I’ve got to admit it: I will always be a Starbucks Coffee drinker. I love their Chai Lattes like I love my mom (and that’s a lot). I like the atmosphere. I like the holiday cups, the reusable mugs, and the ca-ching sound every time I lose more money out of my bank account to put towards Starbucks.
I think this is the story most Starbucks Coffee drinkers will tell you. It’s not like the company sells bad coffee, it’s just expensive. Maybe it’s a kind of Keeping Up with the Jones’s mentality: if everyone else is drinking it, I should too.
But I think there’s a lot more to be said about the Starbucks story. How did we even get here? When was there a time when everyone wasn’t obsessed with Starbucks?
In 1971, three friends started Starbucks in Pike Place Market in Seattle. It wasn’t
until the 1980’s when the trend of “going out” for coffee really picked up, according to The Medium. Ironically, Starbucks didn’t end up selling anything more than coffee beans to its customers. It wasn’t until Howard Schultz introduced the idea of making and selling beverages to customers did Starbucks start to gain its popularity. The early part of the 2000s saw sales of around $2 million. By 2007 that number was over $9.4 million. In other words, Schultz was the powerhouse and the mastermind of Starbucks. He knew how to revitalize the company during the 2007 recession. He knew what Americans wanted.
Americans like a story. They also like progression and change. Starbucks Stories recounts how Schultz introduced health-care benefits for any full-time and part-time employees. He trained young people to become better baristas and prepare them for the business world. He promised to employ 10,000 veterans. And, Schultz has offered to help pay the tuition of baristas who are getting their bachelor’s degree. Not only does this keep the employees coming back, but it keeps the customers interested in the inner-workings of the company. Americans are invested in the Starbucks story. They feel like they are a part of it, and that’s what makes Starbucks powerful.
It’s not just me who sees the wonderfulness behind Starbucks. Mae Rice of Vox recounts her experience with spending $20,000 at Starbucks over twelve years. She gets a drink there every day. She argues that, though spending this amount of money might seem irresponsible to a lot of people, she sees it as responsibly spending on something she likes, something for herself. To her, recognizing something you like, something you want to spend your money on, is inherently responsible.
I like the way she puts it. Possibly because it supports my own personal Starbucks cravings. Or, because I think Starbucks Coffee is the place to indulge. If you like it, there is no shame in it. Starbucks is ingrained in our culture and is representative of the American Dream. The fact that tasty coffee drinks come with it is just a plus.
I really like this blog topic. I too, am a big fan of Starbucks. I find myself in the library Starbucks multiple times a week, almost always sticking to the same few drinks. I did not know all of the details behind the Starbucks story and enjoyed learning about it through this blog. I also did not know the company started off by only selling beans to customers. I couldn’t even imagine not being able to get my favorite tea from Starbucks!