Thread: Challenge to Starbucks

MtD I can't honestly believe you consider Thai coffee to be superior to coffee from Kenya or Colombia. You'll be telling us about the merits of Thai whisky next.

"Kopi Luwak sells for $75 per quarter pound."

That isn't Starbucks, it's Megabucks. Having read the article I think I'll pass.

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

MtD I can't honestly believe you consider Thai coffee to be superior to coffee from Kenya or Colombia.

It's not.

I can't believe that you don't understand that I am saying that Starbuck's coffee is shite. It doesn't matter where the coffee is grown, they still manage to turn it into a cup of hot blandness.

The bloke on the corner of the street with his little bag filter and tin of condensed milk should be hired by Starbucks to show then how to make a decent cup.

^ Yeppers. Get the donut lady there, too. There's an SB at our grocery store. Fek, SB wanted $3 for a cookie. I went to the bakery and got one for $0.79.

I don't like Starbucks for two reasons -- it's way overpriced. And there's always a bunch of gay, poser, tech geeks slouching around with laptops and bluetooths, gesturing overboard and playing with their hair.

The best coffee for my dollar is at Dunkin Donuts. One or two flavors, always the same, always cheap and always good.

Originally Posted by Texpat

The best coffee for my dollar is at Dunkin Donuts.

There's no hope for some people...

OK then all you coffee snobs on here.... What's the best 'chain' place for a decent coffee in Thailand?...

Anybody like Black Canyon?....

Originally Posted by Texpat

I don't like Starbucks for two reasons -- it's way overpriced. And there's always a bunch of gay, poser, tech geeks slouching around with laptops and bluetooths, gesturing overboard and playing with their hair.

The best coffee for my dollar is at Dunkin Donuts. One or two flavors, always the same, always cheap and always good.

Its the same everywhere, SB's attracts the poseurs but the ones in bangkok are the worst, bunch of plastic people trying to out pose each other.
On sunday mornings, the sight of these people trying to fight to get a space to park their BM's right outside SB at Thonglor is pathetic.

^ Not much with Black Canyon, although they forget to make the coffee hot sometimes, I tell them nicely and they redo it, Foods OK there too.

Originally Posted by rawlins

What's the best 'chain' place for a decent coffee in Thailand?

That's a bit like asking what's the best American car. They're all shit, but I suppose Black Canyon is the least shite out of all of them.

And as the dirty old man said, the food ain't too bad.

^
Marmite, you jest. Black Canyon?

Lordy. You must like a long wait for your instant coffee. I do like their little letter shaped biscuits though. They do make a good iced lemon tea but even that can take 20 minutes.

Nescafe is OK

Like Starbucks or not, it's hard to argue with success. No other coffee chain is even close to them. Unfortunately, they'll not be seeing any of my money.

***

"Books about Starbucks don’t come in as many flavors as the company’s beverages, but busy authors are closing the gap. With four titles either recently published or set to be published this spring, bookstores will carry at least eight books about the Seattle coffee chain. Each purports to reveal why Starbucks is one of the fastest-growing companies in recent years, tells you how to invest in the next Starbucks or turn your company into the next Starbucks, or simply marvels at the genius of Howard Schultz, the Starbucks chair whose own book, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, appeared in 1997.

What can you learn from the books? Starbucks’ story is endlessly fascinating because of the unusual way the company has built a global chain and a global brand, explains Joseph Michelli, a Colorado Springs, Colorado, consultant and author of The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary.

“Unlike McDonald’s, which is a franchise, [Starbucks] retained ownership through corporate-owned locations,” Michelli says. “And unlike traditional marketing where you’d use a lot of ad dollars, the brand has leveraged itself without advertising.”

Brand building without huge ad spending and growth without the loss of control that franchising can bring are ideas that interest many entrepreneurs. A big dream is another one, and Michael T. Moe, CEO of ThinkEquity Partners in San Francisco and author of Finding the Next Starbucks: How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow, says Starbucks’ early leaders were also distinguished by their exceptionally highflying entrepreneurial visions. “Aspirationally, it was always huge,” he explains.

If there is one thing that everybody who studies Starbucks agrees on, it’s that the company gets a large portion of its strength from the way it provides employees with a great place to work. “What Starbucks does magnificently well is treat employees not as pawns, but as partners,” says John Moore, an Austin, Texas, marketing consultant, former Starbucks marketer and author of Tribal Knowledge: Business Wisdom Brewed From the Grounds of Starbucks. “They spend as much time and as many dollars trying to speak to employees as they do trying to speak to customers.”


There are limits to the Starbucks lesson. The window of opportunity may no longer be open to start your own coffee bar and expect to grow it to the size of Starbucks. And not everything Starbucks touched has turned to gold. The stories about its failed ventures into magazine publishing and full-service dining are as instructive as its successes.

But the experts agree it’s not too late to winnow some useful concepts from the experiences of Schultz and company, particularly when it comes to the value of the high-quality products, top-shelf employee relations and high-quality customer experiences that frame its mission. And if you read all the books and distill them into a single idea, it’s that almost any effort made to create happy and motivated employees creates happy and loyal customers. Says Moore, “That’s something all businesses can learn from.”

The Starbucks Business Model

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

Marmite, you jest. Black Canyon?

This thread really gives you comprehension problems doesn't it?

^
Yep a real inability to figure why anyone would sit an chew away at little biscuits for 20 minutes just for a cup of something resembling Nescafe.

Wonder if Howard is related to the famous Charles.

Originally Posted by Texpat

Like Starbucks or not, it's hard to argue with success. No other coffee chain is even close to them. Unfortunately, they'll not be seeing any of my money.

***

"Books about Starbucks don’t come in as many flavors as the company’s beverages, but busy authors are closing the gap. With four titles either recently published or set to be published this spring, bookstores will carry at least eight books about the Seattle coffee chain. Each purports to reveal why Starbucks is one of the fastest-growing companies in recent years, tells you how to invest in the next Starbucks or turn your company into the next Starbucks, or simply marvels at the genius of Howard Schultz, the Starbucks chair whose own book, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, appeared in 1997.

What can you learn from the books? Starbucks’ story is endlessly fascinating because of the unusual way the company has built a global chain and a global brand, explains Joseph Michelli, a Colorado Springs, Colorado, consultant and author of The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary.

“Unlike McDonald’s, which is a franchise, [Starbucks] retained ownership through corporate-owned locations,” Michelli says. “And unlike traditional marketing where you’d use a lot of ad dollars, the brand has leveraged itself without advertising.”

Brand building without huge ad spending and growth without the loss of control that franchising can bring are ideas that interest many entrepreneurs. A big dream is another one, and Michael T. Moe, CEO of ThinkEquity Partners in San Francisco and author of Finding the Next Starbucks: How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow, says Starbucks’ early leaders were also distinguished by their exceptionally highflying entrepreneurial visions. “Aspirationally, it was always huge,” he explains.

If there is one thing that everybody who studies Starbucks agrees on, it’s that the company gets a large portion of its strength from the way it provides employees with a great place to work. “What Starbucks does magnificently well is treat employees not as pawns, but as partners,” says John Moore, an Austin, Texas, marketing consultant, former Starbucks marketer and author of Tribal Knowledge: Business Wisdom Brewed From the Grounds of Starbucks. “They spend as much time and as many dollars trying to speak to employees as they do trying to speak to customers.”


There are limits to the Starbucks lesson. The window of opportunity may no longer be open to start your own coffee bar and expect to grow it to the size of Starbucks. And not everything Starbucks touched has turned to gold. The stories about its failed ventures into magazine publishing and full-service dining are as instructive as its successes.

But the experts agree it’s not too late to winnow some useful concepts from the experiences of Schultz and company, particularly when it comes to the value of the high-quality products, top-shelf employee relations and high-quality customer experiences that frame its mission. And if you read all the books and distill them into a single idea, it’s that almost any effort made to create happy and motivated employees creates happy and loyal customers. Says Moore, “That’s something all businesses can learn from.”

The Starbucks Business Model

I heard Howard Schultz is back in the riders seat. Stocks have dropped by 50% since last year. This is a good time to look into buying stock in this company. Coffee drinker or not I believe most people like money.

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Originally Posted by Texpat

The best coffee for my dollar is at Dunkin Donuts.

There's no hope for some people...

Hmmm, but their donuts are lovely. Just once a year mind.

By The Wall Street Journal
23 Jan 08

Starbucks, the company that popularized the $4 cup of coffee, is testing a $1 cup and free refills of some of its offerings.

The Seattle coffee giant is experimenting with selling the $1 "short" brew in its hometown area, spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil confirmed.

The 8-ounce short size isn't on Starbucks' menu but has long been ordered by in-the-know patrons. Typically, a short brewed coffee would sell for about $1.50, although that can vary by several cents depending on the store.
Starbucks is also testing the offer of free refills for traditional brewed coffee in the Seattle area.

O'Neil wouldn't elaborate on the specifics of the tests or say how many stores are offering it. She said the tests aren't indicative of any new business strategy.
The $1 test undercuts even low-cost coffee purveyors, including McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, whose coffees generally start in the low $1-plus range.
Although most sit-down restaurants top off customers' coffee free, specialty cafes have largely stayed away from the practice.

***

Now we're talkin. If they could just get rid of the greesy creeps with skanky beards and dopey face piercings.

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

MtD Starbucks sells coffee from all around the world, including America, Africa and South-east Asia. If they don't stock Thai coffee then there is a commercial reason. People don't want to drink the stuff.

Only thing about that is,, There is no coffee grown in the USA, it is all imported.

Originally Posted by blackgang

There is no coffee grown in the USA, it is all imported.

Yes, from America, Africa and SE Asia.

Originally Posted by The_Dude

The move is part of the fast-food chain's continued effort to challenge Starbucks.

Why does McDonalds need to Challenge Starbucks?

It is a greed thing or an insecurity thing?

Perhaps Honda would be interested in saying "My daddy's bigger than your daddy" to Cadbury, the chocolate company.

Jeez, let Starbucks do their thing (ripping people off and mass producing beverages with fancy names) - and you concentrate on creating burgers from offal and sugar and naming them with your insipid and tiresome prefix.

Fucking McDonalds, scum of the earth.

Originally Posted by blackgang

Originally Posted by Thormaturge MtD Starbucks sells coffee from all around the world, including America,

Originally Posted by blackgang

Only thing about that is,, There is no coffee grown in the USA, it is all imported.

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Yes, from America, Africa and SE Asia.

Yes, Central America, and South America,, but still none grown in North America or USA.

If you people are so smart on maps and geography, why can't you differentiate between the Americas??

We do, did you notice USA.

Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

Fucking McDonalds, scum of the earth.

Just can't get over them running your ass off after a trial period of one week, can you..

Originally Posted by blackgang

why can't you differentiate between the Americas?

We can. We just like being pedantic.