In his article,
Starbucks: Wake Up, Smell the Coffee -- Monday, Feb. 26, 2007 -- Page 1 -- TIME Bill Saporito goes on a rant about how bad the closest Starbucks is.
If I may be so bold, Howard, smelling the coffee isn't the problem — it's getting to it. In the 'Bucks nearest my office, I'd venture that two out of five days I don't have the 15 minutes to wait to purchase a simple cup of black coffee. Just coffee. No milk, no sugar, no syrup, no fooling. No way.
My question is ... why do you still go? Saporito continues;
Starbucks began life as a place to get a killer cup of coffee, espresso or cappuccino. A commodity turned into an art form. Great idea. Liquid bliss. But now it's an overcrowded, underdesigned mess. Even McDonald's coffee has been rated higher than Starbucks by Consumer Reports.
Saporito suggests to Starbucks Founder Howard Schults, that the additional products aside from their coffee is what is hurting the atmosphere.
I'd love to wake up and smell the coffee, Howard, but I can't. Because 17 people are always in line in front of me, each ordering a grande two shots nonfat no whipped cream extra hot dolce cinnamon latte from the pike position, an egg florentine, a croissant, a Sheryl Crow CD and a half-pound of Guatemala Casi Cielo.
It seems to me that these don't matter. You complain about the lines, the wait and the over-abundance of product selection, and yet you still go. To me, if all of this is wrong, and you even report in your column that McDonald's coffees is better, why aren't you ditching Starbucks and going to the golden arches?
