I used to be a Starbucks fan, and I would take any opportunity abroad (since Starbucks only opened in Portugal a couple of years ago) to have a Caramel Frappucino or a Vanilla Latte.
However, since I moved to the UK, Starbucks lost its appeal. Even worse, I cannot stand it any more, and I try to avoid it almost as much as I avoid McDonald's (I will keep this one for a later post). At first it just became common, but after that it was just because it was further and further from what it was supposed to be. Starbucks is supposed to be "the third place" away from home and work, where you can relax and enjoy your time. That is a wonderful concept, particularly for me who likes to work away from the usual environments. However, as I spent more and more time in Starbucks, I realized I was paying three times the price of a normal cup of coffee, and instead of having the cosy environment I was looking for, I had to clear up and clean the tables myself, the tables and chairs were sticky, and do not even get me started on the state of the toilets.....
After a couple of months I went from one extreme to the other, and really thought it was not worth the price I was paying for the coffee any more (which by the way was becoming more milk with a bit of coffee colour rather than anything else!). I became the nightmare customer, who would spread my negative opinion amongst my friends and who would convince the group to go anywhere else rather than Starbucks.
Starbucks has definitely lost its charm and mainly its inner purpose. This is common when a brand becomes too arrogant and loses its customer focus, and Starbucks has definitely lost it for me.
This morning I read Starbucks wants to start selling "posh coffee".
I think this is a desperate try to make the brand go back to where it came from, by focusing on quality.
I wonder if other customers like myself, who lost their Starbucks enchantment, might actually consider trying this, for the sake of coffee quality.
I know I will not fall for that one again that easily.
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