March 2010

Starbucks is as Dirty as Any other Joint...

Making money requires each person on this earth to do something that he or she wouldn’t normally do. In working through school – more than one degree doesn’t always help, just sayin’ – I found myself awash in a sea of corporate shenanigans. Of course, I had a choice to work at Starbucks or any number of other places. But the allure of health care was, of course, pretty enticing. Was it worth it? Nope. But that doesn’t mean I worked all that hard. It just means that I was endlessly aggravated by the spate of semi-daft co-workers that came and went over time.

Guns 'N Coffee

Starbucks is getting put in an awkward position by handgun enthusiasts, even though the nation's biggest coffee chain is trying its hardest to remain neutral.  In late February, the "Open Carry Movement" began encouraging people in so-called "open carry" states to wear their handguns everywhere - including Starbucks.

In an "open carry" state, you can carry a handgun, as long as it is prominently displayed.  In some states, the gun must be unloaded (although you can carry the ammunition in your pocket, ready to load).  The "Open Carry Movement" has been encouraging people to use their right to bear arms to the fullest, and has been encouraging people to wear handguns anywhere they can.

Starbucks Will Start Offering Pour-Over Drip Coffee

Even Starbucks employees will quietly admit that the drip coffee available in Starbucks stores is just awful.  I don't know if it's the blend, or the way they brew it, or both, but I find it completely undrinkable.  Worse than office coffee.

Starbucks has made several moves to try and prevent this.  First they started insisting that baristas throw out the coffee every N minutes and make a new pot, so that it wouldn't be stale.  This resulted in the inevitable "We just put on a new batch, your coffee will be ready in five minutes."

Then, because "no one orders regular coffee after 2PM" and because they didn't want to waste it, they stopped serving regular drip coffee after 2PM.