Throughout all the work I’ve
done researching little coffee, I have heard nothing but bad things about
Starbucks. In the coffee world, Starbucks is seen as the symbol of evil. A lot
of people see it as the reason why they have not obtained the level of success
they deserve. I, for one, wholeheartedly disagree with this sentiment.
Starbucks is more successful
than any other coffee chain in the United States and it’s not even close. They
are the standard by which every other coffee company is measured. Rather than
try to measure up to their success, people want to poke at it and call them
evil. I don’t think they’re evil in the slightest.
I've heard the term “McDonaldization”
being used in reference to the impact Starbucks has on coffee. This word is
thrown around when someone thinks that a company has cheapened a product to the
point where it’s acceptable to a massive customer base. You can’t reasonably
use this term to describe Starbucks. Although their product is mass produced,
it still maintains a reasonably high level of quality.
I’m all for little coffee and I
will never stop writing about it. My defense of Starbucks is not a sign that I’m
turning my back on little coffee. It’s merely me commenting on something I’ve
come across on a number of occasions. I have both good and bad feelings about
the coffee colossus. The presence of any criticism in this article is more me
looking at things honestly rather than me trying to be vindictive in my critique.
I’ll admit that I go to
Starbucks from time to time. I order the same thing. I don’t venture outside of
this item because a lot of their other menu items are extremely sugary. I go to
a coffee place to have coffee, not a milkshake. However, these drinks introduce
people to coffee who might not have otherwise picked up a cup of it.
I definitely feel like little
coffee places put more care into their product. They also train their
representatives to give their customers an enjoyable experience. Starbucks
falls short in both of these regards. Instead of shoring up gaps in customer
service, Starbucks seems to remain blissfully unaware of any complaints made
against them.
It all comes down to the
attitude of the person who’s making your coffee. If they are personally
invested in what they’re doing, they will give it an extra touch to ensure that
the customer loves it. Someone who’s making minimum wage will devote the
smallest possible amount of effort possible to produce a satisfactory product.
There are exceptions to this generality, but you have to pay attention to the
motivation level of the person who’s serving you.
I will be the first to say that
Starbucks needs to be more supportive of little coffee. All of the negative
attention they receive would go away if they threw their support behind a
single smaller coffee company. Competition is the name of the game in the
business world. The idea of a big company supporting little ones might seem absurd
and that alone is ridiculous.
You have to consider all the
little coffee companies out there though. Take the number of companies and
multiply it by the potential varieties of coffee. Who knows, maybe Starbucks
will find a coffee blend that's different from anything they have ever carried.
The possibilities for partnerships would be endless in this kind of
arrangement.
Being faced with a juggernaut
like Starbucks should not be seen as a reason for throwing your hands up in
disgust. You should try to engage them and send any sort of proposal their way.
As with propositioning any company, you run the risk of being rejected. You will
never know what Starbucks will say until you talk to them though.
Saying that you hate Starbucks
just because they’re Starbucks is a shortsighted perspective. The role that
they play in the coffee industry is clear. They’re not a competition suppressor
in the same way that Walmart is. There’s still room for so many other shops to
rise to the top of the pile.
Little coffee, before you skewer
me for this article, I ask that you please refrain. My other content clearly
shows that I’m in your corner.
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