing the result to the original score, then at least apply that weighting to the original scoring system. If you had done so, the score woulda been 45.75 for SBUX and 28.25 for McDonalds. Gee, the spread between SBUX and McDonalds doesn't look nearly as bad doing it the proper way, eh?

Beyond that, the "Starbucks Experience" isn't just built on the coffee. It's built on the whole customer engagement process. The famous SBUX mantra "Connect. Discover. Respond" doesn't mention coffee. The values walk and lobby slide expectations (at least what remains of them) exist because more than just a few customers factor in the cleanliness of a business when making their decision as to where to eat and drink.

It's well know within the restaurant industry that customers are much more likely to forgive a bad product if they receive excellent service especially if there are other choices besides that product. As opposed to getting a great product and lousy service. People tend to take their interactions with other people personally and a sullen employee can do as much harm to a business as a lousy cup of coffee. A "legendary" SBUX experience has just as much to do with how a customer is treated as how good the product might be.

In addition, restaurants are different from straight retail operations in that only in restaurants are the customers most likely put the products they buy in their bodies. This ratchets up any concern a customer might have about the cleanliness of a business. People tend to equate physical cleanliness in a restaurant with how their food/drink is treated. A crummy bathroom/filthy lobby undermines the confidence of a customer in the quality of the product much more than you apparently think.

I gave all the categories equal weight for these reasons.

[Staxman]

Juan, I always enjoy your posts. But I'd think you'd get a more realistic picture of a store if you didn't announce in advance that you're going to be there.

[Juan Valdez]

@staxman

Thanks for your kind words and your concern. Let me assure you I've already been to Reno and visited the store at 538 S. Virginia St. and it wasn't this past week...it occurred right after my trip to Susanville. The only reason it wasn't posted after the Susanville one is Jim and I decided the McDonalds vs. SBUX recap should go first; especially given the recent news coverage of McDonald's renewed push to sell coffee.

And, actually, the rest of my Reno trip is going to be postponed for another week because I have another special locale to report from in my next column. This, too, will be timely as you shall soon see.

[';p@P?]

@ Juan

Why did you steal your name from the Real "Juan Valdez" coffee shop??

[';p@P???]

No answer huh, LAME

[tulipyellow]

Finally SBUX got competitive w/a grande Iced Coffee for $1.99 (incl milk and/or soy)! If you are a registered SBUX card holder, you can get a free refill, though I was charged $.55 the last time I got one. Keeps me away from Dunkin Donuts! (McDonalds is worse than nothing at all.)