Starbucks will never do combo meals, says regional veep

Starbucks got into the breakfast game with warm sandwiches because "customers asked for it," says Tom McMahon, a Starbucks regional vice president. "It's safe to say, we can grow our food business 10 percent over the next year, he says.
Newspaper reporter: Will you ever do combo meals?
McMahon: No. There's things we never do. We never discount. We don't give things away. We don't bundle or do meal deals. It's just not who we are.
Reporter: So, these things bring the brand down?
McMahon: Yes. The brand operates as a halo, in a really high place. Our customers expect that, and they expect that we stay there. ...People say, 'You've got one in every corner. How much more can you have?" But, what it really comes down to is frequency. You want Starbucks at work, at home, and next to a soccer field on the weekend. ...The ratio is generally one (store) for every 10,000 to 15,000 people. (Orange County Register)

Comments

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

I wish my RDO knew how to make drinks. Too bad Francesca wouldn't know how to steam a pitcher of milk, pull shots, pump syrups, pour milk, check the DCR for breaks and ask the customers how their work project was going and oh yeah this all at the same time well searching the Snapshot drinking making sure its made perfectly to standard.

[simplehiker]

Ugh, what they need to do is keep better quality control of licensed Starbucks stores. They are really dragging the "halo" d o w n! I was in a BN the other day and they had 1 person working, with only 1 pot of stale drip coffee. No dark & house, no decaf, just old french roast.

[anne]

That's funny. In my Houston area Starbucks yesterday, there was a display advertising 2.00$ off all "lunch boxes." That sounds like a combo meal to me.

[jen]

that's funny anne- it sounds like they actually DO discount, bundle and do meal deals....

[Howie Schultz]

We never give anything away? I know hes just saying that because its not a company policy to treat your regulars to a free drink here and there, but lets be honest here. We always give things away for free.

[Stephen]

Aren't they giving away free t-shirts right now? And they certainly give away free drinks now and then.

[barockstar]

they mean like 'buy ten, get one free' not 'surprise/delight free'..

[sbuxsucks]

i think combo meals would work so well with the drive-thrus

[Deusx]

Anne, I think if you take the time to inform yourself, you will find that those places aren't Starbucks Corp stores, but licensed concepts like the Barnes and Noble Cafes.

[DT]

hate to break it to everyone (including this RVP), but he really has no idea what Jimmy D will decide to do with the brand.

personally, I'd guess some sort of combo-type thing is down the road.

[Homebarista]

DEUSX, how rude, as a customer I shouldn't have to inform myself of anything. While BN does provide some differentiation by saying they "proudly serve" Sbux coffee, I am told by this forum that elsewhere I need to look for ethos brand water to determine if I am in a 'company' or 'licensed' Sbux. Perhaps you should acquire a little information yourself. If a customer has to have subtle specialized knowledge to distinguish such things, that waters down the brand.

[Mary]

I get free things all the time. The Starbucks near my office is running a deal where you get any drink free if you buy a pound of coffee. I won several free drinks with that text message contest - there are often free bags of coffee and beans on the counters in the stores - plus, don't forget the money that was added to the auto-load cards last year.

what does an rd knowing how to make drinks have to do with anything?
can any barista do an rd's job? really? i'm sure its hard to steam milk.

[pepperminthotchocolategirl]

You know they're right. I do wish I had a starbucks everywhere I go. Even in my home (I try to make the coffee flavors like they do..but it's just not the same)

But if I had a starbucks everywhere I went..I'd get really really really fat. So yeah I want it, but I don't.

Though it would be nice to have one in the book store (Waldens) or the pet store. Drink your coffee while you wait. Ohhh the beauty salon that would be a good place for a starbucks..yep..that would be nice. Cause it takes 1-2 hours to get my hair highlighted and cut..so yeah I could use a starbucks during the wait.

[wind it up]

safeway stores have a buy 7 get one free deal, with a safeway card.

[SF Pardner]

BSR- Boston is lucky to have Francesca as their RD... She'd run circles around you, AND run a region, AND connect with every partner and customer she meets. What little respect I had for you, BSR, has disappeared hearing what you had to say about Francesca.

[J]

BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL,

Francesca used to be a store manager. I'm sure she know how to make drinks and run a shift.

[Lilith]

I have never been more embarassed by what I've heard an RVP say. STFU! Has he never been in a Starbucks? We give away free stuff all the time! Coupons, free lb. of coffee with machine purchase, free tall drip with lb of coffee. WTF?! And yes, during WB promo and the brew sale, some stores will do ANYTHING to hit their goals (ie: give away venti esp/frap bevs).

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

SF Pardner
My full name is BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL and I shall be called as such. Anyway, I didn't say that Francesca is a bad person because I have talked with her on several occasions. However, I have yet to seen her prove her worth to our Region which is in need of some desperate help.
Anyway, also J, I don't need your respect or anybody elses respect because I boost and maintain my own self-esteem everyday by being me, so in the words of Mary J. Blige, "Take me as I am" and "You can hate it or love it," damn straight honey.

[CuteBarista!]

BSR can you PLEASE stop spamming this board? thank you.

i've asked you once, i'll ask again...instead of bad song lyrics, self-righteous proclamations and bitching about how much this company sucks, why don't you contribute something interesting and/or constructive to the discussion?

[Good barista]

I like you Boston starbucks rebel, don't listen to the nasty comments.Some people get really scary in this company.

[SF Pardner]

BSR...
you make me laugh... this forum wouldn't be as interesting without your comments... that said, I think that what your region needs is fewer baristas like you and more servant leaders like Francesca.

BSR...you are possibly the most annoying person I never met. You know how sometimes you just like to get annoyed? That is what you do for me. Anger me and irritate me...but all because I feel like getting angry and annoyed. I mean, I couldn't ever visit this site without a guaranteed obnoxious comment or retarded, unrelated quote from you. So thank you for being the lowlight of my day. It really makes the rest seem so much better.

[barista]

Would you like that number 5 with a Caramel Macchiato or a frapuccino??? Would you like to super-size it for 50 cents??? really... I hate the ovens. I realistically believe that having the ovens will hurt the Third Place environment. Not only that, imagine busy drive-thru times soar. "Slapping siren in the face" -6949

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

As one concession to the above comment concerning me making a meaningful comment here is the BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL tip on how to run a legendary store.
Every night make sure to fully submerge each steam wand in a cup or pitcher of ice cold water to remove all the built up milk. This will loosen the milk both on the outside and inside of the steam. In the morning, make sure to thoroughly scrub the inside and outside of the steam, ensuring that the steam wand is free of yucky milk residue. Make sure to blow out all milk particles into a santized rag.
And finally, to the poster saying that I am the most annoying person here, well I get that alot so nothing new there. However, I am glad that I made your life better because thats what I am here to do, "To provide an uplifting experience that enriches your life."
Finally, it's BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL BOSTON STABRUCKS REBEL BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL!

[Live free or die]

The BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL inspires me everyday to aspire towards excellence as a barista and a Starbucks partner.

[Seattle_Barista_Hunk_Man]

Three Cheers for Boston Starbucks Rebel!

The BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL inspires me everyday to gouge my eyes out and vomit in my latte.

[jabanga]

i met francesca once during my last days with starbucks and i was impressed. she seemed very connected with starbucks tradition and culture which is a rarity in starbucks leadership these days. as for boston starbucks rebel's posts, they are far from being spam. whether you agree or disagree with his/her point of view there is no doubt that he/she believes passionately in what he/she posts. now can you help me out boston starbucks rebel so i won't have to refer to you as he/she?

[Deusx]

I'm betting he and also trying hard to live a gay stereotype. I wonder if he realizes how much he sounds like a character from "To Wong Foo"?

My friends get a kick out of his posts when I print them out.

[darthsid]

Honestly Boston Starbucks Rebel sounds much more Knowledgable and a Better barista than most.

People, this is, afterall, a forum and everyone's entitled to their opinions, no?

[otter]

DEUSX, welcome to 2007, where telling people they sound gay isn't a very clever insult anymore, especially on a blog about a progressively minded company like Starbucks...

And per your previous comment, I couldn't give two turds if the B&N stores aren't "actual Starbucks stores". I know they're licensed stores, but they display the S'bucks logo as if it's the store logo. As a customer, a Starbucks by any other name is still a Starbucks, and should be held to the same quality level... or use a different logo and name.

[Sam]

I find it funny how there is always this comparison between the "real" corporate stores and the licensed ones. To the average customer, they are one in the same (otherwise, why call it "Starbucks"?), so it seems a bit ridiculous to hold them to a different standard.

[Becca]

BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL, while I tend to be a fan, you're dealing with 1000+ people on here who use abbreviations every day at their job. Of course the first thing they'll do is abbreviate BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL to BSR.

Also, I have to say that I wish my DM knew how to make a drink. Maybe then explaining to him at 10:45 pm
(when my SM is out of town) what exactly is wrong with the verismo would result in something actually being done about it, rather than just a "well can't you just keep hitting buttons until something happens?"

[BOSTON STARBUCKS LATTE]

To answer all the questions concerning my sex and sexuality, I find them irrevelant to my job performance as a partner at Starbucks. I started laughing when I read the above posts about me. But the thing that is most important is that its not about me at all. Its all about Starbucks, coffee, the customer, and making sure there is that human connection. Also, for those who do abbreviate my spelling, I would like to inform you that I do take the time of asking a customer on how exactly they spell their name such as "Is that a Sarah with an "h" or none"?" or "Is that Brian with an "i" or "y"?" because I want to know that I care to my customers even about their spellings of their names. Finally, concerning the comment about me being knowledgeable, I took a few minutes today to refresh my memory with the Beverage Resource Manual.

[HopkinsBella]

The Starbucks in the Baltimore area occasionally put up "suggested combos" (my term, not Starbucks') on the store chalkboards that a few times have gone beyond the "try pastry X with drink Y." And not just around holidays like the cupcake pairings for Valentine's day. So.....Starbucks unofficially already does the whole combo thing, IMO. After all, it's why there are the "suggested pairings" as far as what pastries complement what coffees, etc., that inadvertently started the ball rolling on the combos. They're not value meal concepts, and I hope that Sbux doesn't venture that direction, but who knows at this point.

And for the contrarians who are likely to say that these are licensed locations, the Starbucks mentioned above are stand-alone corporate locations.

[NamelessBarista]

In Soviet Russia, Boston Starbucks Lattes drink you!

[Deusx]

Otter, why would sounding "Gay" be an insult? I can't imagine anyone BUT a homophobe thinking it is. Sounding like a gay stereotype isn't even an insult, it's more of an acknowledgement for all those who aren't behaving in a manner that even other gays find "faggy".

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

I'm sorry for some unknown reason I printed the above message under "BOSTON STARBUCKS LATTE."

To answer all the questions concerning my sex and sexuality, I find them irrevelant to my job performance as a partner at Starbucks. I started laughing when I read the above posts about me. But the thing that is most important is that its not about me at all. Its all about Starbucks, coffee, the customer, and making sure there is that human connection. Also, for those who do abbreviate my spelling, I would like to inform you that I do take the time of asking a customer on how exactly they spell their name such as "Is that a Sarah with an "h" or none"?" or "Is that Brian with an "i" or "y"?" because I want to know that I care to my customers even about their spellings of their names. Finally, concerning the comment about me being knowledgeable, I took a few minutes today to refresh my memory with the Beverage Resource Manual.

See my split personalities are starting to emerge. This is the real BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL! And finally. stopping fun of all the homos because if you come up to Boston I assure youy that the "pink panthers" will be all up in your business.

[otter]

As a gay Boston Starbucks patron, I agree, BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL. Seems like about 90% of the baristas I know are gay.

And Deusx, a comment like "I'm betting he and also trying hard to live a gay stereotype [sic]," sounds like a put-down to me. Let's not start throwing around words like "faggy". It's just not cool.

[imabarista]

I think BSR is happy if we notice her.

[JA]

It's all about semantics. Starbucks doesn't give "free" things, they give "complimentary" things. They don't offer combos, they suggest "pairings".

(However, in my district, at least, we tried a lunch bag deal, where you got a sandwich, drink, and pastry for a reduced price. Not sure about the semantics of that, but "combo" or not, it actually wasn't that successful.)

[beebop]

Actually, the Barnes and Noble stores are neither a Company operated Starbucks or a Licensed Starbucks store. Barnes and Nobles locations are "Foodservice accounts" which mean they are considered Barnes & Noble Cafe's (which is on their logo and their marketing and their aprons).They purchase Starbucks Coffee (we proudly brew)and were grandfathered in to sell Frappuccino beverages. Back in the day, when foodservice (called Specialty Sales & Marketing at its inception) started that deal with B&N. It also created some Foodservice Accounts with corporate cafeterias run by Sodexho, Aramark, etc...they had originally been able to sell Frappuccino, but eventually they phased it out to only coffee and tea. Just a little background on the various SBUX outlets.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Thank you. I am back in control of my personality now. The reason why Starbucks has such a high percentage of persons with a homosexual oritention if you must use that word is because Starbucks embraces diversity. I like to call straight people "breeders" because thats what they do. Its cool if you say "fag" and others say "breeder."
Here in Boston, alot of the GLBT population is confined to live in the South End but we are moving up and out. GLBT persons are no longer consigned to the "gay ghetto", aka gayborhoood. However, I find it very odd that there is only ONE Starbucks in the South End when in fact it is my belief that maybe perhaps it could support four Starbucks all together when you take into account the above stated formula of 10,000-15,000 Starbucks per capita.
Finally, is it not obvious that if you put two and two together you will get four! I live in Boston and I work at Starbucks. OMG, I must be gay. Or maybe, something does not necessarily follow in that analogy.
Just because you are man/woman having sex with a man/woman doesn't make you gay or straight. I just like to have all the syrups in my latte. Well all of them except blackberry if you still have it because it curdles! YUCKY!

[BN Baby]

Beebop is right about B&N Cafes being separately owned by Barnes & Noble. Customers get royally P.O.'d at us because we don't take Starbux cards, don't have short sizes, etc, etc. Our logo is extremely confusing, & don't think it's not on purpose. I hate it when I hear about people having bad experiences at B&N Cafes but we baristas are helpless to fix it. You think quality oversight to protect the brand at licensed stores is questionable? HA! You..have..no..idea. Be afraid, be very afraid.

[Deusx]

Otter,

A put down would of been more like "Oh look at Ms. Gaynor putting on airs." Go back and read all of Boston Starbucks Rebel's posts. When he gets rolling he does very much sound like Patrick Swayze's character in "To Wong Foo". I very much doubt he always sounds like that in real life, but on here it is hilarious. Also, if you have a problem with the term "fag" or "faggy" you are taking yourself too seriously.

Boston Starbucks Rebel, the term "breeder" is popular here as well. They even change the names of some of the drinks on breeders night at the local bars for laughs.

[Lilith]

We had a group of licensed store people at our holiday roadshow. You could just see all the gritted teeth and fake smiles when their table was introduced.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

For the record, I was way to you to see "To Wong Foo" but I might go out and rent it. I read some stuff on wikiquote and from what I can surmise, yes I really do talk like that. Yes, I am that funny in person and everybody loves working with me, you simply would not believe it.

[otter]

Deusx, if you knew the number of times I had to deal with the word "fag" as an insult, followed by a punch to my head, it wouldn't seem like I was taking it seriously. But you're probably right, I'm spending too much energy defending the Rebel when he/she can be as faggy as s/he likes.

Sorry to seem oversensitive. It's hard to tell when some words are hate versus kidding around.

[CuteBarista!]

i'm probably being too sensitive but as a straight person i really don't like the term breeder.

sorry BSR.