Some coffee fans get grim delight in Starbucks woes

[Catty1]

No grief at my end...lots of great local cafes where I live.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/0...coffeeshops_dc

Some coffee fans get grim delight in Starbucks woes

Sun Jul 6, 7:40 AM

By Ellen Wulfhorst
ADVERTISEMENT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One coffee drinker's bad news is another coffee drinker's good news, it seems.

Financial woes at Starbucks Corp., which is planning to close 600 underperforming U.S. stores, is evoking glee and little sympathy from aficionados who say they resent the coffee shop giant and favor small independent cafes.

"I'm so happy. I'm so not a Starbucks person," said Melinda Vigliotti, sipping iced coffee at the Irving Farm Coffee House in New York. "I believe in supporting small businesses. Starbucks, bye-bye."

"Amen," chimed in Keith DiLauro, a local caterer. "They went too big, too fast."

Seattle-based Starbucks burst onto the national scene in the 1990s and grew to more than 6,000 locations around the world. But with cups of coffee that can cost several dollars, it faces a slowing economy and slowed consumer spending.

"Starbucks has really created a coffee culture, raising awareness of good coffee, which is good for independents," said Carol Watson, owner of the Milk and Honey coffee shop in Chicago. "But on the other hand, they're on practically every corner, and that makes it tough on the little guy too."

In Birmingham, Alabama, retiree Peggy Bonfield, drinking coffee at the Crestwood Coffee Shop, said: "When a Starbucks closes, it makes room for a local business to start.

"I consider that good news," she said.

The schadenfreude of coffee drinkers drawing satisfaction from another's misfortune is part of the popular culture that enjoys the downfall of companies or celebrities, said Jim Carroll, a Canadian-based trends and innovation expert.

"There are a lot of people out there who take delight in seeing an icon torn down by the masses," he said.

Starbucks fell victim to a rapid change in attitude, fueled by Internet bloggers complaining endlessly about everything from layoffs to its breakfast sandwiches, he said.

"Starbucks was a cool brand, and then all of a sudden it's not a cool brand," he said. "There's this new global consciousness that is out there that can suddenly shift."

CAFE CULTURE

Indeed, said Pye Parson, who hails from Seattle and works at Birmingham's Crestwood, "Once it went corporate, it wasn't Starbucks anymore."

New York Web designer Zachary Thacher, who favors Greenwich Village's cafes, said he avoids Starbucks. "They've commoditized cafe culture, which is why I don't go," he said.

The environmental movement toward buying and appreciating locally grown products has helped neighborhood cafes and hurt the myriad look-a-like Starbucks stores, said Judy Ramberg, a consumer strategist at Iconoculture, a Minneapolis-based trend research company.

The company that began as innovative is now known for consistency and convenience, she said. "To me, that's a huge step down," she said. "You've built your franchise on people who are coming in because they know exactly what they want."

Precisely, said Justin Sergi, explaining why he preferred Lux, a cafe in Phoenix serving lattes with a fern-like pattern teased from steamed milk in ceramic cups, over Starbucks.

"The people that work there are very pleasant, but the stores are devoid of any kind of real charm or personality," he said. "They push a button, and a machine does everything from grinding the beans to brewing the drink."

It's not as though Starbucks doesn't have defenders,

"It's convenient," said Anthony Castro, sitting in a Starbucks near his job at New York's Museum of Modern Art. "I know what to expect."

In Birmingham, Crestwood regular Gary Adkins said he felt Starbucks gave employees good salaries and benefits. But now Starbucks' plans call for cutting up to 12,000 full- and part-time positions.

Not everyone felt strongly. "It's just coffee," said Marc Poulin, a systems administrator at Zibetto Espresso Bar in New York. "If I was an investor, I'd care."

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor, Andrew Stern and Verna Gates; editing by Todd Eastham)

[jennielynn1970]

Wow...

They finally opened up some shops here in Allentown this past year. Not sure why we need 3 or 4 of them, but they're here.

I'm still partial to the local cafes... if and when I want coffee, which is maybe once a year, lol. At least the ambiance is better at them.

[RockyRoad]

I`m a typical New Yorker - I run on coffee. Almost one-quarter of the kids in my high school even worked at Starbucks! But in my town, Starbucks is the only coffee shop (aside from 7-11). If there was a nice, quaint small shop around, I would definitely be first in line!
What was funny was a few months ago when I was watching the news, they did a segment on how the Starbucks shops were closing early for a few days (I think it was to further train their employees?) and they interviewed people on the streets in NYC to get their reactions. It was too funny - so many people interviewed were panicking, and almost everyone was angry!

[shais_mom]

No grief at my end...lots of great local cafes where I live.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/0...coffeeshops_dc

Some coffee fans get grim delight in Starbucks woes

Sun Jul 6, 7:40 AM

By Ellen Wulfhorst
ADVERTISEMENT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One coffee drinker's bad news is another coffee drinker's good news, it seems.

Financial woes at Starbucks Corp., which is planning to close 600 underperforming U.S. stores, is evoking glee and little sympathy from aficionados who say they resent the coffee shop giant and favor small independent cafes.

"I'm so happy. I'm so not a Starbucks person," said Melinda Vigliotti, sipping iced coffee at the Irving Farm Coffee House in New York. "I believe in supporting small businesses. Starbucks, bye-bye."

"Amen," chimed in Keith DiLauro, a local caterer. "They went too big, too fast."

Seattle-based Starbucks burst onto the national scene in the 1990s and grew to more than 6,000 locations around the world. But with cups of coffee that can cost several dollars, it faces a slowing economy and slowed consumer spending.

"Starbucks has really created a coffee culture, raising awareness of good coffee, which is good for independents," said Carol Watson, owner of the Milk and Honey coffee shop in Chicago. "But on the other hand, they're on practically every corner, and that makes it tough on the little guy too."

In Birmingham, Alabama, retiree Peggy Bonfield, drinking coffee at the Crestwood Coffee Shop, said: "When a Starbucks closes, it makes room for a local business to start.

"I consider that good news," she said.

The schadenfreude of coffee drinkers drawing satisfaction from another's misfortune is part of the popular culture that enjoys the downfall of companies or celebrities, said Jim Carroll, a Canadian-based trends and innovation expert.

"There are a lot of people out there who take delight in seeing an icon torn down by the masses," he said.

Starbucks fell victim to a rapid change in attitude, fueled by Internet bloggers complaining endlessly about everything from layoffs to its breakfast sandwiches, he said.

"Starbucks was a cool brand, and then all of a sudden it's not a cool brand," he said. "There's this new global consciousness that is out there that can suddenly shift."

CAFE CULTURE

Indeed, said Pye Parson, who hails from Seattle and works at Birmingham's Crestwood, "Once it went corporate, it wasn't Starbucks anymore."

New York Web designer Zachary Thacher, who favors Greenwich Village's cafes, said he avoids Starbucks. "They've commoditized cafe culture, which is why I don't go," he said.

The environmental movement toward buying and appreciating locally grown products has helped neighborhood cafes and hurt the myriad look-a-like Starbucks stores, said Judy Ramberg, a consumer strategist at Iconoculture, a Minneapolis-based trend research company.

The company that began as innovative is now known for consistency and convenience, she said. "To me, that's a huge step down," she said. "You've built your franchise on people who are coming in because they know exactly what they want."

Precisely, said Justin Sergi, explaining why he preferred Lux, a cafe in Phoenix serving lattes with a fern-like pattern teased from steamed milk in ceramic cups, over Starbucks.

"The people that work there are very pleasant, but the stores are devoid of any kind of real charm or personality," he said. "They push a button, and a machine does everything from grinding the beans to brewing the drink."

It's not as though Starbucks doesn't have defenders,

"It's convenient," said Anthony Castro, sitting in a Starbucks near his job at New York's Museum of Modern Art. "I know what to expect."

In Birmingham, Crestwood regular Gary Adkins said he felt Starbucks gave employees good salaries and benefits. But now Starbucks' plans call for cutting up to 12,000 full- and part-time positions.

Not everyone felt strongly. "It's just coffee," said Marc Poulin, a systems administrator at Zibetto Espresso Bar in New York. "If I was an investor, I'd care."

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor, Andrew Stern and Verna Gates; editing by Todd Eastham)

I'm glad that all those people can delight in the loss of precious jobs that our United States does NOT need to lose. Nice.

[Catty1]

Hey - and maybe it will each the labour crunch up in Canada where there are MANY MANY Starbucks stores.

AND - let's have some new coffee places open and hire those people...hopefully for better wages.

[shais_mom]

Hey - and maybe it will each the labour crunch up in Canada where there are MANY MANY Starbucks stores.

.

'huh'?????

[Vela]

I'm with you Staci in thinking its NOT funny at all. Those people lost their jobs, it's not even remotely funny. Just what this country needs, more jobs lost, whatever they may be. It's SOMEONE'S income now gone.

[RICHARD]

There is a 'counter culture' ideal about big business that some people have.

The same big businesses that gave their parents the ability to raise them are now the enemy. Betcha the people who are laughing would have a different view if they were getting canned.

I am not a real coffee person and think I am the last adult in the U.S. that has never been inside one or bought a cup from that chain - I'm not a fan of Starbucks, but I do feel badly for the people that are soon to be unemployed.

All in all, the same people who are cheering the closings are the same kind of shallow people who really don't see the economic, personal and familial impact on each of us.

If they owned a building where three or four renter's worked there to make the rent, would they feel any better? What happens to the kids that are working there to pay for school, book or rent?

Seriously, they would have the same bad attitude if they were the ones losing their jobs, "I hope they go bankrupt", "eff Starbucks"....It's just a matter of where you are in the chain of events.

[shais_mom]

There is a 'counter culture' ideal about big business that some people have.

The same big businesses that gave their parents the ability to raise them are now the enemy. Betcha the people who are laughing would have a different view if they were getting canned.

I am not a real coffee person and think I am the last adult in the U.S. that has never been inside one or bought a cup from that chain - I'm not a fan of Starbucks, but I do feel badly for the people that are soon to be unemployed.

All in all, the same people who are cheering the closings are the same kind of shallow people who really don't see the economic, personal and familial impact on each of us.

If they owned a building where three or four renter's worked there to make the rent, would they feel any better? What happens to the kids that are working there to pay for school, book or rent?

Seriously, they would have the same bad attitude if they were the ones losing their jobs, "I hope they go bankrupt", "eff Starbucks"....It's just a matter of where you are in the chain of events.

very well said Richard.
and I doubt you are the last one, remember those farmers out in the midwest who don't go anywhere near big cities, prefer their coffee, black and unsugarered, uncreamed and hot, have probably never been in one. My dad's one of them, fancy coffees give him indigestion!

Starbucks is like an overpriced McDonald's in the coffee world. So would it be funny, if 600 McDonald's closed?

[Medusa]

There is a 'counter culture' ideal about big business that some people have.

The same big businesses that gave their parents the ability to raise them are now the enemy. Betcha the people who are laughing would have a different view if they were getting canned.

I am not a real coffee person and think I am the last adult in the U.S. that has never been inside one or bought a cup from that chain - I'm not a fan of Starbucks, but I do feel badly for the people that are soon to be unemployed.

All in all, the same people who are cheering the closings are the same kind of shallow people who really don't see the economic, personal and familial impact on each of us.

If they owned a building where three or four renter's worked there to make the rent, would they feel any better? What happens to the kids that are working there to pay for school, book or rent?

Seriously, they would have the same bad attitude if they were the ones losing their jobs, "I hope they go bankrupt", "eff Starbucks"....It's just a matter of where you are in the chain of events.

My sentiments exactly. And, if for no other reason, I would be ashamed to delight in the downfall of someone, whether it's a corporation or an individual. It's no different from what we do w/celebrities. We put them on a pedestal and can't wait to find something so that we can kick that pedestal right out from under them. Makes some of us feel superior, I guess.

I've only been inside a Starbucks twice w/a friend and I can take it or leave it. I'm not a big coffee drinker; I have one cup in the morning to keep from bouncing off the walls and that's it. When I lived in Sedona, there was a wonderful small coffee shop that I went to nearly every day, not for the coffee but for the sense of community. There was entertainment there, good entertainment, not just locals who wanted their 15 minutes. As a matter of fact, celebrities who lived in the area would sometimes come by and perform. And still this place closed down because they couldn't keep up w/inflation. I was so sad to see it go and Sedona seemed to change after that. So I imagine that if a Starbucks's closing is going to affect people in that way, it's sad indeed, aside from the fact that it's affecting our economy in a negative way.

[dukedogsmom]

I love Starbucks. Our local coffee house coffee is horrible! It's just about undrinkable. Too bad because I love the atmosphere. I get my coffee at Dunkin Donuts. We don't have a Starbucks

[RICHARD]

I love Starbucks. Our local coffee house coffee is horrible! It's just about undrinkable. Too bad because I love the atmosphere. I get my coffee at Dunkin Donuts. We don't have a Starbucks

That's one problem about the chain. They saturated the areas where they saw one franchise make money. "If one SB is good....Two will be better!"

The El Lay area is choked with them.

Another thing that I noticed, but I do not know enough about the business rules they use when awarding franchises, is how much control the company has over each store. Have you ever seen a McDonald's go out if business?

If anything, they grow on the spot they started! Do they do a marketing study? Poll customers? Study traffic tendencies? The move towards putting a (name the business) on every corner has it drawbacks and I suspect that SB didn't do their homework!

I watched a 'drive thru' SB being built in the next town over. There were signs galore promising "Coming Soon-Starbucks!".It will be interesting to see if that one survives.

Krispy Kreme got totally racked up when they moved to the West, from what I understand it was a company that was started in the South- and people out here weren't familiar with that brand or style of product!

They opened two stores locally and the news programs were reporting about the wait for doughnuts. 20-30 cars in line....Later, when the media started to report about fats, health and all that is bad for you- the volume dropped and the store with all the people waiting in line, closed! I understand how the reports of fats, sugar and anything deep fried was bad for you had on the doughnut industry, but I figure a store that is printing money would be immune to the axe!

--------------

Franchising any business if risky! I saw a news report about the widow of a Subway sandwich franchisee. The man committed suicide after the company literally priced the man to death. SW does not allow any franchise owner to purchase any supplies or food from anyone else outside the chain.

Produce, all the way down to the toilet paper and soap used in the store must be purchased from the Main Office. The owner, had more than one store and was slowly losing money-I seem to remember that he was making literally pennies on every sandwich- and since he had sunk all the family saving into the stores, he felt like there was no way out.

Very sad...

[Twisterdog]

We got a Starbucks here a year or two ago. Everyone, myself included, was SO excited! We had all heard do much about the wonders of Starbucks, and for our small town, it was a BIG deal.

Well, I have been to Starbucks exactly three times. I was not impressed at all. I found the menu to have about one fifth the choices of our local coffee houses, at about double the price. And the three things I did order were not particularly great - not horrible, but not wonderful.

[jennielynn1970]

I think the last time I was in a Starbucks was in 2004. I took my then boyfriend to NYC to see a Broadway musical. We ended up at Starbucks because he wanted coffee. I, however, bought the drinkable chocolate . That stuff was overwhelming, but really really good!!!

[Cataholic]

I love, love, love SB. The same consistency cup after cup after cup. And, the service is wonderful. When I was going regularly, I enjoyed having my drink ready at the counter. Now? One of the women remembers, and I still find it nice.

I don't really understand the whole counter culture idea that Richard discussed. I just don't get going against something cause it is 'big', a chain, commercialized, etc. To me, it is as odd as the people that want to dress differently than the "norm", just to be different.

I think SB pulling back has as much to do with the "recession" as it does with anything else.