and as if by magic…

As I have mentioned before, I’m not particularly fond of Starbucks and I enjoyed this little micro-action-event enormously; and I said so too. What I said was this:

The group that brought us “frozen central station” do a brilliant micro-happening which I think (and you know what I think about Starbucks) shows what a rubbish environment a Starbucks coffee shop actually is. Brilliant stuff.

Turned off my computer and started shooting things. Later Ben asked a civil question that has yet to be answered. This is what he asked:

Why does that show “what a rubbish environment a Starbucks coffee shop actually is”?

This post in my attempt to answer that question, and only that question; it will not be about Starbucks as a brand (although that may peek through from time to time), the coffee, their pricing strategy or their bizarre product ranges – for none of these things would truly answer Ben’s question of why I think the video/action shows what a rubbish environment a Starbucks coffee shop actually is.

Firstly, and this is very important, this is a wildly subjective statement as is this post. I point this out because I have come to realise that the sight of a Starbucks coffee shop triggers an irrational emotional response in my brain that is similar to a panic attack. This has nothing to do with the design of the shop; furniture, colours, fabrics, logos etc. etc. and it has nothing to do with the products sold nor even the people that sell Starbucks stuff – but everything to do with the people that go there (customers) and what they do there.

Having thought about Ben’s question for over a week now, I have come to the alarming conclusion that my overall posture concerning Starbucks is stern and rather conservative because what I see in the video and what I experience at Starbucks is interference and a total lack of manners.

They are being very rude.

I find the Starbuck’s “experience” deeply unpleasant because I find the behaviour of the people around me very rude indeed – not because they are necessarily behaving “badly” but because their expectation of the environment is different to mine and they “bring stuff with them” which I don’t think belongs within that particular context. They set up “their shop” in someone else’s shop. For them Starbucks seems to be a place to either get a coffee-to-go (an idea I despise) or a place to sit and work – that’s not my expectation of a café.

I have also come to realise that my general disdain of Starbucks is a little unfair because I actually project my overall dislike of all displays of mobile-importance, capability (why do you need to turn you mobile phone on when you’ve just landed at the airport?) and other displays of general bad manners upon Starbucks. This may not be fair – but it’s the way it is.

I’ll openly acknowledge that when it comes to public spaces (especially those that involve food, drink and chat) I do like a good set of behavioral rules – that these rules are usually based upon the context of that environment and for me the general behaviour of the people I have encountered in a Starbucks coffee shop does not conform to the etiquette of a coffee drinking environment.
It does however, seem to adhere to the contextual rules of a Starbucks, which I have therfore chosen to negate.

Again, this is a deeply personal point of view and I exercise my rights by simply not going there – but that is not the point of this post. The point was to answer Ben’s question, which I have now hopefully done.

Good evening.

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