Lazy rainy day...check. Venti frappuccino...check. Internet access...check. Music...forget about it! That pretty much sums up my Starbucks-Athens (just outside the Panepistimiou metro stop) experience. OK, forget about the fact that I went to a Starbucks in Greece (when there are so many great cafes) for a moment -that's not the point. My gripe is that I traveled some 8746.77km and after about 20 minutes of banging away on my computer, I found myself looking up at the ceiling and staring in disbelief. This can't be the same soundtrack that I listen to in Naperville, Illinois? Kenny G? Oh yes, it was. Globalization, 1; Customer, 0.
I'm a longtime fan/patron of Starbucks in the States and have been following closely the recent woes of the company. If Howard Schultz has any chance at revitalizing his company, he's got to figure out a way to bring back the magic for the customer --regardless of where they are located. A homogenized blob of a company is not good for anyone.
Magic my friends, is what makes people plunk down €5 for a cup of coffee.
p.s. by the way, there are 65 Starbucks locations in Greece today, so regardless of my rant...Starbucks and the Marinopoulos Brothers must be doing OK. It was actually refreshing to see most people sit down and enjoy their cup of coffee, in a ceramic Starbucks mugs. God bless the Greeks. At least we have enough sense to not drink out of paper when you don't have to...
spiro
posted on Wednesday, February 6