this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024
534 points (97.3% liked)

News

23409 readers
2886 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 205 points 4 months ago (14 children)

They should try making good coffee

[–] [email protected] 95 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

The coffee is okay, but nowhere close to the price they're asking for.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The pricing is also egregious considering I can make a far better cup at home for less.

[–] [email protected] 76 points 4 months ago (5 children)

You'll always make a better cup of coffee at home for less.

But people pay a little extra for the convenience of not doing it. Starbucks however is banking on their reputation to overcharge, which seems to be finally backfiring.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 months ago (2 children)

The coffee is better at home, sure. But I can't make what is essentially a specialty milkshake at home without going out and getting the tools and ingredients.

Sometimes I can have little a of Starbucks, as a treat.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] xmunk 16 points 4 months ago (9 children)

I will never understand people who get drip coffee at Starbucks... back when I got things from there it would just be the occasional over the top milk shake. Starbucks legitimately has the tools to produce ridiculous drinks with far less hassle then it'd take at home.

load more comments (9 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (5 children)

They make desserts using coffee as an ingredient. That's why their coffee is shit at being coffee.

Vanilla makes a pancake delicious, but you wouldn't drink it.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (12 replies)
[–] [email protected] 98 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Why would you go to Starbucks if another local coffee shop was nearby? Their coffee is fine, but it loses taste tests to McDonald's. They're anti union. They're too expensive. You can usually get a better coffee elsewhere.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 months ago (15 children)

That's crazy. Someone told me McDonald's coffee is pretty good for the lower price range. I tried it a few times since you never know if it was just a bad batch, and I gotta say it was pretty awful, not for me. I just avoid starbucks because they think they can charge you the most ridiculous price I've seen for ok coffee. I have a few local places I will go to if I need something. Sadly, they are pretty expensive as well these days, but they are still cheaper than starbucks.

load more comments (15 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 82 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Starbucks, do you remember when the German government lowered the VAT in July 2020 for restaurants when COVID hit us? The intention was to make food cheaper for the consumer to prevent restaurants from going bankrupt.

That’s the month you increased your prizes to sell your stuff for the same prize including VAT as before and making more profit, giving your customers a huge middle finger.

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago

I'm fron Germany and have never bought anything there. There tax evation strategy is disgusting. They use our roads, our people, our country and pay close to 0 taxes in Luxembourg or Panama with money earned in Germany.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 53 points 4 months ago

Good. I hope every single company that took advantage of the inflation by raising prices to the fucking moon goes under.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (9 children)

Started going to a small local coffee shop a little over two years ago, and I'll never go back to the giant chains. The people working are always happy, greet regulars by name, always go out of their way to interact or talk with me- usually remember something we talked about before, comp my orders every now and then, host little events, etc. It's not just them either - I always have a way better experience going to non-chain coffee places. Oh, and the coffee is always waay better and priced better.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 months ago

Sometimes I'll work out of a small local cafe that roasts their own beans on site.

It's insane how much better the coffee is for the same price, and they know my order before I even say anything.

Plus, I can get excellent beans from them to brew at home, and I'm supporting a local business instead of a megacorp.

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] [email protected] 44 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Only down 3%? I was hoping more. Still, fuck em. Maybe fewer consumers want to pay out the nose for a cup of flavored sugar with coffee?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (7 children)

Overpriced cafeinated milkshakes for adults ~~makerating~~ masquerading as "coffee".

load more comments (7 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 44 points 3 months ago (1 children)

We raised or prices and consumers stopped buying! What is the invisible hand of the market doing? We were promised everlasting growth!

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 months ago

Raised our prices while not just union busting, but outright trying to make them illegal.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 4 months ago (3 children)

First McDonald's and now Starbucks. Cool. Screw em.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 29 points 3 months ago

Honestly, it wasn't the $7 coffee that turned me away from starbucks. It was the $7 coffee that taste like toilet water, when there are no shortage of local, cheaper coffee shops with amazing brews made by people who actually want to be there, who also won't be fired for unionizing.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago

We are laughing at your misfortune, you fucking ghouls

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago (2 children)

For granted, there's no shortage of coffee shops in my city. Locally operated and owned, and they have better coffee at better prices. Starbucks isn't even a reasonable choice with so many better options available.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 months ago
[–] [email protected] 26 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I suggest a community owned and operated service where we can offer Starbucks and McDonald's words of support during these especially difficult times..

But exactly because the times are difficult for them right now, WE CAN CHARGE THEM SURGE PRICING for the supportive messages!!! Let's also ~~fire~~ conduct an employment status reassignment activity for 60% of the human message writer workforce and replace them with AI and cheap offshore call centers!!! Also, let's sell our now collected sadness data on Starbucks and McDonald's to our third party partners like Kleenex so that they can also charge them surge prices for tissues as we have reliable data to show that they are crying right now!!!

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

I started boycotting Starbucks when I learned they had partnered with Nestle for store-bought products - their Sumatra and Komodo Dragon coffees were pretty good.

I send an email every year or so to let them know, since boycotts aren't effective if the group being boycotted doesn't know why, with predictably apathetic responses.

Anyway, if you're a no-Nestle person then Starbucks is on the list...

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I stopped going there when I realized it's all just sugar. All the yummy drinks are just sugar.

My husband and I started going to the co-op and getting fancy coffee beans and make drip coffee each morning. Cheaper, just as delicious (if not even better), and we don't have to go out

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Watching them trying to bust unionization efforts in their shops just totally turned me off the brand. I haven’t been into one of their shops or bought any of their products at retail since.

At this point I’ve found better local places but mostly I just got used to making my own iced coffee and it would be silly to bother going back.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 months ago (6 children)

Personally I resent how they redefine sizes.

I want a coffee I don't want to have to read in English to twat translation guide to be able to order one.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Good! I boycott Starbucks because of their underhanded business practices.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Outside of North America, same-store sales slid 7%. In China, Starbucks’ second-largest market, same-store sales tumbled 14% as both average ticket and transactions shrank. Starbucks has faced stiffer competition in China from local coffee shops that undercut the coffee giant on price.

And that is the problem. Starbucks is not offering anything that doesn't already exist. It pretends to be a coffee shop for the upper class because it sounds "sophisticated" to say grande instead of medium.

I no longer go there. I know local coffee shops that offer a much better selection of coffees at a good price. And their atmosphere is authentic.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

The longtime running critique of Starbucks was that they were already an expensive luxury. Why push it and try to raise prices even further? That takes some serious delusion.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 children)

The funny thing is that Starbucks isn’t even “luxury”, their product is mediocre at best and mostly mocked by coffee enthusiasts

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Are we going elsewhere or are we just too broke to grab a $7 coffee every day?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Maybe because we're too broke for a $7 coffee everyday so we going elsewhere.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago

Fast food is where the pushback is beginning. Consumers NEED to push back on greed-flation for things to change, especially in areas of elastic demand. Hopefully, this trend continues and the companies react the right way (I know, that’s overly optimistic)

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (6 children)

The real surprise is how burnt coffee every became popular in the first place

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago (4 children)

The only time I ever go to Starbucks now is if I'm traveling and don't want to stop and run in somewhere and it's the only real option at the exit.

Their coffee is god-awful and always has been.

I will always go to local places before Starbucks. And even if I don't want to get out of my car, local places with drive-throughs are becoming pretty common now. There's several here. There's a guy in a small town nearby who owns a tiny drive-up kiosk with a Starbuck's on one side of town and another chain called Biggby's being built on the other side of town. I talked to him about whether or not he's worried. He's not. He has a ton of loyal customers and offers a bunch of stuff that the others don't, like a huge number of smoothie flavors and multiple types of cake you can get slices from. There's even a fresh vegetable stand a friend with a farm set up next to the kiosk so you can get some fresh produce after you get coffee if you're so inclined.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Americans learning why Starbucks struggles overseas. I'm guessing the maturity of small coffee shops has caught up to the rest of us, so better coffee at better pricing is more abundant.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago

Omg, the consequences of all the giant corporations inflating prices for the last 4 years

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago

My local cafes are just better, and they’re just as close as Starbucks. It’s not that they aren’t busy, their sales just aren’t growing and shareholders don’t like it when the line doesn’t go up.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago (1 children)
  1. expensive
  2. better alternatives abound
  3. corporate has questionable morality
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Isn’t this because they were supporting Israel?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Maybe it's because their coffee is garbage, their prices are high, and many people have less disposable income than they used to.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

I think it's just a combination at this stage. Something for everyone to hate about them.

They're anti-union. They're meme levels of expensive in an era of strapped cash. People are conscious of "local" business over something they know is a chain. Brand reputationn for low quality for the price has set in. And lastly people are aware of their stagnation. There's nothing "revolutionary" going on in the coffee industry to draw customers who have been turned off back to them. Even McShungles can draw people back to them with a special sale on something. Starbucks never does that I'm aware of (and if they do they're doing a shit job of advertising as evidenced by my lack of knowledge)

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

First McDonald's falling sales. Now Starbucks falling sales. Hmm.... I wonder if there's a trend going on here.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I haven't gone to Starbucks for a regular coffee since they changed to only serving Pike's Place Roast (like 10+ years ago).

It should tell them something when you go to the grocery store, Starbucks is on sale, and they are out of Breakfast Blend, House Blend, and Veranda Blend, but they have full shelves of fucking Pike's. There are several gas station brand coffees better than that swill.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The other day I was walking around, thinking about all the different coffee shops I could see, and wondering why people waste their money on starbucks and their burnt-ass coffee.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›