12,600 Seconds: A Tragedy

     Yesterday, as many know, Starbucks did the unthinkable… it closed it’s 7,100 U.S. stores for three hours. The country went into withdrawal.

Yes, I’m a photographer, and yes, this is predominantly my photo blog. But, I’m also a huge Starbucks fan. Also, I have spent much of my education studying public relations, marketing and brand strategy and am always on the look-out for news stories that involve any or all of those topics. So, I thought it would be fun to write a few thoughts on what I think about this International news since I saw so many people deeply effected by this national event. (I hope you can sense the sarcasm here and sprinkled throughout the rest of this post.)

     As stated in this article of the San Francisco Chronicle, “The corporate memo on the closure noted that 12,600 seconds passed without a Starbucks serving coffee anywhere in the United States of America.”

Comical! Would anyone care how many seconds any other company in America was shut down? Unlikely. But, I still find myself fascinated at this thought. I didn’t even know about the stores being closed until someone in my Tuesday night class (I am adjunct faculty and teach Digital Imaging at a local University) told me that they tried to go to Starbucks before class and it was… closed! The first thought I had– Man. I’m glad I left for class extra early today so I could get my coffee before the place closed. Yes, a sign someone with a coffee problem.

Word on the street is that the stores planned the nationwide closure in order to provide new training to Starbucks employees on new in-store operations. As the Chronicle mentioned, the corporate goal was to provide the opportunity for “a comprehensive educational curriculum to provide a renewed focus on espresso standards that will help ensure the exceptional quality of every beverage.” PR spin.
From a brand perspective, Starbucks has been known to be the top. They’ve cornered the market on $4 coffee and found a huge market for people who will pay that several times a week. However, recently the coffee giant has begun to see trouble [insert lame pun here] brewing. With the economy suffering, and the price of goods like oil and coffee going up quickly, Starbucks has had to get aggressive with the mounting competition from Dunkin Donuts (which I’m not familiar with too much here on the West Coast, but have heard is a giant back East) and McDonald’s, of all places. I’ve heard rumors that McDonald’s coffee has even beat Starbucks in blind taste tests. I’m not positive this is true, but it’s interesting to hear that McDonald’s could be the most dangerous competitor to a place like Starbucks, when for so long the home of the Golden Arches has been known for low prices rather than quality products.

This nationwide store closure is nothing more than part of a larger public relations plan to demonstrate to America and the world that Starbucks is getting back to being serious about coffee. Over the past couple years it has tried to extend its business by offering more and more products like sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches (which will be pulled soon), and other merchandise, taking the focus away from its supposedly superior beverages.

As CEO Howard Schultz recently stated in this article, the company is going to “get back to the roots and the core of our heritage, which is the leading roaster of specialty coffee in the world.”

Like I said, I’m a Starbucks fan. I’ve bought into their brand and am not ashamed to admit it. Though, I also enjoy Coffee Bean and the other coffee shops… so maybe I can’t really call myself a “fan”, but more somebody who enjoys convenient coffee. I also enjoy free Internet access at public places so that I can take breaks from my computer in my home office and go out into the world to get some work done — so, according to this, I may be spending more time at Starbucks in the near future.

Thanks for allowing me to share these thoughts on a topic I find rather fascinating. I’ll get back to my camera now. 🙂