Starbucks is looking to rebound from dismal sales in the U.S. as more consumers cut back on spending in the deepening recession. In its fiscal first quarter report last week, same-store sales — a key indicator of a retailer's performance — dropped 10 percent. That's worse than the 8 percent decline in the fiscal fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, McDonald's has been touting its "recession resistance."
"While we clearly prefer a more robust environment, today's market conditions play to our strengths," Chief Executive Jim Skinner said on a conference call, adding that its customers "are feeling the pinch almost everywhere else."
Are you into this idea?
Value meal at Starbucks, coming up. But will it tempt enough recession-weary drinkers? [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo:sunligarg)
Breakfast pastries are fresh every morning from a local pastry distributor. Afternoon pastries are also delivered every morning, but afternoon pastries have a 2 day shelf life: the coffee cakes depending on flavor can be fresh up to 3 days. If stored properly, even afternoon pastries remain fresh like the first day. Any pastry past its life date is donated to charity organizations.
]]>Actually they did follow your advice. Starbucks walks the thin line of wanting to have their stores smell like coffee than sandwiches. It turns out the sandwich that made the smell was taken off the menu (the remaining sandwiches are fine and don't permeate).
The coffee which a large portion of folks think is burnt, isn't. It's brewed fresh (oil on the bean isn't dried) and only sits on the brewer for 1 hour; after that, it's dumped and brewed again.
This is the reason why decaf was pulled after 12 noon (which before was suppose to pulled by 2pm) to save wasted decaf because only 1% if that purchase it.
Now, coffee on brew must be ground fresh from whole bean, than more the traditional vacuum sealed bags, which ironically is the same freshness. It's cognitive dissonance: if you see it ground fresh, you perceive it as fresh (even though it was already fresh).
As I was a Starbucks coffeemaster in my store, I tasted Starbucks against every single market brand. The only coffee that beats Starbucks is Tully's. Peet's Coffee is a different category because they roast their beans a dark full city, so if you think SB is 'burnt' than Peets is charcoal.
I have to assume you think coffee is suppose to be sweet. In actuality, that 'burnt' taste you think you taste is actually earthy tones in the coffee - that's how coffee SHOULD taste to the specified roast: 'full city roast.'
The only time SB is shit is when worthless employees leave the coffee past 1 hour on the brewer. That is negligence and I'd smack them with a spatula.
]]>@lonestarbl: I wasn't aware that DD didn't treat its employees well. I've always been impressed by how many DDs near me seemed to be owned and operated by South Asian immigrants; apparently they are cheap and easy to start up and many first-generation Americans have quite nice lives thanks to DD. Which makes me then ask: Aren't they franchises and so employee treatment depends more on the individual franchisee? Oh, and the DD egg white flatbreads are cheap, tasty, and twice as big as the English muffin sandwiches at Starbucks.
I like Starbucks, even. I could just never eat/drink there every day. I eat cereal or oatmeal and brew coffee at home.
]]>Once, in Portland, OR, the blueberry scones actually had fresh blueberries in them.
]]>@ShirtNinja: \
Timmy Ho's isn't coffee. It's nuclear-caffeinated volcano-hot brown water.
McDonald's has surprisingly good coffee since they started their "premium coffee" dealio. Try it.
]]>@Hank Scorpio: @IT-Chick: If Dunkin' Donuts is a mile down the road and Starbucks is across the street, I'm walkin' a mile for my coffee. I don't care if I had a broken leg, regular Starbucks coffee is undrinkable.
]]>@CaptainSemantics: Mmmmm, their breakfast sandwiches are good. I had a wrap that had avocado in it. Delicious....
]]>I got to Starbucks twice a day to purchase a $5.00 latte. You would think Starbucks would be happy to have me.
I am not going to wait in line for 20 minutes while the three fatties in front of me order their "Sausage, egg, bacon and cheese scones".
]]>@downwithmonstercable: I have to strongly disagree. Those little pastries and shit are so full of FAT and SUGAR and all that gross shit.
I actually expected them to be MUCH better since its fucking Starbucks.
]]>Just another salvo in the QSR (quick serve restaurants) wars.
]]>We have a Starbucks around the corner from my home. It would be a likely meeting spot for study groups, volunteer groups -- groups of all sorts, really, and my particular group of about 10 would love to meet there regularly except that not everyone in our group drinks coffee and they do not offer alternative drinks (like Coke/Diet Coke). Because they can't put a few cans of soda into a fridge, they're missing out on the business of 8 coffee drinkers and 2 soda drinkers. I know that they are a coffee shop and that should be their focus, but no one wants to sit drinkless in a coffee shop for an hour, and not providing adequate drink options in what is essnetially a "drink store" is shortsighted. We meet at a coffee shop further down the street (also a chain...we have no homegrown options nearby) where everyone can get something to drink during the meeting.
]]>@Gann: @NYGal81: Pretty much, yeah.
I didn't mind paying for the yogurt thing this morning. I was hungry and in a hurry. But it made me notice that the items Starbucks offers aren't particularly special or compelling enough to make me go out of my way to get breakfast from there, especially when you add in the price.
To be clear: sometimes, yes, you pay for convenience, like I did this morning. However, on a regular day, I realized that I could just as easily make an equivalent item cheaply and easily at home, which means that I have no compelling reason to go out of my way to eat at Starbucks on a regular basis.
]]>I wonder if they have to keep the place super-heated to make the employees comfortable?
]]>@goodcow: This isn't about their ethics structure, this is about what will (and won't) sell to the common patron. If it was all about how companies treat their employees across the board... Nike would have been out of business in the 80's. This is about supply and demand in its most simple form.
When it comes to John Q Public, $3 for breakfast rings the bell when compared to paying twice the price.
]]>Ah, screw it, I'm getting one tomorrow morning.
]]>(Only one SB in each - and I'm not even sure they were there when we were 3 1/2 years ago.)
]]>Join my Facebook group!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=12755462123&ref=ts
]]>indeed!
]]>It's like mud!
]]>Do I really need to be explaining this to you?
]]>@Plates: Well, there is that one barista...
]]>@CaptainSemantics: Yeah - I don't drink coffee and the gift card that my boss gave the underlings went towards creating my addiction to those things. The pepper bacon is the best, but even the low-fat bacon is pretty good.
]]>So, your point is...wake up 5 minutes earlier and save yourself $3 rather than get reamed by overpriced crap, because you just paid $4 for yogurt due to a logo on the side?
]]>I'm willing to pay more to support Starbuck's corporate culture.
]]>@BuddyGuyMontag: BSG FTW!
]]>Their food? Not so much. I do like their sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, but that's about it.
Besides, there are usually bugs flying around in the pastry cases in then starbucks I've been to in at least 6 cities in the US
]]>@crazyasianman: I was specifically thinking about their butterhorns. So good...but they're like $1.50 or something and are gone in literally like two bites.
]]>I don't think anyone here is daft enough to really think that the overhead of running a restaurant doesn't exist, and that everything purchased in a restaurant should be the same price as if you bought it at the store.
]]>I'm also a fan of the McD's Iced Vanilla Coffee. It's huge, costs less than $3, and I'm pretty sure they use half-and-half as a matter of course, unless you specify otherwise. The fatty mouth feel is divine.
DD's is one of the worst for me. Maybe I've just gotten a bad cup here and there, but it tastes mostly bitter to me...the kind of bitter than gives me the shivers just thinking about it.
]]>Also, best coffee I ever had was a cappuccino at the Illy Cafe down the street from said hotel.
]]>You don't read the comments every time a story about any restaurant food ever comes up here, do you? If you did, you'd have already gone insane from repeating what you've said about why people eat at restaurants over and over and over and over ...
]]>Either way: Brilliant! Who wants to be the first lucky investor in my business plan?
]]>Attractive pricing in the eye of Starbucks Corporate, is likely VERY different from that which is attractive to the public.
McD's/Dunkin you can get "food" and drink for about $3... I'd be willing to guess StarBees is at least $1-3 more, which adds up to a lot of cash if that is a daily pickup
]]>Does a Starbuck value meal means a Starbuck's Six Boomer sandwich? If so, I'm in.
/a little seelix on the side please
//I'll run off the calories at a Racetrack
]]>@Ash78: I can't wait for my 2000 calorie venti mocha bacon biscotti!
]]>@Hank Scorpio: Yeah, it can't hold a candle to Panera bread. Cheap and unlimited refills.
The really amazing thing was seeing the many Starbucks in England (and the Continent). They generally have more of a culture than eschews "filter coffee" in favor of cappuccinos and espressos. So when you get a regular coffee over there, not only do you pay about $5 for it, but it tastes downright horrible.
]]>Um, but you weren't at home. It's the same with a hamburger. Cheap when you make it, more expensive when somebody else makes it, and then serves it in a for-profit business they're paying rent to be in.
Do I really need to be explaining this to you?
]]>I actually don't mind McDonald's coffee, but prefer Dunkin Donuts. Seems a lot of places that sell coffee started going for that "Starbucks Taste" so they're all nasty now.
]]>@Ash78:
Ha, you are lucky to make it until 10am, especially if you have the coffee.
]]>certainly not that two bites worth of Piadini sandwich thing for almost four bucks
]]>McDonald's customers "are feeling the pinch almost everywhere else."
Especially in the bathroom around 11am.
I think Starbucks should have done this a while back. Lots of people already snack there in the morning and call it breakfast. Might as well add some real nourishment.
]]>Their chai isn't too bad though, but I'm not paying $5 for it every bloody day.
]]>Starbucks coffee tastes burnt. 61% (14 votes)
Everyone says I'm crazy. I love you consumerism!
]]>Starbucks food is good, but it's expensive. I wonder what their idea of attractive pricing is.
]]>