Ah, Starbucks. I have a love/hate affair with Starbucks. I love its deliciously comforting beverages, but I hate that I'm paying $5 for what is essentially a cup of coffee. Nonetheless, I am a frequent Starbucks customer and a fan. But after reading Taylor Clark's Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture, I've started thinking a little more critically about this business that passes itself off as a virtuous, enlightened community establishment.
My favorite line from the movie Best in Show is from the yuppie couple: "We met at Starbucks. Not at the same Starbucks, but we saw each other at different Starbucks across the street from each other." It turns out that is actually true. When Howard Schultz bought the fledgling coffee company, the most profitable cafe was located at a busy intersection and was so busy that the lines were endless. To everyone's surprise, Schultz opened another Starbucks across the street. It quickly became the second-best performing store in the chain. These clusters are now quite common.
Clark traces the beginnings of Starbucks and its rise to fame and fortune and explores the ways that it has insinuated itself into our culture and convinced us that it's a good thing. Think about it: how is Starbucks really any different from Wal-Mart, or even McDonalds? All three are enormous chains that are responsible for putting local businesses out of business and homogenizing our country. All have been accused of exploiting its workers, as well as the producers of the products they sell. Many people refuse to shop at Wal-Mart, or at least feel guilty when they do. Many people also try to avoid fast food chains like McDonalds. Or at least they don't brag about eating there. But there doesn't seem to be the same stigma attached to Starbucks. How do they do that? The history of the company is interesting, but Clark's examination of the negative aspects of Starbucks and his refusal to be swayed by the caffeinated temptress makes good food (ha!) for thought.
Love it:
"Thinking of the coffeehouse as a haven for intellectual discourse is difficult when the one in question operates thousands of clones, wants to sell you the latest Coldplay album, and serves five-dollar milkshakes for adults."
1 comment:
The company has (had) a great reputation in the theatre world, esp in Chicago, mainly because of the ability to get medical benefits and work weird hours and shifts. I never heard anything from any actor who worked there – and they LOVE to hire actors and artists because of personality factor – that the environment was anything like Walmart’s.
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