LaughingSeven

The dammed stores are everywhere, and thus you really have to try hard not to end up with a couple of empty Starbucks cups on your car floorboard. It’s just not as sexy to walk around Seattle with your “home-brew” travel mug; and so people are able to buy the cool-kid status for under $5 a day….or visit.

Starbucks’ manifesto is that they want to make sure you don’t have to cross a street to get a good cup of coffee. Seriously, that’s their goal.

“We know that it might be difficult to cross a street, so we want to make it as easy as possible for someone to get a cup of coffee.”

I’ve been sitting here in the Lake City Starbucks for about 2 hours now, and have consumed 1 tall bold drip cup of coffee. Out of pocket expense for this charred cup of brew: $1.58. Since it took me over an hour to drink it, and I’ve still got at least 2 more hours here; I’ll be needing some more in my cup.

And so I walk 6 steps to the overcrowded (by products, not people) order counter for a refill, and am promptly greeted by Starbucks Barista #LL248. You know, there’s not much different about any Starbucks barista that you meet. Regardless of the time of day, they believe that the cup of coffee, tea, or overpriced slice of previously-frozen made-fresh-daily cake/pie/cookie will really make you as happy as they are. Granted, I appreciate the attempt to brighten my day with their over zealous grin and snappy step to get my addiction met with the shortest amount of wait time possible. But then again, am I really appreciative about it? How can I be happy when I’m spending my limited entertainment budget on something that actually makes my teeth yellow, and my breath more rank. And to top it all off, they charge for a refill. If anything, they should pay me to keep drinking their coffee.

So why am I sitting here?

- Close to my hosue.
- Least busy coffee shop around here. This means a lot of space for me
- Two sets of comfy seating areas.

Blah. I really don’t know why I’m here.

Oh yeah, they charge for wifi, too.