yes, starbucks has lost it! only because the quality of its coffee has gone really bad. its not what it used to be. now, costa and nero are much better than starbucks.

Starbucks never had a soul.

Yes they have lost their sole… The automatic machine here at Legacy produces swill. McDonalds makes a better coffee.

I think Starbucks has reached a peak and has to now think how it can prepare for the future. It shouldn’t lose its personal touch, but may have to prune back somethings in order to make room for other touches that will engender more meaning for its customers.

Starbuck came to the fore of coffehouses without people realizing that the original business model included buying the over-roasted (burnt) beans that were otherwise unsaleable. Via brilliant marketing the coffee drinking public was convinced that this was how good coffee should taste! So… to me all Starbucks ever had (with the exception of the profitability of its stock) was it ambiance. If that has truly been lost, it may be devastating for the chain.

Oh yes…the difference in the employee attitudes and talent is vasting different from the early days of Starbuck’s. In the early days, there was an good amount of pride taken in making a good coffee drink, a fun attitude, cheeriness, etc.
Here’s a concept for you and other mega chain stores–instead of being a thousand miles wide and one foot deep, how about creating a company that’s a thousand miles deep? Emphasize true customer care, friendliness, community building (how about putting community tables in some of your stores?), real quality (can be some individualized stores but with the same top level of quality throughout the chain), some softness in the design of the stores–some are metal and stone and are very cold. and on I could go…enough.

It’s funny - we were visiting Seattle recently, and a tour book described the “first” Starbucks store as a purist’s coffee experience. “You won’t find mugs and CDs for sale here,” the book said, “just the coffee that made Starbucks famous.” We happened to be in the area one day, so we checked it out.

It was primarily a gift shop.

And don’t get me started on last year, when I was visiting the Forbidden City, in Beijing, China — and found a Starbucks inside the Forbidden City. Now THAT should be forbidden.

starbucks had soul? when? I thought that was sold off a long time ago when it bacame reasonable to pay 6 dollar for a cup of coffee. to be honest I prefer the normal coffee i can get at home or a gas station a lil milk 2- 3 sugars and I’m good. But then i don’t see the need for alot of unneccessary thing other people over pay for, its not that i can’t afford it, just have better things to spend my money on.

I think that starbucks is more, “Hurry” than coffee shop nowadays. before you could go to a starbucks and sit down with friends and look at e-mail, but now there are some that dont even have sitting areas, and the selections of take home and brew coffees is dwindlig also

Humans have souls, not coffee shops, all I care about is the ability to quickly and cheaply get a cup of coffee and be on my way. What I don’t need is a $4.00 cup of coffee to make me feel important.

Thanks McDonald’s!

As a resident in the Northwest I was saddened by the loss of our Coffee People when Starbucks bought them out. I find that while Starbucks is everywhere it no longer has the neighborhood feeling to it. I used to be able to walk one block for my over-caffination and now if I want espresso I have to walk into the Starbucks in Target… They really need to step back to see where they have gone wrong.

I used to have no issue regularly spending $5 on a coffee since I knew the barista would ensure its perfection and I enjoyed the soothing environment. The coffee quality has deteriorated and so has the service. The days when I would spend a leisurely hour there, sipping my drink and picking up dog biscuits are certainly gone.

I will stick to my Tim Hortons thank you very much, too much money for not very good coffee at Starbucks, but they do make a good Chai Latte.

Starbucks has been revolutionary in that it created spaces (some would say the 3rd space) where people can gather and connect with one another over a drink that stimulates and is condusive to thought provoking discussion. I do fear that it’s rapid expansion has left it looking more “cookie cutter” and has led to declining quality. I love the fact that I can go almost anywhere and enjoy a Starbucks coffee, but the driving force of their success was createing spaces for connection. I now look for neighborhood coffee houses that cater to what Starbucks started out providing: a high quality coffee, made with pride and delivered with a smile and quick chat with the barista.

Yeah, I have to say it never had a soul, not here anyway (TX). Just a coffee chain w/ long lines. 7-11 has better coffee now and it’s faster to get it there. Some starbucks used to have a nice feel but those seem very busy now, w/ wifi laptop users scattered everywhere and busy clerks. Maybe something to do w/ them becoming an office away from home.

I only go to Starbucks if I’ve been given a gift card. Otherwise I always prefer an independent, non-chain coffee shop. I guess the fact that I’ve worked as a Barista (without an automatic machine) sort of biases me too.

Starbucks killed the true essence of a Barista, when they decided to make espresso with a push button machine. Not everyone can be a good Barista, but any idiot can push a button.

Mrs Plumber had a soul, and taught fourth grade, If I had never met her, adding up 7 and 5 would have been beyond me.

Starbucks is a Coffee Shop, very good, very pricey coffee shop.

I recall a day in my youth when the price of coffee included a folk singer or poetry readings, and the coffee shop was a night out for the under drinking age crowd. I think the Purple Onion was one of those. Well we grew older and switched to Rum and Coca Cola, and the Purple Onion gave up the ghost.

If Dunkin Donuts would put in comfortable chairs, lower the lights a little and provide Internet connections they too could have the same soul Starbucks has, had and may in the future consign to the Heaven or Hell of oversized over sold francises.

You can find their products at Costco, so yes.

In a very small town where I live there are 6 starbucks. One is in the process of being built right smack dab next to the family friendly coffee shop I go to. I have no doubt in my mind that they are going to ‘attempt’ to put them out of business. Starbucks is just another sad example of what a money hungry corporation will do at any expense. Believe it or not, it’s another fine example of evil in our world.

Remember when Starbucks went through a mass increase in prices to ensure even part time employees got health benefits?

The “soul” is still there. But bottom line, it’s always been a business. You can’t grow big while trying to stay small. You make concessions. Automatic machines help wait time, which makes consumers happy. We all shell out $4 a pop for something we could potentially make at home. It’s cultural. And culture, no matter how shallow or bland, always has a soul.

Well, the automatic expresso machine cut down dramatically on repetitive motion injuries. I would think that would be more important than nostalgia or hipness.

It probably isn’t cool to love Starbucks, but the service is better and the people friendlier than the ‘local’ coffeeshops I’ve gone to, which tend to be a little too hip and snobbish. They also are more knowledgeable, receiving a whole bunch of coffee-related training (at least at the corporate-owned, non-licensed stores).

The baristas, like my fiance’, also get great benefits, including comprehensive health insurance working only 20 hours a week and after about 2 months. When my fiance’, who has had serious health issues including acute lymphoblastic anemia, needed a job with health insurance in a hurry, Starbucks got her that. Most local coffeeshops can’t claim that. So, that will always bias me for them.

Now, she is interested in pursuing ‘corporate social responsibility’ as a career path. Starbucks does do a lot of good things, if you care to look.

Starbucks is facing a value issue. With their rapid expansion, and constant price increases, a latte is over $3. The service is not great. I have a 40% chance of getting my order wrong. So I order, pay my $3 and then find out they didn’t put the whip creme on, they forgot the extra shot. They forgot the toffee nut flavor, they forgot to make it extra hot, they give it to me without the sleve so I burn my hand. PREMIUM PRICES DEMAND PREMIUM SERVICE, Not Walmart Service.

With more armchairs and sofas, CLEAN high chairs for kids, empty trashcans, crumb-free seating and a big push for environmental friendliness with discounts for people who bring in their own cups, I reckon Starbucks could win me back. As it is I avoid it. I am a European living in the Washington area and have yet to find a coffee spot that really qualifies as a “cafe,” at least not one where comfort and cleanliness, basic requirements of any cafe, rank alongside product as essential elements. I would certainly not expect to find that kind of atmosphere at a chain store so I suggest the executives quit dreaming about soul and start worrying about consumer experience.

Iwas a regular customer at the very first Starbucks and, the second and the third. I remember how great the coffee was - I’m sorry to say that Starbucks coffee has joined McDonalds as a place where you know pretty much what you’re going to get, even if you know it isn’t going to be very good.
Starbucks is more about merchandising than it is about coffee.

Starbucks has, since its inception, been searching for a soul - by sucking up the local cafe’s and coffee shops, hoping to aquire one by force. The stores have never sold more than mediocre coffee, with a fair-to-middlin’ ambiance. I was horrified when I saw the addition of ‘ticky-tacky’ houses and strip-malls to the local area, for I _knew_ the local shops of all varieties were nearly doomed. I was saddened the day I learned the favorite local cafe\coffee shop was closing it’s doors - and pretty much stopped over-caffinating myself cold turkey…

To be honest, I haven’t tried the lastest Starbucks (the coffee has ALWAYS been too burnt), I gave the Carriou a try - too sweet, and the coffee flavorless, and I won’t even go in to the Dunn Bros. experience (expensive office coffee)…

What neighborhoods need is a return to the local shop mentality, and if Starbucks or any of the copratocracy wants in on it they should steer clear of the McDonalds cookie cutter philosophy. Build the brand around ‘Quality’ and ‘Comfort’ but allow for the curiosity that a unique cafe induces - shoot for a throw back to those ‘good ‘ol days’ when life was “safer” and the ‘locals knew your name’…

I prefer my ‘Grande Double Shot Dry Cap Carmel Highrise’ to vary a little from coast to coast, hell from “north-side” to the “‘burbs”… (I travel not for cookie-cutter beigeness, but for the variety, difference and a little bit of risk)…

Its so sad that starbucks has lost the stars from its name. Probably in a race to open as many stores as possible, they ended up hiring as many rude employees as well. Back in the days (dont even remember how long ago!!) Starbucks was worth the bucks, when the coffee was fresh, the people serving it were warm and nice. Now, they just slam the drink at your face, sometimes you have to ask them AGAIN to customize your drink, eventhough you did that while placing your order and then hear them growling and ranting about it.
And this is common for all the starbucks irrespective of the location. Something common after all!!
I remember when having a cup of coffee was so peaceful. Starbucks has changed that approach in a bid to win this corporate race. There are nicer coffee chains like Costa or perhaps even Juan Valdez, where the server listens and responds to your needs and is not in a rush to keep the score of customers attended high!!
Its a hightime that Starbucks realizes this before it even loses the bucks of its customers!!

The Bean still has it right.

No, Starbucks is fine. Sorry hipsters, but there’s a reason that Starbucks is the big fish in the pond, they are good at giving people what they want. I prefer staff that focuses on giving me tasty coffee asap and doesn’t chat with every other customer. Be courteous and smile, but I’m in a hurry dammit.

Starbucks’ lack of coffeehouse “soul,” if you’d call it that, is my entire reason for giving them my business. I am far happier giving my money to a corporation’s officers and shareholders than some hippie goofball. While some of the same indie-music, baloney-arts-degree, Castro-hat-wearing element still oozes into Starbucks locations, I find it far more tolerable than your average caffeine waystation. If nothing else, most patrons shower regularly - perhaps what Starbucks is really missing is not “soul” but “funk,” in the sense that their customers use soap. So I’ll have a double ristretto venti nonfat organic chocolate brownie frappuccino extra hot with foam and whipped cream upside down double blended and two packets of splenda, just please hold the fair trade.

Starbuck’s never had a soul. They have always been all about big business and the mighty greenback. They do not sell the best coffee to their customers, but they are selling their brand name, so they are able to charge xtra for it.

My local Dunkin Donuts has always been cleaner, cheaper and faster. Starbucks in local CT towns have a high rate of employee turnover - rude employees and are always filthy! See ya.

Hehehehe, hahahhahahahaha, oh ho! That was a good one. Mass marketing and fashionable trendiness != good coffee nor lovable, homey-feeling corner hangout. Starbucks has wiped out at least three private coffee shops here Baton Rouge that made much better coffee. I detest them as much as I detest Wal-Mart (don’t get me started!).

Still, if as Mason (#57) says, you just want to get in, grab your swill, and not care about business owners who are friendly and honestly enjoy your visit, then by all means go to the cookie cutter drive through next-please 18,000 locations one near you McWalCoffeeBucks.

Starbucks has always been the anathema of what a cafe is. Seeing that their soul consists of being an abomination, I would say that the soul of Starbucks is fully intact.

Steelbucks is what they should be called. They move in and put every mom and pop coffee shop out of business. Oh and when they say they think some people have forgotten that they actually roast coffee there. Guys you don’t roast coffee your Steelbuck, you burn coffee in your Steelbucks. It is gross. Oh and get out of the Forbidden City, how dare you…

Over priced, poor service.

I think that describes it best.

Want a good cup of coffee without all the hype then try Mc Donalds or Duncan Donuts.

To elaborate on why Starbucks is an abomiation to what a cafe is, lets compare it to your average Italian cafe. This should be a fair comparison since coffee is a vital element of the Italian lifestyle. First of all, the atmosphere is hurried and contrived. There is no table service, the music choice is pretentious and loud. At Starbucks you enjoy coffee the way THEY want you to. In the traditional coffee shop, you can sit with your friends, order your coffee, and be undisturbed as you engage in conversation. If you are alone, you can read your paper and they will let you be but make sure that you are well served. So that’s atmosphere. Now for taste… this is where Starbucks REALLY messes it up. First of all, the smell of coffee at the shop is so strong that it ruins the experience. I want to be able to smell MY coffee and that’s it! Furthermore, what good is using the best beans, roasted to perfection, if you’re going to be shovelling caramel, mocha, and god knows what into the drink. Finally, the roast is so strong that all of the subtle elements in the taste of the coffee are masked by bold flavour. In my opinion, these elements are both detrimental to the beverage that the consumer is enjoying. So what advantage does Starbucks have over the traditional coffee shop? Quick and easy? DD is quicker and easier, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Starbucks tries to present itself as a “coffee as culture” place instead of “coffee as a convenience”, and that’s what the premium you pay for is. To me, Starbucks is such a weak realization of the potential of coffee as culture. The atmosphere is uncomfortable, and the drink itself is far from satisfying.

Wow, after eading all the negative comments I’m almost at a loss of what to say. I know Starbucks is a good corporate citizen, donating to many, many causes and appears to take good care of its employees. If it has a problem with quality/cleanliness/problem employees, it better recognise the problem and fix it in a hurry. I don’t want to lose Starbucks!

There is a reason that coffeegeeks (self) refer to it as Charbucks. Over roasted (burned) beans, and automated espresso machines that’s not a coffee house, their self evaluation it correct, they’re just another automated chain. Mass produced generic product for the masses. As for their soul, I didn’t know they had one.

Starbucks has lost some of its soul,though, not all of it. It just seems that the employees have changed a bit. They don’t greet you with the same neighborhood feeling that you would have gotten in the past. Seems that Starbucks is now more concerned with the “buck” rather than just some good ole fashioned customer service and a really great cup of coffee. It really is a pity.

Never had a soul. And makes lousy overpriced coffee. Four shots to get a cup of half way decent strength. Why people put up with it is beyond me.

Americans put up with foul coffee. Starbucks isnt doing well in Australia for good reasons

How quickly we forget…what was there before SBUX and how many of us actually went to coffee shops before them? When was the last time a company cared so much about sustainability and focus on their associates quality of life and benefits. They are not rocket scientists - their are barisitas and coffee roasters. Quit whinning and be constuctive.

Am I dissaponted that SBUX tries to make all thier shops look the same - YES - taking out the the big chairs and selling too many cups and stuffed toys, but on a whole they are retailers not food service -Are thier represented by thier below average pastires below average for a carb junkie - YES. Nevertheless, I will walk five blocks to get a SBUX when I travel and make a beeline every Sunday to “my” SBUX.

starbucks only pretended to have a soul in the first place. let’s face it, they are a corporation with one thing in mind, the bottom line. lower costs and maximize profit. this comment by the chairman is just too much. you’ve taken over the world and now you want us to feel sorry for you? please.

As a barista at Starbucks, I am offended by people saying Starbucks has no soul. I can understand, big chain, driving out small business, I understnad. However, Starbucks really depend on the managers running them. My manager can greet almost every single person walking in the door by name and drink. He gives out “recovery coupons” (free drink vouchers) like they were candy. He is an amazingly nice person, and truely cares about making our Starbucks an enjoyable place to be. He also gives people drinks/upgrades all the time. This attitude transfers to all the Baristas. We really try to make conversation, get to know you, if you don’t want to talk to us, that is your problem. Starbucks is a company, yes, but profits are literally at the bottom of the mission statement. The managers make the store, get one with a friendly manager, and you will find your neighbourhood coffee shop again.

PS about the music, we play awesome music from a comapny based in Berkely, called Hear Music, and I know personally of at least two stores in my area aranging open mic nights.

Starbucks is an enigma to me. I’ve been to a number of their places and they can vary greatly from one location to the next. On the one hand is the Sbucks in a local mall in NJ. It is everything that I envision a Starbucks NOT being…a small line-up to herd those customers through, no tables of their own but rather tables shared with a bunch of fast-food restaurants in the food court, and a generally dirty, unattractive appearance. Then there are other shops where you feel more like a number but the coffee isn’t horrible tasting (but also not excellent either). OK, granted, that’s in a number of the NYC locations I’ve been to (near Times Square, near Wall Street, in Greenwhich Village). However, I’ve seen some awesome Starbucks locations in some airports (Dallas FtWorth as well as Grand Rapids MI) where the barristas are very friendly, the coffee is served well and it’s a great experience all around. Then, my favorite place…a local NJ Sbux cafe with friendly people, great-tasting coffee, soothing music, plenty of seating, and just all-around great service. So, I like to go there a bit, although I’m leaning toward trying a local shop (Cafe Bueno) instead to support the local mom-and-pop store. At work, I brew my own from fresh-ground coffe from a local coffee shop and it’s 100% better than any Starbucks offering…both the beans, the roast, and the process of making coffee. I guess I’m officially a coffee snob, but my coffee is much less than even a Dunkin Donuts or McD coffee because I buy a Costa Rican blend in 1/2 pound bag for $3-4 rather than $1.50 per cup. I cannot understand, though, why ANYONE would pay their exorbitat rates every day…that’s just nuts. Only special occasions for me, and it’s not that I can’t afford it.

Starbucks had a soul to begin with?

I stopped going there when they introduced the automatic espresso machines. It’s not real espresso if a real person isn’t loading the machine shot after shot.

You would think that given all their automation and product placement (BUY THIS CRAP MUZAK AND A STALE DANISH!) their coffee would be cheaper.

Amazing rancor among the comments, but I find that a $1.60 cup of coffee at Starbucks compares well against the $1.00 cup at the truck stops or convenience stores. Our neighborhood Starbucks is a real asset, a very pleasant place to meet people or chat with the employees. I just show up and they know what to make. The “$5 coffee” is a giant and fancy treat one could hardly call “a cup of coffee”. I am always glad to find a Starbucks when I’m on the road, often calling the 800 number to locate a store.

Starbucks may have ambiance, but it does not have soul. It is a great place for people to get their caffeine fix in a sleep deprived world. Over priced, overhyped only to get an overcaloried average coffee. Why does $.05 of coffee bean cost $3.50?? Starbucks equals corporate coffee.

Are we assuming that Starbucks ever had a soul to begin with? Starbucks is to coffee what Applebees is to neighborhood dining: formulaic, monotonous and homogeneous. Locally owned coffee shops, like locally owned restaurant, have unique atmospheres and quirky characteristics that massive chains cannot replicate. One of the key characteristics of Starbucks is that you can go to any Starbucks anywhere and be familiar with the store, because the one down the block from your house is exactly the same as the one near the office or close to your kids’ school. You can’t get more soulless than that. Whether the employees press a button or brew from scratch is the least of Starbucks’ problem.

My local Starbucks are usually dirty, sell old burnt coffee and the folks behind the counter make such a din that it is even difficult to talk quietly to anybody over a cup of tea (that’s still pretty good). For my money I’ll take 7-11 coffee. Certainly, they don’t have the ambiance yet, believe it or not, they are usually quieter.
Also, Carribou coffee, too few around here is much, much better.

The soul of any company is the employee!! As long as the Sbucks employee retains a sincere interest in providing the best, friendliest, most sincere service then the “soul” is fine. It is as with any company, some employees are employees because they enjoy the work, the product they sell and like to be of service to others. Other employees see a job differently and don’t embrace the service aspect. Sbucks needs to cultivate service vs just roasting coffee and playing funky cd’s in the store.

Not since before it became a colonized bohemeth has Starbuck’s had a soul. I’m not from Seattle, but I have to think that when it started, it had a great atmosphere and a good product. But as it opted to take over the universe rather than continue to provide its customers with a quality product and atmosphere, it lost any semblance of what it used to be.

I live in Houston where there is, literally, a Starbucks on every corner. Not too far from my apartment, there are two Starbucks’ on opposite corners — people at one location can walk out to the parking lot and look over into the other! In another location not too far away (maybe 5 min by car), there are two Starbucks on opposite ends of the same shopping center.

I suppose that’s the only way such a soulless entity can see its own reflection.

It seriously makes me want to vomit; I’d fly to Columbia and harvest the beans myself before I’d set foot in a Starbucks.

If ‘lost it’s soul’ means ‘makes every small town in the US feel that much more homogenous’, then yes, they did that once they opened their 50th store. Diner coffee is awful, true, but as far as a corporate giant having a soul, I don’t think it had one to begin with.

Ummm….Perhaps there are more important things to get all up-in-arms about than whether or not Starbucks has lost its “soul”. I find this whole thing rather disturbing, honestly.

Corporation don’t have souls… people do.
I have stopped going to Starbucks altogether
because in Manhattan in my neighborhood, they
are filthy and full of trash. Can’t relax in them
either because it is a great place to have
a pocketbook stolen.
I prefer my own home brew now… or my local
diner.
They don’t hire enough employees.

Which Starbucks? The one across the street from the other two Starbucks? Not sure they ever had a soul. Peet’s Coffee is better anyway. They have a soul.

Starbucks? In Seattle we have renamed it to 4 bucks.. To much for a cupa jo.

Like the coffee very much. Hate the place. Supposed to be like a cafe in Italy. Not even close. Takes three people to take care of the one customer ahead of you in line. I’ve bought cars in less time than it takes to get a simple(and that’s really all it is) cup of coffee.

Bad coffee, what else do you need to know?

mom and pop coffee is usually swill and their service is bad. starbucks is good because it has taught them how to be clean and effecient, or at least is creating some competition and raising the standards overall. local shops take forever and i hate waiting forever for an espresso; maybe starbucks has made me impatient. but hey, local shops just don’t usually do as good a job. they try to be friendly but it’s fake and annoying, and they are usually dirty and full of annoying hippies and terrible art. streamlinedness is not the worst part of starbucks, it’s the surveillance cameras and gift shop aspect that is the worst. peet’s is a great alternative. you can also check out delocator dot net.

I don’t believe Starbucks ever had a soul. I have hated Starbucks essentially since I came to the west coast and found them on every corner. Back on the east coast (being 6 years ago) it was a big deal to just have a starbucks anywhere in the city. I don’t believe in supporting a company that can kill out any competition just because its on every corner and so people just get used to the taste for the convienence. I worked in the small coffee shops and believe them to be much better than starbucks (and Fyi, I hate coffee, and drink only hot chocolate or hot cider), but the homey feeling you get when you walk into the corner shop is much better than walking into a place that is more convienent. I also just watch Diedrich get the buy-out from Starbucks, what’s next, Seattle’s Best, and any other chains that are not in the mass abundance. Not to mention, yes, starbucks makes it automated so there’s barely a reason for having employees. What ever happened to needing to hire on college or high school students? In years from now, there will only be one person per shift, so what social benefit is it doing? It’s losing quality, killing competition, and competition is good for everyone, and taking away jobs that most students tend to do because it fits in the school schedule, which provides money and experience. My opinion, starbucks need to be stopped, and/or experience bankruptcy or something.

Starbucks treats its employees relatively well (as US companies go), but they’ve definitely hit saturation, and their ubiquity is considered the height of banality. When they do hit the plateau and corporate sees that fact reflected in real dollars, the resulting cost cutting is going to make the current starbucks culture look like a downright golden age.

Absolutely! The coffee is not as good as it used to be, employess pretend way to much to be socially “responsible” and service has tanked across the board. Don’t think McD’s is better, but it certainly is cheaper and an honest cup of coffee…

STarbucks was never that good to begin with. First, their coffee is mediocre. Second, their drink recipes are screwy. For instance, in their mochas they use was too much syrup, and half of it ends up in the bottom of the cup. Also, more often than not, they don’t make their hot drinks hot enough. Also, unless you tell them otherwise, they never blend their Frapuccinos enough, and you will always get a chunck of ice stuck in your straw. May the worst thing about Starbucks is that the counter people are too chatty, and need to be told the shut the heck up and just get on with business and keep the line moving. There are many other things about the WalMart of coffee, but the bottom line is: always support your local coffee shop if possible…they’ll make better drinks and give you a punch card, and only go to Starbucks when there’s nothing else around.

I’m afraid that Starbucks never had a soul. Mass production and soul are mutually exclusive concepts in my opinion. And to anyone who thinks that Starbucks is in the least bit “hip,” you really need to go to a REAL neighborhood coffeehouse someday. That’s like saying, “I had lunch at this really hip McDonalds yesterday.”

Here in Seattle, Starbucks has a lot of competition from mom and pop walk-in coffee places (many of whom roast their own). I used to be a much more loyal Starbucks customer, but these are the places I favor now. More ’soul’ and better coffee. Starbucks quality has been slipping for a long time, and consistency from location-to-location wavers. I would agree that Starbucks has become very ‘chain-like’, and the service has become increasingly impersonal. Sad to see. However, Starbucks has done a great job educated consumers regarding premium coffee.

Yes, it has lost its soul.

Here in downtown Honolulu, one can stand on a street corner and see THREE (3) sit-down Starbucks. (Corner is at King St and Alakea St)

RC

I have always maintained that Starbucks coffee is the worst on the market being bitter with a burnt flavor;it is a mystery to me how they ever got to where they are especially @$4.00 a cup ??? Go Dunkin Doughnuts !!

Are we begining another Wal-Wart witch hunt [I am not in anyway connected to Wal-Mart].As for Starbuck. I don’t buy cups of coffee from the Starbuck stops. I do buy their coffee by the pound from other stores that sell it. AS a coffee drinker for over fifty years,it is the best I have found [I’m not connected with to Starbuck either]. Soul,you ask? I don’t buy soul, but I do buy coffee.

Berg Hupp

Drink enough bad coffee and become used to it. Visiting Canada recently I tried a coffee at Tim Horton’s that everone had been raving about and couldn’t believe how bad it tasted yet everyone believed it was fantastic coffee. I guess It comes down to convenience, there’s a store on every corner and they all have drive throughs so it’s easier to get used to bad coffee than it is to get out of the car and get a decent one. Tim Horton’s is the Starbucks of North America. Go to a independent cafe or restaurant where they value your patronige and have a real coffee with real service.

I have been going to the same Starbucks everyday for the past 9 years and I must say they have lost all ’soul’ and are going down hill. The quality of staff sucks & everything that gets done is like an assembly line…they don’t even have to remember how much ice goes into grande frap because they have an ice cup for each cup size. That to me is as bad as pictures on the keys at MacDonald’s.

The Starbucks monstrosity is emblematic of corporate greed and souless consumerism at it’s worst.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/press/releases/s tarbucks261006.htm

I was unaware that Starbucks had a soul…

Perhaps Starbucks should diversify buy taking over Krispe Kreme. They’re having management problems too and their stock is headed towards the basement. Just think, you could wash that sugar and grease doughball down with a cup of battery acid!

Starbuck’s is lost. It takes too long to get and pay for a simple cup of coffee. And that cup (grande) is costing $1.87! The americanos are no longer hand pulled and have gotten so weak, I don’t bother to drink them anymore. Forget about trying to find someone competant to make a drink properly as I am weary from repeating myself and babysitting process. There is rarely hot enough water for an americano and I wouldn’t order anything from the window, they will screw it up. I stop at Nordstroms to get a strong, hand-pulled americano and better service. It’s worth the walk.