Wednesday, March 28, 2007

SLOOOOOOW Coffee

I thought Starbucks baristas were supposed to be these hip, caffeine-fueled youngsters? If so, why does it take SO LONG to make a cup of coffee? The company recently unveiled a new line of breakfast sandwiches that baristas have to warm up in the microwave. Rather than saving time, this is adding time to the Starbucks experience. Is Starbucks in such bad shape that they have to compete with Dunkin' Donuts?

Apparently, the answer is yes.

In addition to adding donuts and breakfast sandwiches to the menu, I recently read that Starbucks is trying to reduce the amount of time customers have to wait to below 3 minutes.

HAH!

My trip this morning, for a triple shot, venti, non-fat, no-whip mocha took more like 10 minutes. This is not unusual. In fact, I think every morning about how much time I'm willing to give to a coffee run on my way to the office. Part of what makes it so slow is precisely what makes it so wonderful (and pretentious). I would never think to order a mocha at Dunkin' Donuts. They offer them, and I imagine they taste pretty bad. So, I go to Dunkin' Donuts when I want an ordinary cup of tea or decaf. This doesn't take long - regardless of where I order it.

But, I seek out Starbucks when I'm ordering something that takes more time. Okay, I get it. This is "my bad," as the kids would say.

So, if I have to wait 10 minutes, and I KNOW the company is working on the 3 minutes or under thing, I get annoyed. Even if I know it is an unrealistic goal on their part because almost everyone standing in line is waiting for some high maintenance drink like a "half-caf, quad grande, half-soy, half-skim, sugar free hazelnut hold the maltitol, extra hot, no foam latte."

So, I'm now going to clock my time in line and try not to be as bitter as the magical beans that go into my drink.

2 comments:

Clownface said...

I've simultaneously streamlined and increased the cost of my Starbucks order - quad venti non-fat, non-whip mocha. $5.30 a cup. Oy vey!

Clownface said...

I've simultaneously streamlined and increased the cost of my Starbucks order - quad venti non-fat, non-whip mocha. $5.30 a cup. Oy vey!