McDonald's to challenge Starbucks with barista-staffed coffee bars

Starting this year, McDonald's will install coffee bars with baristas serving cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and the Frappe, similar to Starbucks' ice-blended Frappuccino. The Wall Street Journal reports: "The program attempts to replicate the Starbucks experience in many ways -- starting with borrowing the barista moniker. Espresso machines will be displayed at the front counters, a big shift for a company that has always hidden its food assembly from customers. McDonald's says it wants customers to see the coffee beans being ground and baristas topping the mochas and Frappes with whipped cream." (Read the story at WSJ.com)

Comments

I went to a McDonald's in Paris and they had a McCafe. I was skeptical but they had a very good solo espresso. I was shocked, but it was good.. and just about one Euro if I remember correctly.

[almostanasm]

hrm... just remember, they buy their coffee from Seattle's Best... which is owned by???? Yup, Starbucks...

[chitown's best/angriest barista]

i am terribly passionate about what i do, and because of this my manager pretty much told me to quit. of course i'm not going to, because i want to stick around long enough make a difference. unfortuantely, it seems like i ahve to fight for that a little too hard.
i want to make good coffee, good high quality coffee that actually tastes like coffee, not some watered-down excessively sugary crap. i don't care if it takes you 30 second longer to get your drink, it's going to taste that much better because i'm not here to shove caffeine oated in "extra extra caramel" down your throat and get you out of my face. i don't want to try to push cutesty frou-frou drinks that try to make our stuff seem like dessert and health food and have "something for everyone, even the kiddies!" i want to be complimented for my ability to make and free-pour any kind of cappuccino foam, even those "bone dry" ones, not be told "there's nothing in this cup, it's just foam," and "there's too much coffee in my latte." i want to be respected for the job i do, not considered a button pushing moneky. a trained monkey could not do as good a job as i do and i take offense at the suggestion. i'm all about standards and doing things the right way. i want to do the coffee master program (if it still exists) and be as knowledgeable as i can. this is not what i want to do for the rest of my life tho, starbucks will not be my ultimate career, but that doesn't mean i won't do the best damn job i can while i'm here. as a company, we need to do less things and do them well instead of trying to do a little bit of everything but nothing very well. if this passion means i have to quit, then fine. i'm sure i could get a job at intelligensia and feel a whole lot better about what i do to earn my paychecks.

[Watercolorz]

-When I am on the floor the partners lack the energy and enthusiasm of years before. Somehow, they think Starbucks owes THEM something. We can only stop this downward slide in our individual stores.
No sales means, no hours! If you wonder why your hours are getting cut as your manager about sales and customer comps. How well is your team doing? NYCSM-

-if this passion means i have to quit, then fine. i'm sure i could get a job at intelligensia and feel a whole lot better about what i do to earn my paychecks. chitown's best/angriest barista-

What I will say is when I first started going to SBUX they were committed to providing an experience comparable to that of a local coffeehouse.

My barista knew my order, had it ready, offered free coffee (on occasion), had music going and everyone was having a good time.

That was 10 years ago...

Then everything changed, they cleaned the place up and all the baristas with personality and coffee making skill were gone.

The store took on a very corporate feel and lost its personality, the music was canned and the people took on that “have a magical day” quality that you find at Disney, instead of a grunge wry ways of the early days.

10 years ago that SBUX spot was one of THE hottest SBUX... today its a ghost town.

Now when I order a drink and it varies from the drink manual of thought, I am met with a deer in the headlights look as the NEW SBUX baristas can’t seem to process variation.

In fact I have met those that want to argue with the way you prefer your drink.

I know quite a few former baristas and they will tell you that they stopped when it stopped being fun. And these guys KNEW their stuff

And when the coffee was no longer good and it stopped being fun the people stopped coming.

I still encounter the odd old school SBUX with a good staff of baristas and cool music and a nice vibe and you know what I will go out of my way to go to that store.

I don’t know what it will take to woo me back as a customer. 10 years ago I used to have a 10-buck a day habit and I used to go to a SBUX to hang.

Today I think I MAY visit on average once a month ~W

Mo, McDonald,s does not buy its coffee from seattle's best. Each region buys it from different distributors. SOME buy from SB (PacNW), others use Newman's Own, or Community Coffee, or other. Do not spread b*llsh%t.

[just an idea]

McDonald's will just lowest common denominator the whole experience. It's not like Starbucks went to automatic machines, removed any traces of personality and individuality from Barista's and made Happy Meals out of their products.

Oh... wait..

Ok, the Happy Meals part still stands.

[Christine]

McD's will not take over the customized drink options of Starbucks. McD is an assembly line machine. Customization is not their forte.

Starbucks has to maintain its upscale base. The two companies have contrasting images and feelings. McD's is not going to revamp their decor because their goal is to get customers in and out fast. I don't even understand why these two companies are competing with each other.

[Christine]

And when I am in need of coffee and Starbucks in not in the vicinity, I head over to a local bakery or coffee shop over McDonalds and even Dunkin Donuts. These place still exist and have great coffee and prices.

[Kristen]

I wonder if the McDonald's specialty coffees will do as well as their McFlurry (a take off on DQ's Blizzard which didn't do well at all).

the machines remind me of gas station "espresso machines"..i'm not liking that the milk and shots pour at the same time, milk out of a machine creeps me out..much less anything in a McDonalds creeps me out.

[Kristen]

Todd, Sarah, NYCSM, I grew up in Portland, Oregon and live in Washington DC now. When I was home (ptld) over the holidays I did have a barista (granted one is a grocery store not a stand alone) correct me to say "skinny" rather than non-fat. Now keep in mind that in DC I was corrected so many times that now I say "Skim" there and "non-fat" in ptld. I agree with NYCSM, the losses Starbucks is seeing stem from the stores themselves. I love the SBux across from my office, but even there, if you go in late in the day, you find baristas more interested in talking on their cell phones than helping customers. This store is as close to the customer service that I came to expect living in Oregon, they know my drink, they generally make it correctly and they generally don't correct me when I tell them at the end that I wanted whip cream on my non-fat mocha and I did order it that way, but I find that this store is better than most of the ones in the DC area, Georgetown has younger people so they are a little more intune, but most of the stores are what people are describing McDonalds as. Also, I love that McDonalds buys coffee, even if not everywhere, from SB!

[Nicole]

As a previous employee for both companies, I tried to be fair when giving a review for both companies espresso based beverages....

to see my review please check out:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/526963/espresso_wars_mcdonalds_coffee_vs_starbucks.html

Starbucks won, but I don't know for how much longer, their coffee has changed and there is no doubt that McDonalds will make improvements over the next few months!

[Ruby Doomsday]

Well, it was bound to happen, I suppose. For now, I remain cautiously optimistic. McDonalds just has too many other balls in the air to put the kind of focus and market research into one product (coffee) to be taken as seriously as a "coffee joint". It's smart marketing on their part to have a higher quality coffee option for Joe Rush-Off-To-Work as he grabs his morning McMuffin, but when he gets OFF work, does he want to sip a grande Americano at a ketchup-encrusted table surrounded by kids scarfing down McNuggets and rushing off to the McPlayground? Starbucks has a great ambiance for evening paperwork.

Don't get me wrong, I do expect a bit of a blow in terms of the stock market, sales, and particularly drive-tru sales, but this will probably be an adjustment phase where both companies are forced to re-focus on which demographic they're out to capture, and market accordingly.

Over all though, The McFlurry didn't put an end to the Dairy Queen Blizzard, the McPizza (any of you late '80s kids remember THAT abomination) didn't crush Pizza Hut, and the McEspresso... well... we'll see.

"i want to be complimented for my ability to make and free-pour any kind of cappuccino foam, even those "bone dry" ones, not be told "there's nothing in this cup, it's just foam,""

I get that at least once a shift. It's so depressing.

[MusicGal]

I can't imagine McD's competing with Starbucks. I mean, every time I go into McD's, it's noisy, busy, I'm served by people who either barely speak English or are bored high-school kids with an attitude. (Not to mention the quality of a lot of their food... sucks.)
Not to say Starbucks couldn't use some improving...

[refusnik]

Kristen brought up something that is interesting:

"if you go in late in the day, you find baristas more interested in talking on their cell phones than helping customers."

While it is in line with what others are saying, that baristas aren't what they used to be, in general, this also mimics what my store experiences. Our customer satisfaction numbers really tank starting in the late mid-shift all the way to the close.

Anyone else experience this lack of customer service in their stores during different parts of the day?

[Lissa]

Upon arrival, on a recent visit down under, my wife and I stopped for fuel and we happened into a neighboring McDonalds because they had an adjacent espresso bar. Being coffee devotees, we were pleasantly surprised not only at the service and accuracy of our drinks, 2 190 degree flat whites, but at the pleasant aroma and flavor of a well pulled espresso. I'm uncertain what this addition will mean to the American market, but it wasn't all bad in Australia.

[Rocky Mountain Barista]

Hey Chi-Town's BEST, I have been down that road before. I agree 100 percent with you. I am now a coffee master, I am now a shift, and I can influence others at my store to grow. I think you might need to transfer to a store with a more supportive, passionate manager. A lot of managers have been getting so much grief from above and below for so long that they are pretty burnt out. Just my opinion though...

[EM]

ABC news covered it today. The head of a Seattle Barista something or another admitted, on national tv, that the coffee at McD's was smoother than Starbucks.

Apples and Oranges, EM.
McDonald's in different regions uses different brands of coffee (Seattle's Best, etc.). Starbucks has MANY blends, which vary WILDLY.

[jabanga]

nor does everyone prefer a smooth coffee. coffee can be smooth but have no distinguishing flavor. sumatra can be very flavorful but not necessarily smooth.

[Zhairista]

I don't think this is accurate, entirely.

According to what I read on Lexis Nexis, these aren't barista-staffed. The McCafe coffee bars are akin to Starbucks' coffee 'vending machines' that have been tested out in a few areas. Basically, you push a button and it dispenses the milk, the espresso, the foam, and everything else; there's no real modification or crafting involved.

hey chi-town a/bb,

it's sad that probably 10% of customers appreciate your extra efforts. sometimes people get pissed, whether it takes too long to pull a shot or your freshly steamed milk is too foamy. anyways, intelligentsia is really really good. but i always feel like i am not cool enough when i go there. at least the one on broadway, the one downtown is okay. anyways that's one thing i like about the bucks, at least we don't act like we're too good to explain stuff to customers.

[leeannaindiana]

Zhairista, can you give us a link to that article?

[dogtired]

I wonder if McD's will have like a coffee vending machine with the buttons you push? Like at the train station?

Yum! But its only a dollar!

[Juan Val Dezz]

I heard the other day they opened a New Starbucks inside a Starbucks

So I hear a big coffee controversy is Brewing
But as I look at that plunging stock that pots been stewing

So hiring your old boss and magic will make all this go away
$5.00 coffee is just a big old luxury and that recession is on its way

So McDonald wants to put themselves on the brewing fancy coffee map
David Letterman said it best, stick to what your good at “the same old crap”

Tell them to stop acting like a bad novela artista
And hire a cheap coffee dude, instead of a barista

$1.00 coffee and $5.00 coffee taste the same
What do I know, I think it’s all lame…..

[Jane]

http://www.mcdonalds.com.au/PDFs/McCafe_Ingredients.pdf

they really are trying to be a starbucks. However, I believe whole milk is the only option when it comes to hot drinks. There names for drinks are a bit more confusing...babycino? c'mon.

[Zhairista]

leeannaindiana: Sorry, I can't link to Lexis articles since they're subscriber-only, but from what other people in the thread have been saying (those who have experienced the McCafe) it seems about on par. There aren't baristas -- just buttons.

[tony]

I spend alot of money at Starbucks and am familiar with their product. IMHO, let me say that BOTH McD AND Burger King coffee is superior in taste to coffee of the day at Starbucks. I no longer spend nearly as much bux at the Star... McD/BK is faster to the pour and *better* tasting.

I doubt I would trust McD to make a good cappy or mocha, so for those specialty drinks i would bias against McD/BKs.

[Steve Fahringer]

A pox on both houses. Two heartless, false, and deadening mausoleums of the American soul.

[Drew]

Brand loyalty is for losers.

[*$'sVS.MCD's]

SARAH: "What a way to piss off the Vegans and Kosher customers."

You mean to tell me that MCD's are vegan and Kosher as well???

[Tara]

mcdonalds doesn't stand a chance against starbucks. even if they make a quality espresso drink, they can never give good customer service like starbucks does.

[Xan]

My Starbucks is literally next-door (15-second walk) to a McDonald's.

Wonder how this'll affect business?

[100% loyal]

everyone here is not thinking clearly...starbucks customers wont go to Mcd's. its not about the beverages,(though they are good) its about the experience, and with Howard back at the reigns, stores will have quality staffs once again. and the loyal customers will always come in as long as the doors are open. so this isnt an issue just like diedrichs wasn't or any other coffee shop out there.
-100% LOYAL

[Graeme]

I'm interested to know more about how a Starbucks store operates. Is there anyone who might email me a copy of the appropriate manuals? I'm keen to see what is done during opening, closing, etc.

P.S. I don't work for MCD, I run a small coffee shop in South Africa (no SB here yet)

P.S.2. I know I probably shouldn't ask this :-)

[GetSonEmployed]

McDonald's needs to concentrate on home base and forget about wifi.

My son has been trying for three weeks to put in an online application and gets part way and DIES.(And, yes, he has applied in person but that's not the point)

Not only that, their application process in not running from their own website. In the process, we get transfered to "apc.aon.com/applicant "

Screw wifi and get your own apps to work !!!!!!!!!!