Why Has Starbucks Conquered the World?
It’s not your father’s library.
I went through the ACU library yesterday for the first time since the renovation. It’s incredible. No wonder students have been telling me about it with wide eyes and big smiles. Most of the first floor is a study area with computers (PCs and Macs) and . . . get this . . . a Starbucks. That’s right. A Starbucks. Right there in the middle of the library.
Starbucks has taken over. They won.
They sell a cup of joe for more than a gallon of gas, and people stand in line to get it. Plus they’ll add all the ingredients you know you’re not supposed to have and charge more. People still standing in line.
And it’s not just COFFEE. It’s Rift Valley Blend, Guatemala Antigua, Ethiopia Sidamo, Arabian Mocha Sanani, Komodo Dragon Blend, or Sumatra.
Now, in all fairness, I don’t like coffee. Not with chocolate, not with cream, not as a flavor in ice cream, certainly not alone. And I’m quite certain that blending in a komodo dragon wouldn’t help.
I would have made a good Mormon. (There is that tiny little Diet Dr. Pepper addiction, however.)
So you coffee drinkers — help me understand this. Why has Starbucks conquered the world? Is the coffee really that good? If so, what kind? (I met there a couple times with one of our youth ministers, and I can say that the bottled water is excellent!) Is it a gathering place?
While you’re telling me, let me add that sometimes after I work out in the morning I’ll swing through the Starbucks drive-through for a treat for my beloved. She’s not much of a coffee person, either, but she does like a tall (which I believe means “short”) mocha without the whip cream.
Price of the tall (short) mocha: $3.16. The look on the sleep-deprived face of my second-grade-teacher wife: priceless.
Quoting Keith Brenton:
“I love Starbucks. But I’ve been reading too many Greg Kendall-Ball and Travis Stanley blogs to be able to patronize them anymore. I can’t justify spending $3.00 for a Starbucks cup and $0.15 for coffee when I know that money could feed a family of four in Africa for a week…”
I wonder if Travis or Greg ever spend $4.00 on a sandwich from Subway that cost about $0.75 to make?
We all spend lots of money on things that don’t cost near that much to make? How about computers, internet connections, cars, and the like? This is not directed towards anyone in particular, it just seems like a straw man arguement, and it is very tiring.
Travis and Greg say a lot of things with passion that haven’t been thought through very thoroughly, and make some comments that are pretty out there. Sorry…
Getting to the airport before 5AM to get the 6AM flight, calmness gets me through knowing there is a Starbucks at that gate. As I board the plane with the cup tightly clenched in my hand, I know all is well in the world.
My point exactly…..
Found this blog lost late, cannot believe how many comments a post on Starbucks with ellicit.
As a Starbucks employee, I can garuntee that we put nothing more in our coffee to make it addictive than the Girl Scouts put into their Thin Mint cookies.
Hey Mike – there is just something about Starbucks that isn’t about coffee. It’s the atmosphere that I think most people find appealing. It’s a quiet and withdrawn place where you can experience a great cup of coffee – and not feel stressed or rushed. I think that is worth the money any day!!