i guess it's now ok to steal from starbucks

[Grateful11]

I didn't start drinking coffee until about age 35 and now I love it but if I went into Starbucks I
probably wouldn't know what to order. I have tried some of their ground coffee
Caffe' Verona, I believe, it was very good.

PS: Let's not go to far on this thread with the name calling, it's very immature.

[Silencio]

If this was a big problem for Starbucks, they would do something about it.

THE. END.

[Jem]

I can't believe elmo is the one who sounds like the voice of reason here (aside from $tevie, that is!)

It does seem like a whole lot of Angst over nothing. As $tevie says, when it becomes a problem for Startbucks, they'll change the way they do business. But at the end of the day the "sucker" who spent $4 on a ghetto latté probably spent $3 more than he needed to if he'd just brewed it himself.

Who's gaming who, now?

It almost like trying to feel bad for *intentionally* waiting for something to go on sale before buying it. Is it BAD to buy something at less than the asking retail price if you are freely able to do so? Didn't think so.

Like retailers don't mark things up so they can just mark them down later. It's called being a smart consumer. Some are just cleverer than others... or willing to jump through more hoops to get the best possible deal. The retailer can close those loopholes, or better define the rules anytime they want. But I bet they'd rather have a repeat customer who thinks they're getting a good deal, than have no customer at all.

It all comes down to who makes the rules. And in this case, Starbucks has made no rules that have been broken. So until they do, I don't see the problem.

[dmann]

Say what you want about Starbucks but they provide my sister and my BIL with a good (not fabulous, but good) income, job growth potential (my BIL just earned a nice promotion after 2 years of working as a store manager and my sis is in line for a small promotion as well), great health insurance and other good bennies. They offer many of these benefits to part time employees as well.

I agree the coffee names are beyond stupid and I don't use them when I order there either. The problem is, if you want your drink to arrive the way you ordered it, it needs to be called out to the barista in the Starbucks oh-so-special way. Most of the time (notice I said MOST of the time) they aren't correcting you, they just need to submit the order "correctly."

FWIW, the local coffee place that I go to on a regular basis (far more frequently than I go to Starbucks) has some silly names for their coffee drinks as well.

Sorry I can't be one of the cool people who never ever go to Starbucks and never ever will...
DM

[Carthaigh]

Not stealing. Geez. If I order a plain hamburger at McDonald's then put two packets of ketchup on it, is that stealing?

[Carthaigh]

By the way, this is the stupidest thread in months.

[SeattlePhotog]

[quote Carthaigh]Not stealing. Geez. If I order a plain hamburger at McDonald's then put two packets of ketchup on it, is that stealing?
No, but if you order a burger and take a thousand packets of ketchup, that's "bending the rules", don't you think?

That is, in fact, why most fast food restaurants had to remove the condiments trays. Now you have to ASK for ketchup, because too many assholes were just waltzing in and taking dozens and dozens of packets home, to use later.

The cheapness of some people really amazes me. I mean, even if you order one ounce of espresso and then fill a 20-ounce cup with milk to "beat the system", doesn't that just make you a cheap, pathetic loser? How could you live with yourself, knowing what a chiseler you really were?

[Carthaigh]

[quote herbiesyufy][quote Carthaigh]Not stealing. Geez. If I order a plain hamburger at McDonald's then put two packets of ketchup on it, is that stealing?
No, but if you order a burger and take a thousand packets of ketchup, that's "bending the rules", don't you think?

That is, in fact, why most fast food restaurants had to remove the condiments trays. Now you have to ASK for ketchup, because too many assholes were just waltzing in and taking dozens and dozens of packets home, to use later.

The cheapness of some people really amazes me. I mean, even if you order one ounce of espresso and then fill a 20-ounce cup with milk to "beat the system", doesn't that just make you a cheap, pathetic loser? How could you live with yourself, knowing what a chiseler you really were?
Wow, your reasoning is pretty frakking over the top. LOL!!!

[chas_m]

I've got nothing against Starbucks except for one thing.

If people are stupid enough to pay $5 and up for A CUP OF COFFEE, that's their business. I hear their music collections are nice too.

My problem with Starbucks is that there are WAY too many of them. I don't know if they engage in predatory pricing or other dirty tricks, but they sure do seem to drive the local coffeehouses into the ground.

Luckily, there's a good (indie) coffeehouse near me that has free wi-fi, so I prefer to throw THEM my coffee-and-other-beverages business.

[Seacrest]

[quote chas_m]
My problem with Starbucks is that there are WAY too many of them. I don't know if they engage in predatory pricing or other dirty tricks, but they sure do seem to drive the local coffeehouses into the ground.
Really -- except for a few large cities -- there was no "coffee culture" in this country until SB came along. There was Dunkin' Donuts, 7-11, Maxwell House and Chock Full o' Nuts.

In fact there are more independent trendy cafes in this country than there ever were.

I live in Berkeley -- home of the original espresso machines stateside -- and believe me, no indie coffeshops here ever went out of business because of SB. Any coffee shop that closed did so because they were inefficient or too "hip" to take care of the customers properly. You KNOW the type I'm talking about.

And agreed, this is the stupidest thread in months.