Help a friend, buy from Starbucks
I admit it. I am not one of those people giddy about the fact that Starbucks is closing 600 stores. I know that some people get their kicks watching the big guys crumble, and yes I agree that it is nice to get a strong cup of Joe at a mom & pop place (with hip tattooed barristers and blaring techno earth tones), but come on – Starbucks made the world a better place for coffee drinkers by making good coffee accessible and hip.
Don’t you remember the old days? You either got a cup of weak brown slop at the diner, or something at Dunkin Donuts (I was never much of a fan – sorry), or hoped for the best with the coffee at work. True – there were always the mom & pop places, but unless you were in a trendy urban center (like the Village, or in San Fran, or somewhere like that), the chances were slim-to-none that you were going to find a decent, local shop brewing the hard stuff.
Along came Starbucks and changed everything.
Now great coffee is everywhere (and thanks to the me-too copycats it is really everywhere). And what do coffee drinkers do? They laugh at Starbucks, hurl insults and relish at their misfortune. I am sorry but it is indicative of bad character and bad taste.
Give Starbucks the credit they deserve and buy coffee from them – we cannot go back to a world of bad coffee.
July 6th, 2008 Coffee
8 Comments Add your own
1. Aaron Abram | July 7th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
You are correct. Plus, Starbucks is one of the few places where you can watch people watching other people. Lets be honest, no studying actually is done at these locations. Studying is simply a cover to checking out the inventory. I’m not talking about coffee beans if you know what I mean.
Buy a starbucks, afterall Howard Schultz is only worth $1 Billion. We have to this Jew a bit richer to compete with the Gates of the ages.
2. Daniel Klatzkow | July 8th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Starbucks has saved my life many a time when I was down and out and needed a decent cup of coffee.
3. Tzvi | July 9th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Daniel, what you are saying is so true. There are so many times when my body went into withdrawals and Starbucks was there to save me with a quality fix. (I am sure every serious coffee drinker knows what it is like to need a cup of coffee and the only thing around is instant – yikes!)
For those who don’t know – Daniel has coined a term for coffee withdrawals, it is called “coffee-lag” and you can read about it here.
4. Ruth | July 9th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Amen to that article! It is sooooo true. Starbucks has helped me out so many times. They deserve only credit for all that they have accomplished in helping people with a serious caffeine addiction!
5. Ross | July 20th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
i don’t know tzvi. Starbuck’s has also introduced some of the most ridiculous drinks too. For example I can’t stand these people who order a “Grande Java Chip Frappacino with a shot of espresso, topped with whipped cream, hold the fudge.” I didn’t make that up either:
http://www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-starbucks-what-s-your-order
Also the price of a coffee there could be a little more reasonable especially for someone like you who buys so much coffee. I bet it adds up quickly.
Ok ok maybe I’m bitter that Schultz sold the Sonics but you gotta agree that these coffee orders are crazy and the prices could be a bit more reasonable.
6. Tzvi | July 22nd, 2008 at 10:33 am
Very true Ross and I think we are on the same page. I readily admit that these crazy frapicciono drinks were one step too far, and that their cost is outrageous – true indeed. My point is that the goodness Starbucks did for the coffee world must be praised and acknowledged (in spite of their excesses) and that coffee snobs can’t smugly dismiss them or wallow in glee when they hit hard times.
7. Ross | July 22nd, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I gotcha tzvi. By making good coffee so popular all the unique coffee shops with genuine owners have also flourished. Although I think that the closing of 600 starbucks is not such a bad thing because right now I can walk 2 blocks in any direction and find myself at a Starbucks which is excessive. Although I do find some comfort in seeing a Starbucks when I’m traveling in a foreign country like Thailand.
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