Man, I'm old. I just never understood the appeal of Starbucks. More importantly, I didn't understand the business model. I guess I might if they owned every location, then they're like McDonalds: a real estate company with hamburger stand franchisees. But Starbucks didn't make any sense. An ex-girlfriend used to want me to take her to Starbucks for "coffee". I'm not a coffee drinker, but I took her there because she wanted "coffee". I tried to order a medium coffee of the day. I got asked "what size"? In Italian. Venti, Tall, ah, fuck you, Barista dude. I said a medium, you know what I mean, just work with me. And she ordered a coffee-flavored milkshake. It had like a thousand calories, 900 more than she needed. But to her, it was a cup of coffee.
I remember reading, during the dot com boom, that Starbucks goal was to have a location within walking distance of everyone in the USA. Huh? I mean, it's been done... 7-11 anyone? And the coffee's cheaper, I can get sizes I recognize, and it's just coffee. People are surprised Starbucks isn't doing so well???
I must say, I don't really feel sorry for Starbucks. They rode the crest of a wave of affluence, and now they will pay the price. I think cable TV might, too. I mean, cable started growing during the Reagan recovery, and they have never suffered a serious recession. But wait until the recession settles in for a long vacation: that's an optional expense that will go. Probably the high-speed internet will keep the cable providers afloat, but the expensive digital "packages" might just suffer. We shall see.
Let me be the first to go on the record opposing a bailout for coffee shops.
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