Starbucks! Now there's a name known to just about everybody with a pulse. Unless you've been living on a deserted island or in a secluded cave somewhere, Starbucks is undoubtedly part of your vocabulary. I mean, how could it not be? Just like McDonald's and their golden arches, Starbucks is a national - and international - institution. You'd be hard-pressed to drive a few miles in any direction in any city across the country and not encounter at least one Starbucks staring you in the face!
Even college campuses and airports are not immune. And no matter where I go, I see countless people going about their daily lives with the requisite white and green Starbucks coffee cup in their hand. Along with cell phones and I pods, apparently a Starbucks cup is a must-have personal accessory! Nothing says “I'm cool” and “hip” quite like a Starbucks cup in hand.
But my question is: why? What is so great and alluring about Starbucks that causes such a mass migration of people from all over the world into its stores? I know it can't be the coffee, because I've tasted motor oil that was more pleasing! The few times that I've had coffee from Starbucks it was only drinkable after I had doctored it up significantly with heaping amounts of milk, cream, and sugar; and even then I had to hold my nose! My car could probably run on that stuff!
And, it sure as heck can't be their prices, which, to say the least, are a little stiff! From their basic coffee selections to their fancier, more sophisticated - and costlier -lattes, mochas, and frapuccinos, Starbucks is not the place to go if you are a penny pincher. The words “value” and “deal” have no place in Starbucks vocabulary. But the words “sucker” and “mindless drone” just might!
For me, and old-school type of a guy - even though I'm barely past thirty - I prefer my coffee from a run-of-the-mill local donut shop just up the street from my house. The coffee is excellent - good quality Farmer Bros. that doesn't singe my esophagus on the way down - and it's always freshly brewed. And the best part is it only costs me a $1.10 for a 12 oz. cup. Do I really care that the person who is pouring my coffee isn't an official “barista” or that my coffee is served in a plain white Styrofoam cup sans any logos? Nope! I love the simplicity.
But Starbucks continues to do business - big business - and new stores are popping up left and right. People from all walks of life - policemen, fireman, bankers, students, e.g. - continue to flock into Starbucks by the droves on a daily basis. Parting with their hard-earned money, these people are willing - almost eager - to pay inflated prices for the most basic of beverages. These “Starbuckians” as I call them seem to be almost like zombies as they go about their daily lives, which obviously wouldn't be as complete without a stop at Starbucks of course.
So, I take my hat off to the powers-that-be behind the Starbucks machine. They are obviously calculating, shrewd, and smart business people. The Starbucks net is obviously far-reaching and wide, but apparently it doesn't reach my little small corner of the universe. My donut shop with the plain Styrofoam cups and the cheap, great tasting coffee is beyond Starbucks' reach.
