Starbucks

[samsonyuen]

That's nothing new. Starbucks' practise is to use prepackaged vacuum-sealed bags of ground coffee, as it has been for several years. The thinking apparently is that grinding the coffee right before using it doesn't let the bean degasify.

I also would disagree with the concept of not encouraging Starbucks customers to stay for a long time. They recently announced their free 2-hour wifi connection with Bell Hotspots if you have a Starbucks cards (even if you have no money on it).

 

[Urban Shocker]

Their financial results have been poor and they're closing hundreds of stores and laying off thousands of staff in the States, so the surprise would be if they didn't adjust their service model in these leaner and meaner economic times.

 

[MetroMan]

The new Starbucks at Queen & Bathurst is apparently (and secretly) a new concept store. I've heard from an inside source that Starbucks is slowly moving towards a McDonald's-type "in and out" preference for their stores. Basically, they no longer want people lounging around for a few hours while sipping a java. Instead, they want faster and shorter line-ups, shorter stays and less comfort in their stores.

Therefore, the chairs at Queen & Bathurst are less comfortable, the lighting is more harsh and they've generally put less money into the location than they normally would have. Some would argue it is because it's "Queen & Bathurst," but apparently it's the start of a shift in thinking by Starbucks.

I don't see that. They have a corner with couches like at most other Starbucks and the wooden chairs are the same as the ones that I've seen at most Starbucks.

I also would disagree with the concept of not encouraging Starbucks customers to stay for a long time. They recently announced their free 2-hour wifi connection with Bell Hotspots if you have a Starbucks cards (even if you have no money on it).

That's very true. I'm enjoying that privilege as we speak. I love it! I used to stay long, now I stay longer! Starbucks is my office. I used to work from home but found the loneliness overbearing. I missed the social aspect of working with others.

So now I go to the Starbucks across the street. I didn't want to pay the overpriced Bell fee so I prepared my work before leaving for Starbucks and then worked offline the rest of the time.

...now: I get no work done, cuz I'm on UT

EDIT: I must add that, lately, I guess the single yuppies who patronized Starbucks to its original success are now married and have.. KIDS! grrrrrr!!!! In the past 20 minutes, all I've heard was kids running around screaming to the top of their lungs and newborns – who don't belong in a coffee shop to begin with – crying their tonsils out.

Can anybody recommend a great coffee shop in West Queen West (around Queen and Strachan) with a good social scene, tasty teas.... and no kids running around?

 

[Blovertis]

Starbucks is my office. I used to work from home but found the loneliness overbearing...

KIDS! grrrrrr!!!! In the past 20 minutes, all I've heard was kids running around screaming to the top of their lungs and newborns – who don't belong in a coffee shop to begin with – crying their tonsils out.

I see. Young mothers and their children are obliged to remain indoors so that you can get your (no doubt extremely important) work done while not being "lonely".

Where would you suggest caregivers take newborns on walks -- the nearest bar?

 

[MetroMan]

Please spare us your snarky comments. I'll try to avoid making you look like an ass for misinterpreting my comment and then adding your smart alec thoughts to what you think you read.

I said: Newborns do not belong in a coffee house, a noisy place with a caffein scented environment. A newborn is days or weeks old. Surely their parents can keep them away from such an establishment until their fragile, easily disturbed babies reach a more suitable months old age.

Read my post correctly and you'll find that while children screaming around me annoy me, I don't advocate Starbucks as not a place for them. I'd rather find a place where I can work in quiet and with civilized patrons who know what an "indoor voice" is... which is why I asked for suggestions.

 

[digi]

I'll try to avoid making you look like an ass for misinterpreting my comment and then adding your smart alec thoughts to what you think you read.

Instead, you'll just come across as an angry ass yourself

 

[MetroMan]

^ all the while you come across as an instigating ass.

 

[Blovertis]

I said: Newborns do not belong in a coffee house, a noisy place with a caffein scented environment. A newborn is days or weeks old. Surely their parents can keep them away from such an establishment until their fragile, easily disturbed babies reach a more suitable months old age.

Thank you for the careful clarification of your remarks. Your concern for the harmful exposure of infants to the smell of coffee is touching. I don't know why public health authorities aren't more alert to this issue.

 

[adma]

Now, if you *really* wanna torture your newborns...

 

[Whoaccio]

This just in... Starbucks NO LONGER grinds the beans in store before brewing.

This puts them light years behind the other big boutique wannabe chains and no where near the truly great coffee spots (moonbean, balzac's, aroma, manic to name a few).

Really? I specifically heard the opposite a few months ago. That, despite pre-ground coffee making sense from a franchise point of view, they decided the "grinding" process released specific aromas which increased spending.

 

[Dichotomy]

It seems that renos to the concourse-level Tim's at College Park indicate similar thinking--likewise with the new Tim's where the Coffee Time was at Wellington + University. (That's a weird one. There's at least 3 other Tim's within 5 minutes walking distance.)

That would be a sound business decision: rents are bound to be much higher in these high profile location as well as higher traffic. It makes sense to want your customers to 'turn over' faster. In cheaper rent areas with lower volumes, you can afford to have customers lounging around for hours on end.

BTW, Starbucks in Pickering is also in a strip plaza.

 

[JasonParis]

There's also now a few Starbuck's "drive-thrus" in the 905 which seems to go against their sacred "Starbucks experience."

 

[MetroMan]

Yah, I pass by several Starbucks drive thru's on my way to Blue Mountain every week in the winter.

Although I'm a big fan of the "Starbucks experience" (good service, every drink made individually, laid back atmosphere, etc), I really go to S'bux for their amazing teas so the drive-thru doesn't bother me.

 

[urbandreamer]

Can anybody recommend a great coffee shop in West Queen West (around Queen and Strachan) with a good social scene, tasty teas.... and no kids running around?

Let me see. There's Galaxy Donuts (good drugs ), the Drake (coffee sucks, nice atmosphere though), Ideal (at Black Dog Video, good coffee), Oddfellows, Swan, the Coffee Roastery (good coffee, quiet atmosphere, roomy), there's a little cafe around the corner in the artscape building (Shaw, north of Queen St W), and much much more.

SBUX should be your last resort.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Where would you suggest caregivers take newborns on walks -- the nearest bar?

As a parent of young twins myself, I'll tell you where to take your newborns. First of all, I very strongly believe that the moment my childen infringe on another person's privacy or enjoyment, the kids must go. So, if my kids utter one single scream, they're out of the Starbucks. If my kids talk during movies, they get the quick reply that if they have a question they should save it for afterward, or you're out of the theatre. I fully appreciate that for a lot of folks children should be both NOT seen OR heard. Since if I take them to Starbuck's they're seen, they'd better not be bothering others. Once you have twins, triplets or more, you quickly take a tough, organized and structured approach to raising the kids.

The result of this, is that my kids are happy, cheert kids that can scream and run in the playground, but they know when to tone it down and turn it off.