Comments on: Is this a Starbucks or not?

By: Free Fall

Free Fall — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:47:07 +0000

Waxwing, the Adbusters NO STARBUCKS campaign is futile and meaningless. Why pick on Starbucks? It’s a homegrown success story – we should be proud of that success as consumers. If you get big enough, I guess you make a better target.

Love the Ethical Nag essays – always something to get the juices (or the coffee) flowing!

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By: Waxwing

Waxwing — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:48:59 +0000

Starbucks is not the enemy here. They employ local people, serve good coffee, and even offer benefits to part-time workers, something that small mom & pop coffee shops do not. But this corporate decision to pretend to be an indie is a bad one, just one of many bad decisions that the head of the company has listed here. Adbusters has been running a NO STARBUCKS campaign – check it out.

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By: Mozza

Mozza — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 03:40:30 +0000

An important point, Java Guy:

“… serve only organic, shade-grown, fair trade coffee beans – something that Starbucks has NOT chosen to get fully on board with yet..”

Think of the huge impact on the coffee growing industry that a global player like Starbucks could have made by now had they taken a gutsy stand on these three requirements from Day One?

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By: Java Guy

Java Guy — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 07:14:37 +0000

I visit my local Starbucks store every morning. I like Starbucks coffee. I like the employees who are unfailingly polite, efficient and friendly. I like the fact that no matter where I travel (even in Beijing recently) there will be a Starbucks nearby with the reliably good quality coffee I expect from the chain.

That’s why it shocks me to learn of this clearly sneaky strategy to hide the fact that this new place in Seattle is in fact a Starbucks store. What the !@@$%!!??? Hiding the true ownership merely feeds into the anti-mega-chain sentiment that many people experience.

The strategy in fact backfires for loyal customers like me. I prefer to patronize honest retailers – so no more Starbucks for me (at least knowingly – unless they’ve also taken over my #2 choice, the small neighbourhood independent near my subway stop!) I hope not, one thing I really do like about the #2 choice is that they serve only organic, shade-grown, fair trade coffee beans – something that Starbucks has NOT chosen to get fully on board with yet.

Thanks a lot, Carolyn – quite an eye-opener about the secret world of marketing.

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By: Business Plan

Business Plan — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:00:44 +0000

We have included a link to this article from our website: Is this a Starbucks or not? The Ethical Nag […]

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By: Craig in Tacoma

Craig in Tacoma — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:46:18 +0000

Personally, I love going to Starbucks and always have. They pride themselves on serving good coffee – which is all I ask. I have been to many of these ‘mom & pop’ indies over the years, and the quality/service/decor can sometimes be hit and miss.

Trashing Starbucks is becoming an anti-trendy thing to do.

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By: Alisha

Alisha — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:54:36 +0000

This makes me wonder about ALL small independent-looking mom & pop coffee houses I walk into. You have to read the very very very fine print – or ask questions! – to figure out if they are just mega corporate coffee masquerading as the kind of local small business we like to patronize.

Thanks for this.

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By: Sleepless in You Know Where

Sleepless in You Know Where — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:00:54 +0000

Yep, you’re right. When we went down to check this out after reading your article here, we wouldn’t have known this was a Starbucks unless we’d read your piece first. We felt compelled to inform every patron there about who actually runs the place. Customers are patronizing this coffee house precisely BECAUSE they prefer to support the ‘mom & pop’ places, NOT a big multi-national.

Who are they trying to fool? US, the public that’s who. This is a good example of sleazy marketing. It just shows how important it is to do your homework if you value ethical business practices.

Thanks for letting us know. We are new subscribers to your site – excellent work, well done.

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