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| My SB spill-proof mug, waiting to be washed. |
I hate Starbucks. I don't think I've ranted enough about how much I hate Starbucks and there are many reasons to hate this chain store. But, regardless of my hatred, I still patronize said company even though I hate their coffee, hate their politics, and hate their attitude towards workers. Having said that, I really, really love their stainless-steel, spill-proof mugs. And Friday morning, before I got really sick and everything went all to Hell, I was standing in line to get SB gift cards for the counselors at DJ's afterschool program and a lady in front of me was looking at the new mugs they've made so you can stir your Via instant coffee more efficiently (?! [god I hate this company]). Somehow I got into a conversation with her about the fact that the SB mugs are spill-proof and pointed to the shelf that contained the model I own. I started ranting about how great my cup is, I ride bikes all over Gainesville and throw this in my messenger bag/pannier/purse and have never had a spillage problem and on and on. I'm really selling this damn thing, and the lady says okay, I'm sold and she takes the one I pointed to off the shelf; meanwhile, this gentleman has been listening to my spiel and says he wants to get one too and the lady says, "sorry, sucker, I got the last one (she didn't really say that)," and then the guy goes to the SB barista and asks if they have anymore and is led to the back of the store where they manage to find one more cup. I was in full self-loathing mode by the time I got to the counter and demanded commission for selling two of those damn cups for SB.
Haha, wasn't that funny/sad? Merry Christmas, everyone!
5 comments:
You hate Starbucks THAT much and you still give them your money? How illogical. Read what you just wrote, about hating Starbucks. And keep it in mind next time you're tempted to set foot in one. I've walked long distances on sore legs to get coffee from ANYPLACE else when traveling, or skipped coffee entirely at airports where I was locked into either SBux or nothing. It's only a small rebellion, but jeez, if you hate a place so much, find an independent coffee shop that deserves the business and go there.
Fortunately, I don't have that problem here in Vancouver, where they think they make good coffee but it can't hold a pile of soggy grounds to the average espresso-based drink in almost any shop in Australia. The wife and I bought a hugely expensive Italian machine and we make our own at home. Trouble is, it will take us about 6,000 not-bought-at-a-store coffees to amortize the cost of the thing...
Bukko, obviously you hate Starbucks more than I do, with the crawling over broken glass to get to an independent coffee seller. But c'mon, the reality of it is that most people like going to Starbucks because it is ubiquitous and is synonymous with hipster-status coffee drinking - it is the West Village espresso cafe made accessible and mainstream. Also, most people don't have the option of buying an expensive espresso maker.
I think it is okay to hate a business but still patronize it; this is taking the middle road and being aware of this business's failings as far as their workers and their lack of fair trade offerings, but still acknowledging that they do some things right, like making a spill-proof coffee mug. And I do patronize SB when I don't have change for the Wolfgang Puck coffee machine and when I'm getting gift cards for the teens who slave away at my son's afterschool program; they want to drink coffee at SB and I am not going to take away a small pleasure in their teenage lives because I don't agree with SB's politics or business practices. Yes, I could get them gift cards from the local fair-trade coffee house, but it's not going to be as cool as getting a gift card from SB, and there is just no way around that fact.
There are lots of other coffee chains to hate, too, like Dunkin Donuts, Caribou, McDonalds, 7-11, etc. I'm honestly curious -- is it just Starbucks or others you loathe, too? (Seriously, I have no idea about the politics to hate in coffee. Is it where the beans are grown? That they push out local retailers?
I was thinking about your comment KB and did some internet searching. I think one of the reasons why Starbucks is such a target is because they are ubiquitous and obviously passing off this mainstream hipster style, and the people who work there are mostly college-educated to some degree, so they have more of a worker consciousness to fight for what they think is fair (that's not to say that people with no college education don't do this; this is evident in the comparison I've seen between organizing at Wal-Mart vs. organizing at Starbucks).
I have some links to share and probably I should just make another post, but I want you to know that I'm really thinking about this because it sometimes seems like a knee-jerk reaction to me to just absolutely loathe this company apart from all other the chains like the ones you mentioned above.
Here's a post on from ecoSalon called "9 Reasons to Stay Out of Starbucks" from a year ago; Here's the website for the Starbucks Union with their platform for organizing; A link to the StopStarbucks website which has a petition to the CEO of SB about his efforts to block employee organizing; and finally a link to a Treehugger article about Starbucks' most recent efforts to buy more fair trade coffees.
I'm sure there's stuff I'm missing but the big beefs I've heard over the years is the crappy treatment of their workers and the lack of fair trade offerings. Take it as you will; I think a lot of people will hate Starbucks no matter what. If it is any consolation, the independent coffee seller a few blocks north near the Starbucks closest to my house is going strong.
I don't hate the coffee from Starbucks, I hate the inflated prices!
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