Some coffee fans get grim delight in Starbucks woes

[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
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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.

[Cinder & Smoke]

I am the last adult in the U.S. that has never been inside one or bought a cup from that chain ...

No, now there's at least three of us.

But even if you don't like their product; it's a bit nasty to cheer for the company's
demise and the resultant loss of jobs.

[shais_mom]

No, now there's at least three of us.

But even if you don't like their product; it's a bit nasty to cheer for the company's
demise and the resultant loss of jobs.

well said.

[RICHARD]

How many Home Depots do I need in my area?

There are at least 4 within a 15 mile circle of my house-with a Lowe's being put in about 3 miles from the pad. I don't mind driving a few miles to get what I need but, there when is it enough? It's a double edged sword-there are neighborhood groups that are protesting the building of another home center in their area.....they are more concerned about the day laborers, traffic, littering and all the other stuff that happens when a new business come to town.

I see their point, but I also see the economic benefits of businesses-jobs, other businesses want to build in the area, other nearby businesses gain customers!

I used to go to a Thai food restaurant on paydays, I'd walk in the door and the woman who took food orders would yell at me, "SAME?" I'd nod, answer, "SAME!" pay for my food and go to the gas station, get a lottery ticket at the 7-11 and come back for my to go order. Perfect every time.

Try that at a McDonald's!

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

I have no problem with big business making money or opening up stores/outlets/restaurants. I just find that people who have an agenda are the ones with the biggest hatred about BB. The woman drinking her "Half soy, half salmon, latte with half foam, half and half whole vanilla bean milk, with ice at the Irving Coffee Farm House and Emporium might be a little snobby because she doesn't march in lockstep with the people who like SB?

Ms. I-Cater-And-Hate-SB doesn't like the fact that people show up at a function she caters and won't drink her coffee because of the SB cup in their hands? I can imagine the carafes of joe she has to dump after people turn down her offerings?

Media always puts a spin on the news, they won't talk to the people who liked the SB down the street because they can "joe-up" on the way to work.
They won't talk to the poor "joes" who will lose their jobs.

They just find the people with an ax to grind and no concept of how 600 stores and 12,000 workers will disappear from the economic streets of America, and the trickle down impact on you and me.

[shais_mom]

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

'huh'?????

I noticed you've successfully ignored my question here on clarifying this statement that makes no sense, I know I'm a hick American, but for the life of me I can't figure it out.