• Moah@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 months ago

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

    • Lemisset@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Same here! Too much union busting for me to feel comfortable buying things there. I’m sure they’ve done other stuff, but that alone was enough for me.

  • Snapz@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    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!!!

  • ramsgrl909@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    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

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    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.

    • A Phlaming Phoenix@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      If you scorch coffee beans, all the nuance of their flavor is destroyed, leaving you with beans that taste like shit. However, the beans will also all taste the same no matter where they’re sourced from. I’m convinced this is why Starbucks coffee tastes like shit. They want it to have consistent flavor no matter where in the world you’re getting it. If you cover that with enough cream and sugar and artificial flavoring, you can make it palatable again.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Considering, like any other major fast food corporation, they likely have a large number of food scientists on staff who could absolutely make a better-tasting cup of coffee if they were tasked to, I think you’re on to something there.

        McDonald’s is similar with pretty much all of their food. No, a Quarter Pounder doesn’t taste like a normal burger, but it essentially tastes the same in New York as it does in Vancouver or (I presume) Mexico City.

        • CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          If McDonalds tastes the same everywhere as it does where I live how the hell are they still in business? Crap tastes like greasy (yet somehow also dry) styrofoam at this point.

  • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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    2 months ago

    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.

    • Routhinator@startrek.website
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      2 months ago

      This! God damn I’m so sick of asking for a large and they give me a Venti (aka extra large) telling me “oh thats what you asked for”

      You do realize your shitty size names actually have some meaning in other languages right? Grande = Large. Also 16oz = large.

      That said, I think I go to them like 2 times a year now when everything else is closed and I have to choose between them and Tim Horton’s.

      Also, fuck corps and their decision to upsize a large to 20oz in other companies. Can’t remember exactly when that started (15 years ago or so?) however I think the first ones to do it were McDonalds and Tim Horton’s here in Canada.

      Just makes me recall Super Size Me.

    • 𝔼𝕩𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕒@lemmy.world
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      2 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)

    • mctoasterson@reddthat.com
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      2 months ago

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

      • Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net
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        2 months ago

        Whee hee! Look! Another signpost for a recession. McDs also are taking a hit bc of pricing and such

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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        2 months ago

        Here in the NW, in their own home territory, they’re few and and far between these days. There is way too much good coffee around for them to support being on every street corner like they used to be.

        • cm0002@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          There is way too much good coffee around for them to support being on every street corner like they used to be.

          Frankly, I don’t know what they were thinking, the barrier to entry to get a good coffee shop going is a lot lower than say a restaurant or fast food joint. They don’t need kitchens or seating areas or food stuff or even a big enough lot for a parking lot and I’d bet the margins for coffee are a lot bigger. It was never going to be very long before competitors were everywhere lol

    • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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      2 months ago

      As much as I wish it was, it’s more likely people are cutting back spending across junk food, see McDs having the same problem.

  • Veedem@lemmy.world
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    2 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)

  • StupidBrotherInLaw@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    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?

        • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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          2 months ago

          I used to be middle management in retail. The province wide financial meetings had franchisees shitting themselves because the profit vs cost percentage had gone down, despite the actual profit amount continuing to increase (by raising prices).

          These people do not live in reality. All numbers must always go up.

    • ours@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Overpriced cafeinated milkshakes for adults makerating as “coffee”.

      • Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Starbucks customer: Ooof, don’t talk to me before I’ve had my morning coffee…Id like a Venti vanilla caramel mochaccino with 2 extra pumps of vanilla and double drizzle on the whipped cream…but low fat whipped cream

      • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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        2 months ago

        makerating

        Masquerading?

        It’s an honestly difficult borrowed French/Italian word just checking if that’s what you were going for.

  • Kalkaline @leminal.space
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    2 months ago

    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.

    • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I love the Starbucks sugar and fat loaded frappucinos.

      Fortunately, there’s a unionized Starbucks near me! A little out of the way but I make the trip. I feel ok supporting that branch and only that branch.

    • phoneymouse@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      The reason is the app. If you’re in a hurry, being able to walk in and have your coffee ready is huge. I love to support the local coffee shops and I do on weekends, but it can be risky in the middle of the week if you’ve got to get to work and the local place has a long line or someone ahead of you orders a fancy drink and all you want to do is grab a cup of coffee, pay, and leave.

    • HeyJoe@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      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.

      • forgotaboutlaye@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I like MacDonalds coffee, but it is acidic, which I equate to the ‘breakfast blend’ Latin American type coffee that I assume it is. I can absolutely see that as tasting awful to some palates.

        Also has been some years since I had the hot coffee. I did have their ice coffee a few years ago, and it was solidly okay for 1 CAD.

      • criticon@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        I wonder if the people who claim that only order the sugary stuff. I tried McDonald’s a couple of times recently after reading online that they got the Tim Hortons OG coffee provider and it was awful. I’m not a fan of Starbucks but at least they serve consistently good coffee (not great). I only get it if I’m on company expenses

        • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          The best mass market coffee I’ve had is, no joke, Sheetz. If their fancy machines are to be believed, they’re grinding the beans fresh every time and doing some kind of pressurized brewing method. For each cup. And if you buy something else it’s usually free.

          • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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            2 months ago

            Funny how everyone’s tastes are different. There is a Sheetz with a gas station on the way back from where I go skiing a lot and I often stop for gas and coffee. I keep hoping the coffee won’t be garbage, but it always is.

            I don’t even like Starbucks but there are plenty of blends they have that I would pick over sheetz any day.

          • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Wawa has great coffee, too. I don’t think it’s anything to do with the coffee itself or the brewing process - it’s because they sell a shit ton of it so you never get stale coffee that’s been sitting in an urn all day.

            • klemptor@startrek.website
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              2 months ago

              It’s almost Pumpkin Spice coffee season! I look forward to seeing the pumpkin on the wawa door. Then I buy like 10 bags!

              • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                I like their Christmas blend the best. I always buy a bunch of bags thinking it will last me until summer, and then it’s gone by the end of January.

        • Salix@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          I personally do not like any sugar in my coffee unless at a Viennese coffee house. I have a lot of amazing coffee roasters in the area.

          I still find McDonald’s coffee to be good for the price. Well, as long as there is a bit of creamer in it. I don’t ever eat at McDonald’s, I only go there for coffee if I need something quick and cheap that is better than gas station / 7-Eleven / Starbucks coffee.

          I don’t use creamer/milk in any actual good coffee. I prefer my coffee black to actually taste it, and normally it’s already sweet without anything added. And don’t like drip coffee usually.