tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17934023.post4678305236380087092..comments2024-03-20T12:28:00.031+00:00Comments on Liberal Bureaucracy: Starbucks annoy me, I boycott them, and see what happens...Mark Valladareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15773193846795037711noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17934023.post-12149013488249808472009-01-29T10:12:00.000+00:002009-01-29T10:12:00.000+00:00What you are paying for in Starbucks is not just t...What you are paying for in Starbucks is not just the cost of the coffee, but also a reasonably pleasant place to sit, and a guarantee that the product will be just like any other Starbucks.<BR/><BR/>The reason these chains work is that if I go to a town I've never been to before and see one of their branches I know what to expect. I don't have to think about what to buy, I know their range and I'll probably chose my "normal". If there's an independent shop selling the same sort of product, it may be very good or it may be very bad, and I'll have to think more carefully about what I buy. I might want to be experimental and try, but quite often I'm tired, I don't want to take the risk.<BR/><BR/>If I'm honest, one of the reasons I might choose Starbucks is that the prices and products keep out people I might find it uncomfortable to sit with, so I'm paying for that. McDonalds is great for providing a place where families with children can sit down and have a cheapish meal and a drink, anyone who remembers what it was like trying to take a brood of kids out somewhere in the pre-MacD era will know what I mean by that. McD's coffee may be cheaper and as good as Starbuck's, but if I want to sit down and drink it, I'll be surrounded by screaming kids. <BR/><BR/>Of course, Starbucks is a luxury. If I've lost my job I won't go there. But also I might not go there if I fear I may lose my job, as I know that would cause me to think "If only I hadn't spent all that money on coffee-and-sit-down, I'd have enough to feed myself now" should the job loss ever happen.Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.com