Sunday, August 28, 2005

It's Starbucks, Not the Breakfast Nook

Part of the marketing strategy that has made Starbucks an international juggernaut is the calculatedly homey atmosphere of its stores (if your home had industrial furniture and weird murals of mermaids who shill coffee). Unfortunately, that seems to lead some folks to treat their neighborhood Starbucks as mere extensions of their homes instead of, y'know, public eating places.

Yesterday morning, as Amy and I breakfasted in one of several dozen nearby Starbucks, I saw a gentleman in his 20's at a nearby table working on a Vaio laptop. He had his earpods plugged into the laptop, his flip-flops off, his bare feet up on the seat opposite him, and his bare toes curled around the chair rungs. No regard for whoever would have to sit in that chair after his sweaty feet had their way with it.

I'm sure the next step (if it hasn't already happened) is folks showing up in their bathrobes and boxers for their hourly shot of caffeine.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you are right, soon there will be folks in their bathrobes etc at the neighborhood 'bucks...
This is one of the many reasons that I prefer actual restaraunts for my breakfast... :)

Anonymous said...

It would be funny to see someone their in their PJs and slippers.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen bathrobes yet, but I did once see a guy brushing his teeth and spitting into his now-empty latte cup. Gross!

Of course, in Seattle in summertime it can be hard to tell the difference between people's PJs and their "active wear." At least in winter you know the active wear is the waterproof stuff.

Anonymous said...

It's kind of cool to a Seattle company be a hit worldwide. However Starbuck's it seems has really strayed a long way from it's original concept.