Shop Talk

U.S. shoppers ready to ban the plastic bag

As California goes, so goes the nation — or at least that appears to be the case when we’re talking about San Francisco and the increasingly out-of-favor plastic shopping bag.   San Francisco became the first and only U.S. city to ban the bags in April 2008. Now it seems that the rest of the country is also ready to outlaw the offending carry-alls, which environmentalists say endanger wildlife and can take up to 1,000 years to decompose.   More than half, 54 percent, of Americans believe that plastic, non-compostable shopping bags should be banned, according Deloitte’s Retail “Green” Survey.     That survey of 1,080 Americans, also found that nearly one-third say they take reusable shopping bags to food stores. 

Scores of other countries from Bangladesh to China have already banned the bags.

(Photos: Reuters) 

Check Out Line: McDonald’s finally makes its move

Check out McDonald’s Corp’s long-awaited switch to trans fat-free cooking oil in the United States and Canada.

Jim Skinner, CEO at the Golden Arches, said the world’s largest hamburger chain finished dumping the oil with artery-clogging trans fats during the last few months. Speaking to investors at the company’s annual meeting, he also promised that pies and other baked goods would also be trans fat-free by year end. 

McDonald’s was among the first fast-food purveyor to vow to stop using trans fats, but it lagged the competition when it came to putting its money where its mouth is.

The company had its reasons. It said it was insuring a consistent taste for its french fries and looking for a supplier that could deliver enough trans fat-free oil to meet its needs.

Meanwhile, No. 3 hamburger chain Wendy’s was the first fast-food seller to swap to trans fat-free cooking oil in 2006. Yum Brands Inc’s U.S. KFC and Taco Bell chains completed their switch last year.

Burger King, the No. 2 hamburger chain, has promised to dump trans fat-containing frying oil by the end of this year. Until that happens, you can check out its nutritional charts to see how much trans fat it is serving up with your Whopper and fries.

For all the fuss made over the trans fat issue, you would have expected attendees of McDonald’s annual meeting to let up a cheer. Not so. Individual investors lodged new demands and divided into two camps: doggie happy meals vs.  kitty happy meals.  

Consumer Reports mellows on Starbucks

First it was too bitter, now it’s too mild.

Will Starbucks ever get it just right with the coffee testers at Consumer Reports?

In March 2007, the magazine blasted Starbucks’ drip java for being too burnt and bitter, and said fast-food vendor McDonald’s had a superior brew.

In April this year, Starbucks rolled out Pike Place Roast, its new everyday brew, saying it had a “smooth, welcoming taste.”

In its latest missive, Consumer Reports  took a decidedly more tepid stance on Starbucks’ new joe. 

The magazine’s testers found Pike Place to be “a smooth cup of coffee with some bitterness, but not particularly complex.” Because the flavor is so mild, the tasters said,  adding cream, milk or sweeteners might overwhelm the coffee.

Do you agree with the Consumer Reports’ testers?

Starbucks dustup or Much Ado about Nothing?

    Starbucks’ decision to close its stores for a few hours of coffee-brewing training on Tuesday got a double shot of media airtime — when it was first announced and the day of the closure — but has it raised the bar on coffee or customer service at the ubiquitous coffee chain’s outlets?     This reporter conducted a highly unscientific poll of five customers, and the exchanges, at a Starbucks in Los Angeles’ downtown, went something like this:     Reporter: “Have you noticed a difference in the quality of your coffee or the customer service today?”     Startled customer: (takes sip of coffee, pauses to ponder flavor) “No.”     Starbucks called the event a success: “We believe that the investment made in this training will have a significant impact on our customers’ experience.”     The fledgling IWW Starbucks Workers Union, however, is in a froth over the training effort — which is part of a plan by returned Chief Executive Howard Schultz to reignite Starbucks’ flagging U.S. growth.     The union, which calls itself a “modest-sized group,” called Tuesday’s three-hour training session a “public relations event directed at consumers rather than a bona fide attempt to improve drink quality or customer service.”     Cole Dorsey, 27, a member of the union and a barista at a Starbucks in Grand Rapids, Michigan, called the training “a ploy”.     “The majority of the people who got that training won’t be here next year,” he said.     A Starbucks spokeswoman said the Seattle company heard from employees who appreciated having a chance to “focus on espresso excellence” and to refresh their skills.     “Unfortunately, the opinions in the IWW press release are those of a small group of people with an outside agenda aimed at promoting themselves and their interests, rather than improving our customers’ and partners’ Starbucks experience,” she said.   

Sony’s PS3 draws men to malls

Sony’s new PlayStation 3 video game console is bringing more married couples together this holiday shopping season — Just not for the reasons one would expect.   “We are interviewing shoppers and a lot of husbands said they will shop with wives because they are concerned about crime and violence surrounding the PlayStation 3,” Britt Beemer, founder of America’s Research Group, told Reuters.   The PS3 debuted on Nov. 17 to big U.S. crowds eager to be among the first to put their hands on the long-awaited and very limited supplies of new machines from the world’s leading console maker. The launch was marred by violence when bandits shot a man waiting in line at a Connecticut Wal-Mart after he refused to hand over his cash.

Following the shooting, Sony issued a statement calling the attack an isolated incident.

“There are two or three times more men out today,” said Beemer, whose firm specializes in consumer behavior marketing.

(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman; Photo by Reuters)