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Starbucks Shutdown

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On Tuesday night, Starbucks closed all its US locations to help employees get back in touch with the soul of Starbucks. But is this the real issue? Why don't you like Starbucks?
fmanjoo

19 responses // Starbucks Shutdown

  • I agree, it seems to be too big. Its not unique anymore.
    spottsch
  • I don't understand why people hate successful companies once they get "too big". It's the flaw of the free enterprise; consumer construct. If you make a good product you sell a ton and grow larger then everyone hates you because you're successful and you've become an "evil corporation". I'd rather make the damn cup of coffee myself for 20 cents at home to be honest.
    DiabloGrande
  • I hate Starbucks because it makes shit coffee. The sad thing is, though, it's the best coffee in America because everything else far worse.

    Here in Australia, and in my native continent of Europe, coffee is made properly in the cheapest, dingiest corners of the city.

    We have Starbucks in Sydney, of course, and it's everywhere, but it's the last place you'd go for a coffee here. They purely serve tourists that know no better and like to stick with familiarity.

    In my view, if Starbucks truly wants to "retrain" its staff on how to make coffee, it should send them all to barista school in Italy, or somewhere outside of the States that actually understands the art of making good coffee. And it is an art .
    Foraggio
  • I love Starbucks, but since moving to the Washington DC area, I find that they are too crowded (obviously not suffering...) and too small (high real estate costs). Not enough lingering opportunity. Also, around me they close too early in the evening. I was spoiled in Indiana (of all places!) with a 24-hour Starbucks.

    Also, in the major metropolises, there seems to be more of a cultural and economic separation between the baristas and the customers.

    Finally, in a nod to the obvious - expensive coffee every day is a luxury item, and the economy doesn't support quite so many luxuries right now.
    blackcoatclay
  • It's so sad that people in the states needs Starbucks so bad for their coffee needs. It's never good to have just one provider for your needs.

    Here in Puerto Rico we can get good coffee from anywhere. For us, Starbucks is just a place for yuppies and bored emos who like to show their MacBooks...
    Halon_X
  • oh, where's reverend billy when you need him...
    dahnae
  • I hate starbucks. But I like how they treat their employees. Quality business model there.
    chet_arthur
  • I used to work there...now I don't buy their coffee, even though I do think it's some of the best available (at least in the US).
    Tori
  • In bozeman mt we're just getting our first starbucks and I hate the place. the coffee tastes like crap and its where all the yuppie I-drive-to-the-ski-hill-in-my-escalade type people/tools hang out.
    tiredcoffeedrinker
  • i work at another corporate coffee shop. i dont like our coffee, i dont like starbucks coffee.
    is it to big?
    maybe, if they cant control the quality of product and the knowledge of their employees.
    it happens.
    i still dont prefer what they have, or the long lines of snooty people and arrogant baristas.
    i like our local roasters and tiny cafes. or if its that important to me - which it is because i love coffee - i make my own in my small espresso machine.
    atleast i know it will be perfect everytime.
    inannasflame
  • Most large cities on the Pacific North West are overrun by Starbucks, but at the same time have their own local coffee culture.

    Local coffee shops are hit and miss, but the better ones are far and away better than Starbucks. They have friendlier atmospheres, more comfortable surroundings, better food, and of course better coffee. Many of these places serve as a local pub, where you know the baristas and recognize many of the regulars. On my home turf, I see no need to visit a Starbucks because there are so many better options.

    But, when I go to a new city, I will often head to a Starbucks for a coffee because I am guaranteed a mediocre cup. I would rather this than risk something horrid.

    That being said, however, Starbucks has been the model for many of the local coffee shops (stylistically and socially), and so we should respect the company for that. However, these local shops being, well...local, are able to adapt to their environment in ways that a Starbucks cannot.
    andrew_e
  • haha! the starbucks at the 56th second is right across the street from my high school! oddly enough i recognize some of the kids from that picture!
    BryanLanfranco
  • there are three on my college campus alone (UF) I feel like it is taking over!
    melelle
  • yeah, people don't like starbucks because they do feel like it's taking over. I don't love it or hate it, when i'm at school, every now and then i'll get myself a latte, but i do feel it's become the mcdonalds of coffee. THis always reminds me of pinkberry, which i work at, because i hear the managers and owners always talking about how pinkberry is going global and there will be so many locations in so many years... Anyway, my point is that pinkberry is probably gonna end up like starbucks, starting out as this trendy thing that was the place to go, but then they just overkilled it. I'm sure mcdonalds started out the same way. There's a reason people like in-n-out more than mcdonalds. You don't see in-n-out on every other street, and they focus on making good burgers, not gimmicks. And as you see, starbucks is going the route mcdonalds took.
    Sylvie1986
  • Starbucks fell victim to spreading themselves too thin with a lust to be, damn near, a java monopoly.
    It's easy to lose focus of a company's "soul", assuming there still is one, when branching out in too many directions. The refresher training of it's employees came, most likely, from a growing disgruntled attutude based on recent lay-offs and cut-backs. That always knocks the wind out of the masses. Those Dunkin' Doughnut coffee tv spots may have played a role, too. The corporate mind may have taken these as a threat of unwanted competition and is revamping it's product structure. Who knows? Fun to speculate about. In'nit?
    huntre
  • I am unable to understand why anyone would think that Starbucks has a soul. Starbucks sells cheap coffee made strong and the taste is poor. Good coffee can be found at Peets and in a lot of other places on the west coast. You can even get good coffee in Saskatoon, SK Canada. But Starbucks is there too to deceive the unsuspecting.
    revjjj
  • I hate Starbucks because:

    1. they buy the cheapest coffee therefore destroying the environment, and not supporting the farmers who grow the coffee beans

    2. they take over and are the root cause of the shut down of my favorite local coffee houses which are unique and have soul (as the video mentioned).

    3. I don't drink coffee, but if I did I wouldn't go to Starbucks, I would buy shade grown, organic coffee and brew it at home

    4. I don't have enough money to spend 1.65 on a house coffee each day
    cheyroze
  • prefer local places with more personality. also too much loud music so they can sell their cds.
    susievav
  • Market saturation and lack of quality control caused Starbucks to lose its customers. I don't think people hate it because the company got big, I think people start to dislike the company because it lowered its quality so as to be everywhere. Hence, not all of their employees are properly trained baristas and not all of their employees reflect the earlier "soul" of Starbucks. Giving employees 3 HOURS to do a little soul-searching is simply too little and reflect a much bigger problem. It shows that Starbucks wants to streamline everything - even a little soul-searching. How sad that they have strayed so far from their humble beginning.
    MickeyLin

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