January 30, 2007
FILTHY EUROS (via brian boys):
The man who knows why we're so hooked on coffee: Starbucks plays on our secret desires and trains us to speak its language. After visiting 400 outlets, one academic reveals how it's done (David Smith, January 28, 2007, The Observer)
The reason for the remarkable growth of one of the social markers of the past two decades - upmarket coffee shops such as Starbucks and Caffe Nero - could now be a little clearer thanks to an American academic who has undertaken a remarkable personal odyssey to try to get to the bottom of the conundrum. Bryant Simon spent a year visiting more than 400 of its coffee shops in several countries, observing customers for around 12 to 15 hours a week. [...]There are 530 branches in the UK and, with profits soaring, the company has said it aims to add 50 per year, about half of them in the south east of England. Anyone can now calculate their 'Starbucks density' using a locator on the company website: a person in Regent Street in London is within five miles of 166 branches.
It is proof the formula works even in a nation of tea drinkers, but Simon feels one element was lost in the move across the Atlantic: 'Starbucks is dirtier in Britain. Americans have been taught to do part of the labour, and they clean up after themselves. In the US, part of Starbucks' appeal is its cleanness.'
Don't they all have maids and butlers to pick up after them? Posted by Orrin Judd at January 30, 2007 8:09 PM
They leave their mess in Micky D's too.
Posted by: ic at January 30, 2007 11:14 PMNon-neatniks. This is one of those oddities that frequently happen in life when one suddenly hears a lot about a thing heretofore never before encountered, in this case, messy restaurant patrons.
We had lunch yesterday at a restaurant somewhere between a fast food joint and an elegant beanery. When we were seated, we noticed the floor around the table was littered with bread crusts and other detritus and wondered if the culprits were small children who are rarely seen there. The waiter apologized that the area hadn't been policed as yet, but no, kids didn't make the mess, it was a table of adults.
He went on to say that there's been a lot more of this kind of anti-social behavior even among us geezers who are usually among the most well-behaved and courteous of their patrons.
It's shocking that people choosing to patronize a fairly nice place would be so careless as to leave a trail of litter behind them or even actually drop debris on the floor almost deliberately.