Jeff from PA

Where Starbucks Went Wrong

One unfortunate thing was that as much as I hated the new automatic machine, it was a necessary evil. The motion of pulling the espresso shot was causing too many injuries, especially having to do it 6 times for one drink. In my store alone, out of 20 people, 6 at some point had wrist problems that they needed medical treatment for. We would make sure that no one spent more than an hour in a row pulling shots, but I know my wrists were still sore after a shift. So the new machines, although they do take some of the Romance out, were necessary.

The biggest thing that I think took the romance out for me was the drive-thru. It took away Starbucks main commodity - the idea of it being a third place (home, work, Starbucks). When I first started, we were told that was more important than the coffee - how can you keep that atmosphere with a drive thru? Of course, the drive thru was too tempting on the business end - our weekly profits doubled! But, as I could no longer have a conversation with the customer up front because I was talking to someone coming up the drive, I knew that something had changed. In my mind - that was the main failure of Starbucks - it not being a third place anymore.

A second aspect of this was their attempt to charge for wireless service. Why pay for something that you can get at an independent store for free? And what would make a third place better, then it being a third place where you could hop on the internet? Next to the drive-thru, this was their second biggest mistake.

Now, I have moved to a small town, found an amazing local coffee shop and even met my wife there. Now, people may say that the coffee is not as good, but I argue - when was the last time that you had a coffee from Starbucks where the bean had been roasted 24 hours ago? At Starbucks, it is often six months or more - now I have beans no more than 2 or 3 days after roasting, usually within 24 hours - and there is nothing like it.

So, when Starbucks moved into town, i stuck with the local place - especially because they had a drive-thru! I will say, I do respect them as a company a lot - they treat their workers well, good benefits, and do a lot of charity work. But, when i worked for them, I never saw them as a company, now I definitely do... Which is where they went wrong.