Starbucks has had a disastrous start to the year - with tens of millions of customers heading instead to rivals or staying at home.
Tim Horton's, McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts have all taken market share from Starbucks across hot and cold drinks, and food.
The company this week reported a fall in sales for the first time in nearly three years, which was at the height of the pandemic. It was only in November it reported record takings.
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While I've never had nor wanted one, Lisa enjoys her gay coffee drinks from Starbucks, insisting on getting one every time we go to Gallatin where the nearest Starbucks is located.
Naturally it's in a spot that's a royal pain in the ass to get into or leave due to traffic, and to add insult to injury, they take forfuckingever to make it. I'm serious, there's always a few cars in front of us, so we can figure on at least a 20 to 30 minute wait. It may be a shorter time if I was to park and go inside to get it, but I absolutely refuse to step inside due to liberal germs. It's bad enough a liberal company was getting our money.
Then one day as I'm driving around the town square here in town, I noticed a locally owned shop called SheBrews had opened up. I decided that what Lisa doesn't know won't hurt me, otherwise she'd have me stop off every single time I went to town to get her one.
Then one day she was with me and as we drove past she said she smelled roasted coffee beans. "Huh, that's weird," I said as I continued to motor right on past that sucker. Fuck. Remember, Lisa's nearly blind but she can still smell.
A month or two later, one of her friends from when she lived here before came by for her semi-annual visit and she had a gay coffee drink in her hand, telling Lisa she bought it at SheBrews there on the town square and they were much better than Starbucks. Scarlett, you bitch.....
Anyways, it's a once, maybe twice a week stop for me now and because they don't have a drive-thru, I have to go in. The first couple times, there was maybe a 10 minute wait, but as soon as they started recognizing me, that got cut down to about as long as it takes to finish the one they're working on and then they start Lisa's - 5 minutes, tops. And because Lisa always wants the same one, I don't even have to order. I walk in and whoever's working automatically starts making it without even asking what I want.
Not only that, but they're all friendly as hell to the point that if I see the owner or baristas anywhere else in town, they'll walk over and start shooting the shit with me.
Scarlett must've been right as far as them being better than Starbucks because last time we were in Gallatin I started to turn in and Lisa told me to keep going, she prefers SheBrews. That's a win all the way around because she got a better gay coffee, I didn't have to wait in line for a half hour, Starbucks didn't get our money and we supported a local business.
Awesome. We always try to support the local folks. Stick it to them!
ReplyDeleteI have been in a Starbucks only once. I ordered a large black American coffee. I was corrected by the barista that it was Venti. My reply was I ordered an American not an Italian 20. What I got was a 20 ounce hot liquid that tasted of over roasted beans that was quite acidic.
ReplyDeleteIf I do buy coffee by the cup it will be a Duncan dark roast with a shot of espresso.
Walked up to one at the mall once, asked for a large black coffee, she started talking like a hillbilly trying to speak a foreign language, forget it I says and walked off.
DeleteI have Keurig and I use a refillable pod with good old Maxwell House and a thermal cup if I want coffee to go
Daryl
Double espresso for me and a large faggacino frappe-shit for the lady.
ReplyDeleteWith Starbucks employees like these,
ReplyDeletehttps://gab.com/PatriotCandleCo/posts/112326849738966128 ,
who needs Starbucks? *yuck*
I want to go back to a 24/7, 365 Jersey diner where a fat assed 50-somthing over made up ginzo babe with a teased blond hair-do and chewing gum poured me a cup of java out of a Silex glass pot and charged me 30 cents. Am I asking too much?
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on that Bog.
DeleteAnd pours it into a thick, white china coffee mug
DeleteUse it wash down a great big slice of lemon méringue pie with the foam about 5" thick after a meal of homemade cabbage rolls with real mashed potatoes and gravy.
DeleteGADS I do miss my old truck driving days.
Uhh, is SheBrews some kind of joint for feminist Jews? He-brews ---> She-Brews?
ReplyDeleteNo, it's a husband and wife owned business and they're strong Christians with bible literature all over the shop. She Brews (coffee) - get it?
DeleteNice try though, trying to turn a simple post about a nice place into a Jewish conspiracy. Y'all just don't give up, do you?
Fuuuuuck.....
My wife likes all those fru-fru cold coffee drinks. She has about 3 different places that she gets them from. Myself I can't stand cold coffee.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that she no longer wants to make the 20 minute drive to our closest Starbucks, but will drink her cold coffee drinks from McDonald's and a couple other local shops.
I don't mind it so much, but I just don't understand how anyone can drink cold coffee. I have to actually heat my coffee in the microwave if I let it get too cold. As for caffeine, I can drink it until I go to bed, and it doesn't keep me awake.
I drink two cups of black coffee every morning, then it's water for me for the rest of the day. Never tried cold coffee, never will. It just doesn't sound appealing to me.
DeleteWe were at Dollywood last year and I was dying for a cup of coffee. I bought a cup of the Starbucks they sell there and I couldn’t add enough cream and sugar to make it drinkable. I ended up throwing it away.
ReplyDeletethis clip from the show Loudermilk nails the coffee shop scene perfectly https://youtu.be/WDfJn1kcQuU?si=QEOAXvzeCLslw_kR
ReplyDeleteI hate Starbucks. Back in the pre-cell phone days I was running a project at Bangor, WA and using the Washington State Ferries. One hour each way of no interruptions and good coffee. Than Starbucks got the concession. Hated their coffee.
ReplyDeleteRevenge came with an assignment to look at a leaking skylight we had manufactured. Loaded a ladder and went to an address on Mercer Island. The house was owned by Howard Shultz, a Starbuck founder. Erected the ladder and we both went up to the roof. If you are going to have a flat roof in Puget Sound country, best keep your down spouts clear. About 3'' of scum was on the skylight which was never made to be underwater. After pointing this out to Shultz, he started some rant about how we were going to fix all the damages. I just took my ladder and left. Don't know how he got off the roof.
Years ago, a few Starbucks played in the news for giving cops a hard time - not serving them, spitting in their coffee, etc. But then I noticed those stories all over the country - not just California. That's not a few bad actors - that's a damn corporate culture taught behavior. I haven't dropped a dime on them since I don't know when.
ReplyDeleteYour last sentence sums it up quite well.
ReplyDeleteNeck
Had a cup there one time.
ReplyDeleteBurnt, bitter as fuck, & overpriced.
Do not understand the appeal. Drip with Yuban is superior.
CC
I’m a coffeeholic and Yuban is really good but haven’t seen any around lately. Gevalia Colombia and Private Selection Kona Blend. Yummy. Lots of good coffee out there but I don’t do Starbucks, ever.
ReplyDelete