Comments on: Starbucks has Jumped the Shark

By: Ro

Ro — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:22:46 +0000

I go to Starbucks as a treat. Coffee’s good, atmosphere is nice, people are friendly, but going there every day takes the “special” out of it. I spent the money I would have spent there on a good coffee maker instead. (Of course, I don’t have puppies that lead me there either!)

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:21:41 +0000

Yes, I have cut back on Starbucks and it’s calories that did it for me, too. I get my coffee at home, just the way I like it, but I sometimes have a real craving for Starbucks’ Green Tea Frappucino. For a while, I would get one every time I was in the local supermarket. Since we don’t do regular grocery shopping, I was in there five to ten times a week.

Was just at the supermarket and successfully passed it by yet again. I’d prefer to eat real food for the 400 calories I’d waste on that frappucino.

And hell, what IS that stuff, anyway?

By: David LaPlante

David LaPlante — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:12:44 +0000

A massive *$’s roasting plant is here south of Reno…by way of friends rumor is that *$’s coffee is much higher in caffeine therefore that much more addicting.

I like going to *$’s about as much as I like visiting McD’s. It’s not so much about the coffee, but the people you get to hang out with when you visit there.

I look at it from the perspective of identity derivation. The local coffee shop derives its brand identity from the people that frequent it. The reverse is more often true for *$’s now. Some people really need to hold that logo’d cup.

McDonalds makes some people — especially kids — feel good. So does *$’s. Great brands for many…but not for some.

By: francine hardaway

francine hardaway — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:45:50 +0000

So now we have four data points, which probably add up to very little, but I think I will ask the blogosphere :-)

By: francine hardaway

francine hardaway — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:45:05 +0000

So now we have four data points, which probably add up to very little, but I think I will ask the blogosphere :-)

By: Linda VandeVrede

Linda VandeVrede — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:08:28 +0000

And here I thought I was the only one cutting back on Starbucks…yes, it does add up. I still like going there for meetings, however.

By: Todd Van Hoosear

Todd Van Hoosear — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:40:55 +0000

Look at what happened to KrispyKreme (I’m still reeling from that). Timed their big expansion to the carb craze. Starbucks could face a similar problem as we look at a slowdown in the economy: they ARE a luxury item–you can make coffee (even Starbucks coffee) at home.

By: Paloma Cruz

Paloma Cruz — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:18:16 +0000

Starbucks is one of the things I had to cut back on when I started to budget earlier this year. I tracked exactly how much I spend over a few months and was shocked to find out how much I spend on that one personal luxury. Starbucks is, alas, no longer part of my daily routine.