Before we begin let me get this out of the way - I own Starbucks stock and drink Starbucks coffee. I don't feel like either of those things matter, but I don't want to be accused of not disclosing information that could prejudice me one way or another.
That being said - here is the problem with Starbucks. Starbucks has done such an incredible job of driving little neighborhood coffee shops out of business that they no longer have a comfortable, enjoyable, and liveable 'third place' to model their brick and mortar shops after. Let me explain - 'third place' is the other place you spend your time when you aren't at home or work - get it? Home is the first place, work is second, and the third place is the local pub, coffee shop, bookstore or what have you that you default to when you aren't working. That's what neighborhood coffee shops have always been and its what made Starbucks so successful. Starbucks modeled itself after the cozy and comfortable neighborhood coffee shops in the Pacific Northwest - places you could go on your day off, run into friends, play games, read, drink a bottomless cup of coffee, or just hang out. That's what made Starbucks a huge success. Then, they added in a foodie touch with gourmet baked goods and 'faux' Italian espresso and sweet coffee drinks. Starbucks became everyone's third place - and then they became the place where people go between the first and second place and they realized that they could make a lot more money selling coffee to people who didn't linger around and fill the place up. They reduced seating, got rid of the cushioned comfy chairs, started focusing on drive through and in grocery store counters and made the tables, chairs, counters, and more uncomfortable. They raised the price of their baked goods and put them in take away packages and started to focus on selling drinks that are almost unrecognizable as 'coffee'. In an effort to bring in new customers - they abandoned the things that had won them their old customers.
I've been to a few Starbucks lately and there was nothing that made me want to stay or hang out. Let's face it, the coffee has never really been that good at Starbucks - it's more or less the same as getting a McDonalds but five times as expensive. If Starbucks is going to succeed in the future - they need to go back to their roots and create a third place again - because otherwise - someone else is going to do it. And then Starbucks will be left to figure out where all their customers have gone...
