Comments on: Under Old Management: A Giant List of 14 Changes at Starbucks

By: Sie Whange

Sie Whange — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:59:20 +0000

I’m curious… does the Clover magically transform Starbucks burnt, stale beans into something drinkable?In regards to competion, the McDonald’s iced coffee isn’t that bad and is cheaper.

By: Sam

Sam — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:11:15 +0000

Starbucks uses stale, low quality beans. Roasting should be done in-house and ground minutes before being brewed for optimum taste. Anyone looking for a great cup of coffee should find a coffee shop that roasts in-house. It’ll be better coffee at a better price.

By: becca

becca — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:28:25 +0000

Cassie – I live in Connecticut, only about a half hour from you and we have Vivannos at the Starbucks near me. I bet you will have them soon.

By: Gina

Gina — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:47:02 +0000

I like to see they are scaling back but I noticed on the list of closed stores they are keeping many open. It is ridiculous to have a Starbucks inside the grocery store when literally next door is a Starbucks. Apparently people can’t walk from the grocery store to the Starbucks next door.

I noticed the smoothies but haven’t tried them. They should have free-wifi because people would stay around longer and buy more coffee.

In regards to competion, the McDonald’s iced coffee isn’t that bad and is cheaper.

By: Jason!

Jason! — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:49:39 +0000

I’m curious… does the Clover magically transform Starbucks burnt, stale beans into something drinkable?

By: heather

heather — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:05:24 +0000

It’s good to hear that a corporate giant like Starbucks is realizing that the reason they got so big is because of the COFFEE and not all of the other barely decent stuff they have. Hopefully their mochas will be more balanced and actually flavorful.

I was never a really big fan of Starbucks’ coffee, It always tasted burnt and old. I preferred their Tazo teas (passion iced tea lemonade = yum) and chai more, but I may start venturing into the more coffee-laden side of the menu now.

The one thing that ticks me off though is that Starbucks is the only place I know where you have to pay for wi-fi in a public place. For a broke college student with crappy dial-up like myself, it’s disappointing to be in a hot-spot and not be able to actually USE it.

By: tim

tim — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:37:08 +0000

maybe they could roast their beans instead of burning them.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:22:51 +0000

The new drink is the coffee brewed by the Clover, which is a new type of coffee machine. There was a profile of the company who makes it and some quotes from Shultz in the last issue of Fast Company. A single cup will retail for over $3 and is supposedly “the best cup of brewed coffee he has ever tasted.” The article goes on to speculate that Starbucks will stop making the fancy coffee-baaed “shakes” mentioned above…back to basics.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:10:39 +0000

I’m not a fan of their coffee, but I do like their consistency.

The first thing I would change is the food in their pastry cases. A lot of times when I’ve skipped breakfast in the morning and am grabbing something, I find myself skipping Starbucks because their pastries are just so bad. I’ve gotten their breakfast sandwiches when I’ve been in a crunch, but then I find myself picking pieces of meat off.

At home, I go to a local bakery and get good pastries, then if I have time, I will grab a drink from Starbucks.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:27:21 +0000

The biggest change to Starbucks corporate culture? Loyalty cards and free wifi.

When I worked at Starbucks corporate during the First Schultz Era we were told that the Mermaid would NEVER do loyalty/punch cards or free Internet access. Those were promotional gimmicks reserved for cafes desperate for business, and with the company opening stores across the street from each other that obviously wasn’t us. Well, it sure is now.