Memorial Day weekend OPEN THREAD: Let the chatter begin!

The summer season has started! Talk about that, or anything else Starbucks/coffee-related in the OPEN THREAD.

Comments

[StLouieDrip]

Heya Melody, always nice to see you too, :-) (although I do also wonder when you're going to finally give up on this brand?... or at least cut way back... just so many other good coffee options in Seattle.). Yes, I still stop by SG now and then, such a lively crowd, and I've learned so much here. But you're right, I have less reason to post here now.

But last week I made a (now rare) stop at sbux, and had a very wonderful visit in a rockin' store, great service, and also Gold Coast, mmm-mm. If not for this boycott I'd return there often because it was obvious they cared about coffee, customers, and a high standard of legendary excellence. Kudos to the Brentwood store!

And why am I not the least bit surprised at the latest hints from Cliff Burrows that BOLD is not a big concern after all? Yeah, all the clues were already very evident.

[Sumatra Sunny]

I'm not sure if customers are tipping more at our store, but since we've lost more than half our partners over the last six months, and we're all working more hours to cover, we've all seen our weekly tips at least double.

[stlbarista]

StLouieDrip,
I have to tell you that the props you're giving to the Brentwood Store should probably go to the manager as she is truly incredibly passionate and most often engages in conversation with customers over coffee! She rocks.

[ali cat in chicago]

BSR you are a big baby sometimes i just can't understand you. just be quite and do some work on the floor and not in back. ok

[blarg]

we're brewing though our bella vista on the weekends. no bold! lolz

[bluffin with [my PIKES and my SBX-paired] muffin]

"I'm sorry, but I agree with Lady Gaga when she says that 'When it's love, if it's not ROUGH then it's not fun.'"

LOL! BSR, you made my day with that one.

[StLouieDrip]

@stlbarista, whenever I encounter a rockin' store, I always immediately credit the manager in my own mind. I always assume a store functions well when the manager is on the ball, and has the whole team humming together, so no worries there. I just give kudos to the whole team because I know it takes all of them to make it work.

The day I was there I got waited on by a man on the register, and another man was on bar. A 3rd guy was just getting off, saying goodbye to the others. I do remember a couple of others but not their genders. That day I only got a grande drip of the morning pick, but the register guy put his whole heart into the sale, making sure to connect with me. I appreciated the extra care and attention, and almost wanted to yell at him "hey, don't make me like you!" LOL I left with a lasting smile and the memory of a great encounter. I used to make a special note of which stores gave me service like that, because I'd always make a point to return again. It's just a shame I only visit sbux nowadays as a last resort.

[Melody]

@TroyBear - you posted a link to your blog entry about Via. It doesn't seem timely. Did you mean to post that blog link?

I had another trip to Zoka's coffee today. It's nice to be able to simply say, "I'll have a cup of Sidamo" and have no further hassle. It's $2.00 for a single cup of coffee, and with tax it's $2.19 (I think). That's fine by me. I had a fine cup of flavorful Sidamo with strong citrus aroma and interestingly strong lemon notes in it. And I just learned how to use text twittering (I know I'm slow when it comes to all these online tools) and so I got to twitter about it every minute of the way!

I still feel like a cheating Judas but it may be a new weekend spot for me. ?? The atmosphere is very inviting and it's easy to relax for an hour with a coffee, treat, and a book.

(Link to Zoka's coffee house home page in my name for this post).

[geekchic]

Does anyone know if partners are getting time and a half today? I tried to find that simple piece of info on one of the partner sites but it is impossible.

[';']

Yes a TIMES and a HALF-and-HALF!!

[Coffee Soldier]

If you consulted your partner handbook you received on your first day you would know that Labor Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas (if opened) are all paid at time and a half....I think there might be one more...but my book is at home not where I am.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

These are few words that Uncle Howie seems to have forgotten

"Many of these decisions were probably right at the time, and on their own merit would not have
created the dilution of the experience; but in this case, the sum is much greater and, unfortunately,
much more damaging than the individual pieces."

"I take full
responsibility myself, but we desperately need to look into the mirror and realize it's time to get
back to the core and make the changes necessary to evoke the heritage, the tradition, and the
passion that we all have for the true Starbucks experience. While the current state of affairs for
the most part is self induced, that has lead to competitors of all kinds, small and large coffee
companies, fast food operators, and mom and pops, to position themselves in a way that creates
awareness, trial and loyalty of people who previously have been Starbucks customers. This must
be eradicated."

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

[StLouieDrip]

Melody, of course you're no Judas. In fact, it was sbux that betrayed loyal customers like you.

You have a sophisticated and discerning coffee palate, and you live in this country's coffee capital (I'm sooo jealous, gah! :-)). I say lose the guilt and go exploring. Yes, I'm sure it will feel weird at first, but I know you can do this. Baby steps. Now go out and enjoy yourself!

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

If I can make it to Boston when you are there Melody. I'll email you with a time and place to meetup if you aren't too busy.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

A Starbucks was just bombed in New York City.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

All partners please be very careful. My prayers are with you all.

[StarbucksPartnerFrom2005-2008]

Ok, I've been on here for not too long.
Melody, are you just a customer, or were you a customer that was once a partner and are now a customer again? I've never figured that out haha.

[StarbucksPartnerFrom2005-2008]

I have to give kudos to my friends at the Starbucks on Hwy 9 and 141. Since I've stopped working there, I can go in just about anytime and still feel like I'm on a co-worker basis with the people that work there. It's kind of like I never left, even though I have. Thanks guys!! Keep rocking the house and sharing that first-class customer service with everyone!!

[StarbucksPartnerFrom2005-2008]

So I'm taking a family vacation from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach at the end of June. I've not only mapped the route, but I used the Starbucks locator to find Starbucks standalone stores along my route. So far, I've planned two stops and I found a Starbucks about 10 minutes from where we are staying. I think I'm an addict.

[Melody]

@StarbucksPartnerFrom2005-2008 :

Here is my Starbucks history in really short form - no I've never worked for Starbucks. My apologies in advance to numerous people who may be bored with this post.

1989 - Melody moves to Seattle for undergrad.

Roughly 1989 - 1998: Melody enjoys getting whole bean coffee at Starbucks at the whole coffee house atmosphere. I did things like collect stickers in the customer passport books, went on the Starbucks sponsored jazz cruise on Puget Sound with Kenny G on the boat, listen to Starbucks reps speak at a 1992 coffee fest trade show(open to the public that year), and had friends that I would make visits to Starbucks with.

1998 - 2001 - Very little Starbucks in my life. I realize "short" is no longer on the menu, beans no longer are scooped from bins, and I take a job in 1998 earning very little money and I have no money for coffee. Now there are a million competitors in Seattle too.

2001 - 2004 - I move to San Francisco, and feel homesick for Seattle. Suddenly Starbucks looks like a good place to drink coffee, study, and have my piece of Seattle in SF. I definitely started to strongly re-bond with Starbucks during this time.

2005 - Briefly had a job in Kitsap County, Washington, and found myself in a morning routine going to Starbucks in Port Orchard on Bethel Way. I confess, malted frappuccinos during this time really put a smile on my face.

2006 - present - Took a job in downtown Seattle/ Pioneer Square and the rest is history.

[green_cup]

@Melody:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/stella-cafe-seattle

Check out Stella. Truly fantastic coffee. I picked up an americano and some whole bean there. I enjoyed the americano at the time and am enjoying the whole bean now.

On another trip, I found out they do something really fun. Don't know if you use syrups or the such, but they make an excellent iced vanilla latte. They use extract and it has the best flavor. It's not super sweet so the coffee truly comes through, but you get a good touch of a bourbon-ish vanilla. It's very cool how they make them... it's much like a shaken cocktail drink. A couple of tablespoons of sugar, some extract and espresso in a shaker with ice. Shake, shake, shake. Pour it into a cup, add some milk and you're good to go. Fantastic.

[lattegal]

Melody -

Looked at the Zoka website. They have a picture of a dog sitting on top of their espresso machine. Now that grosses me out.

[javafan28]

We have never run out of iced cold cups. I would estimate we have about 12 on hand. 2 are venti, the rest grande.

I'm in Canada.

[Thought of the Day]

RE: Cold Cups ... Last year they had tables and tables of these cold cups at the $tarbucks Merchandise Outlet in Ontario, CA., when everyone else was saying they were out... I should go check it out and let everyone know if the outlet has them again. Wouldn't it be ironic if they had hundreds of them?

[Sumatra Sunny]

I'm about to go in for another long week of work, and I think I might really lose it.

thing a) Yesterday marked the beginning of our THIRD week running with no Store Manager. None at all. I was told that a SM from a store down the block would be "filling in," but I haven't seen him in two weeks. Obviously he's busy running his own store. However, our ASM has been half-heartedly attempting to pick up the slack, and he's entirely unqualified.

thing b) The week before she fired our SM, our DM BEGGED our SM to transfer our two remaining openers to other stores who "needed them more." Our SM was in the processing of finding a new opener so people like me who have late evening commitments didn't have to come in in the middle of the night, but now that we have no SM, obviously no progress on that front. So I'll be dragging myself out of bed at 3am again, even though one of our baristas lives a block and a half away, and not a 45 minute subway ride like me and several others.

thing c) Beginning this week, I am not only supposed to say "Thank You," "Have a Great Day," and "Come Again" when handing off drinks, but I'm also required to ask "How is your beverage?" BEFORE THEY GET OUT THE DOOR. Now, I am fully aware that in am atmosphere such as the fair city of Seattle, that question would be welcome, appreciated, and kindly responded to. However, I am not lucky enough to reside in that beautiful, caffeinated Heartland. In New York, especially in my corporate-based corner, our customers are more of the "grab-and-go" variety. More than half of them never even take a sip before they leave the store. The rest are often on cellphones, listening to iPods, or having some sort of early morning crisis that prevents them from responding to pre-coffee kindness. (Honestly. Most of the time I don't even get a response to "How are you doing this morning?" Unless you count a blank stare.)
Now I'm a fairly kind person. I'm from sunny Southern California, I'm an artistic sort, I get along with most people, and I definitely believe in spreading kindness and joy. But I think this new requirement is ridiculous. Whatever happened to altering your practice to your surroundings? When I'm working at the end of the bar, I stay pretty alert to what's happening on the floor, especially since we now have those handy shorter espresso machines. I'm pretty good at sussing out when a little added kindness will be appreciated, and when it will be either ignored or greeted with increased hostility. When I've watched a customer from entrance having a heated argument on their cellphone, acting impatient on line, or behaving in an otherwise annoyed manner, I don't think they'll enjoy feeling forced to take an extra moment on the way to the meeting they're already late for to guzzle their extra-hot latte so that my DM(not even my SM, don't have one, remember?) can feel satisfied that I'm doing a good job. It's just not a practice that I think will add to everyone's "Third Place Experience."

And honestly, New Yorkers are so direct, if they don't like something, they'll tell us the next time they're in.

End of this rant. Now I'm of to a morning of insincere, syrupy sweetness. Which is saying a lot. I really am a naturally kind and effusive person.

[NEWS :)]

Starbucks in China takes Dragon Boat-ride to zongzi


www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-26 08:27:42

BEIJING, May 26 -- When Western companies first came to China they thought they would get rich if they could sell just one of their supposedly exotic items or dishes to every Chinese. They may not have been wrong, but that business model has changed.

Now, those companies are trying to sell even the most Chinese of products to Chinese to make money. Blame it all on the global economic crisis and the shrinking markets of the US and Europe if you like.

So now you have Starbucks selling zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed), a delicacy served during Dragon Boat Festival, which this year falls on May 28.

Zongzi owes its origin to folklore. Poet Qu Yuan of the ancient state of Chu (during the Warring States Period) committed suicide by jumping into a river on the fifth day of the fifth month after the Qins captured the capital of the Chu's. The poet's admirers threw crushed rice into the river and paddled out on boats to prevent the fish from feeding on his body. That gave rise to zongzi and the festival.

Starbucks has been selling dumplings, simply called "the sweets", since mid-April. The trial began in the Yangtze River Delta area, including Shanghai, and Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, where Starbucks has the largest number of its outlets in China.

Caren Li, Starbucks (China) public relations manager, said yesterday that her dumplings have met "expectations" and have been welcomed especially by those looking for innovative products. But the Starbucks variety is expensive: each 45-gram dumpling costs about 12 yuan, when the going price for 150-gram zongzi in supermarkets is 3.5-4 yuan.

Still, the coffee-shop chain expects to sell 20,000 to 30,000 boxes of dumplings that cost 98 yuan each, earning a revenue of 1.96 to 2.94 million yuan.

This is not the first time Starbucks has tried its hand at selling Chinese products. In September last year, it tried selling Cantonese-style pancakes for 8 to 15 yuan each in Guangdong province.

In January, it began serving coffee grown "South of the Clouds", that is, in Yunnan province.

And during this year's Spring Festival, it served two types of coffee blended with tea, which still is the favorite beverage of Chinese.

Starbucks has tried to roll out products tailored to local taste ever since it entered the Chinese market, Li said.

But Starbucks is not the only food chain to improvise its products to draw consumers.

Recession back home has prompted another US (fast) food restaurant chain, KFC, to sell youtiao, fried twisted dough, a Chinese favorite for breakfast. Earlier, KFC tried selling "Beijing-flavored" chicken rolls and pumpkin congee.

McDonald's is focusing this year on offering "nutritious and delicious" Chinese breakfast, said Liu Xiaolin, Beijing McDonald's corporate communications manager. China is still "the most dynamic market in the world and also the most attractive for foreign chains".

These companies have plans to expand their business in China, too. Starbucks opened its first outlet on the Chinese mainland in 1999, and in just 10 years, it has raised the number of to more than 350 in 26 cities. Last year, it opened 40 outlets despite the economic crisis.

KFC and McDonald's, too, have announced ambitious expansion plans in China.

(Source: China Daily)

[Bananas]

Memorial Day unofficially the first day of summer. I made 15 cubes of frapp base and i left at 8pm. My store is open untill 11pm. Enough said :/

[Bananas]

Sorry didn't clarify. 15 cubes of coffee base, only one cream base :)

[Bananas]

Mrs Pepsi, we were told to pour shots into shot glasses to visually check shot quality. I've recently have been told that the extra time pouring shots into the glass ruins the quality and to pour it directly into the cup. Don't worry if the machine has been calibrated. My mastrena is wonderful so great shots pretty much everytime. Except for when they recently unlocked the single and triple shot buttons. Those come out a little funky looking.

[Paul Meunier]

My long love affair with Starbucks is finally over. I bought a pound of Peets French Roast today to brew at home. For standard aribica coffee, I will go to Mickey D's or Dunkin'. Starbucks, who ironically has slapped us in the face with "Coffee Lovers" posters in the stores, has turned its back on brewed coffee lovers. It wants to be a sandwich and smoothie store. From a money perspective, they may be right. Although I wonder if the accountants who dictated they they stop brewing bold coffee took into consideration the two or three pounds of coffee beans I bought every time I went in for a cup. I am sure they didn't. Soon, when coffee bean sales plummet, the self-satisfied accountants will be saying "See, we told you brewed coffee was fading." Gone, Gold Card. Gone, Duetto. This is from someone who cried the day they opened the first Starbucks in Florida.

[Jack Smash]

I just received 22 16oz To Go Cold Cups. I'm in Nanaimo, B.C I invite anyone from Seattle to jump on the clipper this weekend and I'll hold one for you!

[looong time shift]

Okay, we just got our mastrenas so let me bounce a few things off of people who are in the same boat. First we have one that is basically non functional from day one. For all the time they needed to "calibrate" the machines I am guessing they completely missed sliding the plastic card-chipped programming wonder into the machine. It can't pull single shots nor triple shots, it can't steam milk at all (the thermo starts out at 137 with cold milk in the pitcher). I am betting the two and four shot buttons aren't calibrated for the "starbucks standard" shots neither. We have told our manager and he is telling us the DM has the card. The DM should have been in our store the next day getting it right (for the 5 minutes time it takes to slide the card in); it has been three weeks. So we have a $15,000(?) paperweight that is sucking up power.
Our other machine works...sort of. It steams milk great, but the shots leave something to be desired. I pull 14, 20, 26, 16 sec. shots consecutively one after another, and yes that is annoying. I have also had shots running at 26 sec consistently only to drop to 18 after turning the machine >one click< coarser. These things should only change the shots like 1-2 seconds at a time right?
So far, they look pretty, they are shiney, they have more buttons, they finally time shots without the need for human input (like the orginal manual machines) so it takes some of the lazy out of the equation (if only I could get partners to keep the shots in spec). So I am saying something I never thought my mind nor wrists would let me say, I wish we still had the manual machines : (

[blarg]

@Anonohno I got my settlement check in january along with a w-2 form for 2009 cause they taxed it.
I got like $42 and change after taxes.

[oP@pp]

To Mike Tyson

My condolences go out to your family and yourself. You have been at my store a few times and we've always had a great relationship. Losing a child is never easy Mike, but your a fighter and you WILL overcome this tragedy. My prayers are with Iron Mike, stay strong brother...

[Sumatra Sunny]

Nobody ever bothered to put up the instructions for our mastrenas, and I just found out TODAY, after 3 months, that the shots are supposed to be pulled between 18-23 seconds, rather than 15-18 with the old machines.

No wonder everything tasted so gross. . .

Other than that, I love the new machines. Working on bar feels kind of like driving a spaceship :P

[Jack Smash]

Howard hosted a open forum in Vancouver today. I sat front row, about 5 feet away. He said he's thinking about writing another book!

[Jack Smash]

Oh I almost forgot, he's going to be on the Stephen Colbert Report in October.

[Mikey]

I met Howard at one of the stores he visited in Vancouver this afternoon. Down to earth guy. I've met some CEOs who are a bunch of snobs and ignore the little guy that works for the company, but at least with Howard, he does introduce himself and chats with the baristas and the store manager. To my surprise he actually purchased a drink and even paid for it. I thought executives get free drinks. The difference in the cost went directly into the barista's tip box.

[Sedg]

StLouieDrip: PPR is nowhere near Europe, at least in the UK. From what I can work out from some of the international websites, it's not anywhere in europe. And we still have coffee of the week, although I've noticed it's becoming House Blend more and more often. Or house bland as I always preferred to call it.

Also, on the shot glass argument - pulling shots into a properly heated shot glass or demitasse will allow you to visually check the quality, and a pre-heated cup will keep more of the delicate flavours and aromas in. Of course one caveat - if the shots aren't calibrated right, it doesn't matter if your presentation is spot on, they'll still taste like crap. You may or may not be able to taste the difference in a latte. I'd like to say I can, but I'm not about to put it to the test.

So, the Mastrena. I was down in Camden on Monday, popped into a store with an inkling for an iced americano, saw they had the new Mastrenas. Still had my americano, but couldn't resist a shot from the machine. Tasted great, but the machine itself looks like it's a pig to maintain. Yes/no?

[tikinyc]

We post all the goss about coffee house lawsuits and I remember something about about that suit on SLEEP NEW YORK,

Check it out and if its not posted, post something there and one of the members or someone will see it

sleepnewyorkforums.tk

[Melody]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/coffeecity/2009263158_starbucks_discusses_socially_r.html

^ I went to that lecture last night. Ran into one friendly SSC face there that I knew and said hello to him.

It was a good lecture though it could've been better. I got the impression that Orin Smith talked a bit too long, which cut into the time for Peter Torrebiarte and Ben Packard. Also the lecture followed much of the Shared Planet's website which isn't so interesting. Anyone can go check that out on their own time.

I thought the most interesting moments came when Ben and Peter spoke about their own real experiences as it relates to coffee sourcing - filling in gaps in information that you'd get nowhere else.

I loved the whole discussion by Peter about teaching Guatemala coffee farmers about cuppings and really teaching them about quality so that they would understand the kind of product that they'd need to bring to the table.

Peter also mentioned interesting facts now and then : For example even a fine "preferred" (meaning a farmer who scores high on a CAFE practices score card) Starbucks farmer may have as much as 30% of a crop that Starbucks won't take because it's not 'first quality'. This could be from insect damage, or mill damage to the beans, or any number of reasons, but those beans get sold off to other buyers.

I thought it was utterly fascinating how Starbucks' rejects (so to speak) creates a secondary market for those beans. They could even end up in Maxwell House coffee. ;-)

It was fun and interesting but the Q & A time was too short too. The moderator who was doing the Q & A managed to slide in too much commentary between questions, eating up valuable time for Peter & Ben to answer questions.

So all in all, a very good experience, but it felt like it should've been longer for Ben & Peter (but moderator & Orin Smith eating up valuable microphone time), and I would've like to have seen them not just FOLLOW the Shared Planet website at any point. It was obvious that both have a ton of real experience and interesting stories to get out, but there was the time for it.

One more thing, Peter briefly (in response to a question) talked about "bird-friendly coffee certification". Starbucks "preferred" farmers meet the same criteria about tree canopy that bird certification requires, yet without that additional certification. It sounds like there are a million and one certifications a single farm can go through, and at times it can be confusing for the farmer.

[Chris]

I think I posted this to the wrong thread.

I was just informed by my DM and have been ordered to:

1. Eliminate the request off log.
2. Schedules will be PERMANENT from this point on and that partners wanting time off will have to find their own replacements.
3. Average hours worked in the store must be increased to 30 hours per week, REGARDLESS.
4. If a part time partner working 20 hours per week interferrs with the 30 average hours worked they will be termed.

This is not just my district or region. It's a directive from the EASTERN DIVISION.

WOW - What happened to respect for partners?
What happened health insurance for part time partners?
What happened to flexible work schedules?

What happened to Starbucks core values?

Apparently no more. Once for a partners, we are no longer. We are more inline with Walmart, profit at the EXPENSE of our "Employees"

[NEWS]

McDonald's and Starbucks Battle in Europe
Wed May 27, 2009 7:45am EDT

In the United States, the battle between Starbucks (SBUX) and McDonald's (MCD) is still in its "looming" stage, as Mickey D's completes a massive move into high-end coffee drinks with its McCafé stores, and Starbucks continues to struggle just to hold on to its existing clientele.

In Europe, though, the fight is well under way, and oddsmakers so far seem to be giving the advantage to McDonald's.

At 24/7 Wall St., Douglas A. McIntyre explains "Why McDonald's Will Crush Starbucks in Europe." Essentially, it's because McDonald's is strong and Starbucks is weak and getting weaker.

"The region is already one of McDonald's best in terms of sales growth," McIntyre notes. "It can afford to finance the rent and construction costs for new locations. It has a nearly bottomless marketing budget. And, in most cases it can and will undercut Starbucks on price."

Starbucks, meanwhile finds that its "solutions are non-existent."

McDonald's plans to open several hundred McCafé stores in Europe this year, bringing the number of outlets to about 1,200. Starbucks, meanwhile, is cutting back on its plans for expansion in the region.

Many of the new McCafés will open in the United Kingdom, where about half of all European Starbucks are located. Jerome Tafani, finance chief of McDonald's Europe, told the Financial Times that the chain "can become the biggest seller of coffee in Europe."

And Tafani noted a major advantage McDonald's has over Starbucks: New McCafés can be opened in already existing restaurants at a much lower cost than opening a stand-alone store.

[SBUX Alum Bill]

I think there is a general perception even here in the states that McDonald's is advancing (adding new McCafé stores & marketing aggressively) while Starbucks is retreating (closing stores & cutting back). I still contend that the next two years will be even tougher on Starbucks than the last two years.

[Mikey]

McDonald's is doing what Starbucks did incorrectly... over expanding too fast. Didn't McDonald's learn from SBUX mistakes? MCD's is going to suffer the consequences competing and wasting money and should just focus on burgers, fries and pop.

[SBUX Alum Bill]

@ Mikey

I think McDonald's is just expanding their existing restaurants to include McCafés. They aren't adding new locations to develop the McCafé concept. I don't think they'll experience cannibalization among McCafés beyond that which they already experience with their existing restaurant activities. They understand that part of the business.

There may be over-saturation of the coffee industry as a whole when you consider the combination of McCafé & Starbucks locations, but that's a problem that both companies will have to deal with (i.e., the new problem for both will be competition against the other organization, added to the existing burden of cannibalization within their own respective organizations).

[blarg]

@ Chris

something similar happened at my store. request log removed. requests off can only be submitted in writing at least two weeks prior.
You cannot take off more than two days a month.
You may not switch shifts more than twice a month.

[Sedg]

McDonalds needs to increase product quality - I don't know a single person who would go there over Costa, Nero's, Starbucks, or even Krispy Kreme/AMT/any other chain.

[TNT]

McD's already has customers and other reasons people go there. Starbucks doesn't. Starbucks needs to stop all the stupid Vivannos, warming sandwiches, and everything else that isn't coffee and just do what we do. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. God we're a stupid company.

[GRTL]

So nobody is talking about starbucks new "water conservation initiative" at the stores right. It's all about the dipwells going bye bye :-(