tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post6432833057645550593..comments2024-03-28T21:56:51.675-04:00Comments on Face to Face: Why does Starbucks perform so well?agnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-57315122160704577292009-08-16T01:30:55.136-04:002009-08-16T01:30:55.136-04:00I don't think that you can compare Dunkin'...I don't think that you can compare Dunkin' Donuts coffee with Starbucks coffee. Dunkin' Donuts coffee has a light, smooth flavor that goes well with food. Starbucks coffee is richer and more filling, making it better as a stand alone dessert rather than a part of a meal. <br /><br />Comparing Dunkin' Donuts coffee with Starbucks coffee is like comparing a glass of milk with a chocolate shake.Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17327836181389523648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-43673961473664276662009-08-15T04:23:29.782-04:002009-08-15T04:23:29.782-04:00Starbucks sucks because it's friggin expensive...Starbucks sucks because it's friggin expensive.<br /><br />Go to the drug store, get a bottle of 100mg caffeine tablets or a box of 200mg Vivarin.<br /><br />The objective is to keep your body alert, not to pay five goldang dollars for 100 mg of caffeine dissolved in water.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-17714007729500597022009-08-15T01:48:24.848-04:002009-08-15T01:48:24.848-04:00You are dead on about the faux populist appeal of ...You are dead on about the faux populist appeal of Dunkin' Donuts. I'm sure it has other appeals, too, but this is the one I noticed when I moved out to the East Coast from the West three years ago.<br /><br />The thing is, I think these people <i>talk</i> about drinking Dunkin' Donuts more than actually buying it. If every upper middle class white yup who claimed authenticity via DD actually went there, it would be DD with 180 stores on the island of Manhattan, not Starbucks.<br /><br />Just weird.<br /><br />Of course, I'm from Seattle, where <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/07/24/starbucks15th-avenue-coffee-and-tea-the-protesters" rel="nofollow">morons like these</a> protest Starbucks for being not local enough. Somebody shoot me in the face. Please.DHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04459546477373419944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-16410017927112781152009-08-13T14:36:53.210-04:002009-08-13T14:36:53.210-04:00I find it ironic that the same yuppies who go to D...I find it ironic that the same yuppies who go to Dunkin' Donuts to drink coffee out of styrofoam cups complain about the waste of natural resources and other big corporations doing things harmful to the environment. <br /><br />whereas the people who just go to Starbucks exchange the styrofoam for a partly recycled paper cup and use landfill space for less time.jollyjlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11314221247706242574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-59836422874940150182009-08-13T12:57:37.796-04:002009-08-13T12:57:37.796-04:00i enjoy the comments by hipsters that i'm a co...i enjoy the comments by hipsters that i'm a corporate coffee whore....culture snobs are equal parts humorous and irritating to me. Nothing says pretense like being unable to admit you are pretentious...it makes me miss the west coast: everyone knows their shallow there, i can respect that honest and awareness at least...rather than the crowds living off of their parents money or working for some corporation that still dress like they are a near homeless teenager in Brooklyn.*** ********https://www.blogger.com/profile/17712494111698782889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-14728044092279167362009-08-12T18:26:44.201-04:002009-08-12T18:26:44.201-04:00Yeah, that could play a role too -- too much novel...Yeah, that could play a role too -- too much novelty-seeking among critics.<br /><br />But there is no social pressure to ape what the tasters prefer. It's just the opposite -- about 99% of the pressure you feel comes from people close to you in social space, and they would cast you out if you started to ape some Manhattan wine taster.<br /><br />Lots of the tasters' tastes are very simple and cheap to ape -- buying Dunkin' Donuts coffee, wearing pants, shirts, and ties, etc. They might not be as high quality as the most pricey espresso in town, or bespoke clothing, but they'd at least be heading in the tastemakers' direction.<br /><br />In reality, they wear khaki shorts, flip-flops or sneakers, and t-shirts. And most don't drink coffee at all, preferring soda instead.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-13108294570106510832009-08-11T17:12:09.178-04:002009-08-11T17:12:09.178-04:00From what I can gather (sources: WineLibraryTV, Ma...From what I can gather (sources: WineLibraryTV, Malcolm Gladwell's Ted Talk), one of the reasons tasters choices in food differ from most peoples' is because tasters taste a lot of food. They generally want something interesting, something different, something extreme.<br /><br />Most people, on the other hand, want something pleasant.<br /><br />The confounding issue is that there is social pressure (the potential for status gain) for ordinary people to ape tasters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-54396645365684641432009-08-11T15:47:28.563-04:002009-08-11T15:47:28.563-04:00people go to Starbucks for coffee primarily, where...<i>people go to Starbucks for coffee primarily, whereas most go to Dunkin'Donuts or to McDonalds for food products, with coffee.</i><br /><br />For the Best Coffee category, though, they were just rating the coffee at the different places, not the full range of products offered.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-26579981514194309122009-08-11T15:45:40.586-04:002009-08-11T15:45:40.586-04:00You really can't compare Dunkin' Donuts to...<i>You really can't compare Dunkin' Donuts to Starbucks </i><br /><br />That's what everyone says whenever there's a winner and a loser. But of course you can compare them -- they're both huge national quick-service chains that rely on coffee for their profits, both brewed and espresso.<br /><br />If you judge them only on taste, leaving aside atmosphere, Starbucks would still win because they win in large surveys of coffee taste.<br /><br />And most Starbucks customers don't hang around the place either -- if they did, they would need a lot more couches. I'm there for about an hour a day, and even when it's not crowded, most people get their coffee to go.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-17067010599278246492009-08-11T13:18:11.432-04:002009-08-11T13:18:11.432-04:00I wonder how much, for instance in the Zagat's...I wonder how much, for instance in the Zagat's survey, loyalty to Starbucks brand could be attributable to the fact that people go to Starbucks for coffee primarily, whereas most go to Dunkin'Donuts or to McDonalds for food products, with coffee.Parxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07197427958028140167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-64139719268771704662009-08-11T10:29:25.968-04:002009-08-11T10:29:25.968-04:00You really can't compare Dunkin' Donuts to...You really can't compare Dunkin' Donuts to Starbucks because their atmospheres are completely different. DD stores have much less seating space than do Starbucks, and what they have is much more basic (plastic benches vs. upholstered sofas). It's the sort of place where one eats/drinks and runs. Definitely not like a Starbucks, where it's common to see people lingering for prolonged periods of time. <br /><br />By the way, Dunkin' Donuts takes it name from a specific type of donut it used to serve, the "dunkin' donut." It came with a sort of handle for ease in dunking it in coffee.<br /><br />PeterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com