Starbucks to close 600 stores

[jojapeach]

My co-worker and I went to AJC.com and saw the following headline:

"Man shot 4 times at Atlanta Starbucks"

It's not a funny situation, but reading that headline was hilariously ironic since we think some people may really nut up at the prospect of their area Starbucks closing. What really gets me is that this is one of the Magic Johnson-owned Starbucks, and I don't ever recall any negative incidents like this occurring in the MJ Starbucks before. However, it seems like the customer base there is not of the "stop snitching" variety.

A man was shot repeatedly by an apparent would-be assassin Wednesday night inside a southwest Atlanta Starbucks.

Witnesses say a gunman walked into the Cascade Road coffee shop and shot a man sitting at a table point-blank four times. A second man was also hit, apparently by a bullet that had ricocheted, said witness Karmen Sneed, who was also a customer.

Fulton County Police spokeswoman Kay Lester said the shootings took place at around 9:15 p.m. but didn't say whether the victims were targeted. The men's injuries were not life-threatening, she said.

http://www.ajc.com/wireless/content/...ucks_0703.html

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Yeah, they pay pretty well for food service....part-time employees get health insurance, and they try to pay a living wage. As many justified complaints I hear about Starbucks, I'm quick to defend them over how they pay their employees.

Employees' get stock options as well. They really are a good business model for the service industry on how to treat their people.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

Not sure about now, but at one point McDonald's owned Chipotle. I used to like eating there until I looked up the nutritional data online. Even the rice itself is loaded with fat from whatever they put on it to give it that appealing taste. Sadly enough, healthy as it seems, in some ways Chipotle is just as bad as fast food.

McDonald's used to own Chipotle, as well as Boston Market.

Now, regarding Starbucks. In college I worked at two different Starbucks locations - in Bellevue, WA and Malibu, CA. That was before they went crazy with the Frappucinos and music, and still sold beans (NOT pre-packaged) in the stores. We had three frappucino options - coffee, mocha and espresso - and that was plenty. I'd like to see Starbucks do away with the sweet drinks they sell for non-coffee drinkers. If you don't like coffee or tea, you shouldn't go to Starbucks. They can go back to selling steamers, hot chocolate and OJ/apple juice for the kids, but that's it. And in my opinion they should go back to bagging beans in the stores; it was my favorite part of the job, and it kept customers engaged in Starbucks' coffee.

When Howard stepped down from heading the company, things went downhill. They tried to sell everything to everyone. Now he's back, and he's going back to what he founded the company on: coffee and community. They expanded too fast; those of you in the mid-west, south, east, etc. can't even fathom how many Starbucks stores we have in Washington, particularly the Seattle area. PLUS we have another big chain - Tully's - in addition to smaller local chains such as Caffe Ladro, Seattle's Best Coffee (now owned by Starbucks), Uptown Espresso. And then we have all the gas stations and corners with their own espresso huts outside. Starbucks isn't the most expensive of our options, but I'd rather buy a latte from Caffe Ladro because their espresso just tastes better to me, and when I walk into one of its stores I don't feel like I'm in a Jamba Juice or ice cream shop.

BTW, as someone else here said, Starbucks is a great company to work for. They really do care about their employees, they offer a full range of benefits for anyone who works at least part time, and the pay is good for retail. They also insist that their employees deserve respect from management, coworkers and customers. When I worked there, I once had a customer come in on a Sunday morning and march past the short line of people waiting patiently to demand from me a current scone. "I just want a current scone, and I don't want to wait in line," he shouted, and threw a couple dollar bills at me. I tried calmly explaining to him that he would need to wait his turn, as there were three people in front of him. "I DON'T WANT COFFEE, I JUST WANT MY CURRENT SCONE," he yelled. "And he just wants a newspaper, and she just wants a drip coffee," I said, "We don't have separate lines here, so you'll have to wait your turn." Well, the guy continued to huff and puff, and so the manager came over, asked the man what the problem was, he shouted at her that he shouldn't have to wait for a current scone because "IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE CASE!" The manager had had enough, so she told the man that since he had abused the staff and other customers with his yelling, he wouldn't be getting the current scone at all - she asked him to leave.

[Still BLUTANG]

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. it IS the drive-thru SB near my house. but thankfully the one right near campus, and the one beside my grocery store are o.k.

Originally Posted by Still BLUTANG

as long as its not the drive through joint that's near my house i'm o.k. i'm in a college town so we'll probably not see any locations shuttered...

however, i wonder how many of the minority owned / magic johnson partnership starbucks will be closing? there is one that's not near me, but i visit it when i'm commuting to work AND actually have time to stop.

They're closing 5 stores in Hawai'i. One on Maui, another on the Big Island, one that's only open 6 days a week and closes at 7 on weeknights, and 2 that are in a one block distance from each other (there are 2 SBUX remaining in that same complex).

[jon1856]

Here is a link to the Starbucks site which lists all stores being closed:
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=882

Seems as if only one in my neck of the woods is closing. No great loss to me; I feel for the workers however.

I still recall the very first, and just about only time, I was in a Starbucks.
And that was the very first, original store.

[knight_shadow]

Looks like they're closing 4 stores on the "outskirts" of Arlington. Now we're left with 19 stores.

[srmom]

None of my close ones are closing!! Yay!! We must be heavy coffee drinkers around my area, because, no joke, there is one at just about every corner for about 5 miles and they are all staying open.

[MTSUGURL]

They're closing two here in Murfreesboro. But they're not closing MY Starbucks, so I'm good.

[AOIIalum]

Mine is safe and sound where I live, but a few are closing in Columbus including one of my favorite locations.

[Beryana]

The store in my hometown that I worked at is closing - it was opened this past September (2007)! Guess they weren't doing well enough in those first couple months to make it worth the while. Glad I left for another coffee shop in April (more hours, better pay, and a promotion) -and we have MUCH better espresso than Starbucks. I can't stand Starbucks espresso anymore! We are also a local shop, roast our own coffee, and use local products (produce, eggs, etc) whenever possible.

[Beryana]

Originally Posted by AGDee

The article I read about it (I think on CNN) said that the stores that will close have been on their "watch list" for a year. They've been watching these stores to see if their sales would increase and they have not, so they are closing.

Actually, they are closing stores that have been open less than a year in addition to the older stores. I do feel bad for my former co-workers that are losing their jobs -but am also glad that I left months ago when I was presented with a better opportunity!

[Jill1228]

Thanks for the list, Jon!
Thank goodness none of the ones in my area are closing. They are always hella busy

Stunned that one of the big stores in San Fran is gonna close. Surprised because it is near the BART (the subway system)

[Thetagirl218]

60 stores are closing in Florida! Thankfully none that effect me!