Is Starbucks really that bad?

I lasted 90 minutes in telemarketing.

I lasted nearly two years at Starbucks, though. I think it really can be a good place for some employees. One of my co-workers took on the job when he was laid off from Boeing and supported his family with the wages (piddling though they were in comparison) and insurance he made there.

do you ever go in wearing your starbucks uniform? that would be a fine photo-op waiting to happen.

Yep...and the fact that they are on every street corner puts all those great little coffee shops that we love so much out of business. I've seen several of my favorite coffee shops go under when Starbucks opened up right across the fucking street.

Take this passage from a very thorough document on the history and business practices of Starbucks prepared by the Thunderbird Graduate School for International Management:
"The company was widely considered ruthless in its real estate practices. Practices included paying premiums over existing rental prices to push square footage prices up, retaining closed properties to prevent competitor entry, and generally aggressive property negotiations. The refusal to franchise allowed the firm to pursue real estate and store proliferation strategies which did not conflict with corporate goals; all stores were Starbucks-owned and operated, and therefore 'turf' was not an issue."

On the other hand, though, they've done a lot of really good work to ensure that coffee farmers worldwide earn fair wages and have decent living conditions. From the same document as the above passage:
"Starbucks was a regular and growing giver, supporting relief organizations such as CARE, the nonprofit international relief organization, as well as providing direct support to farmers and farm communities around the world. For example, Starbucks had contributed $43,000 in 2001 to the construction of a health clinic and school in Guatemala and a health clinic in East Timor. The company was also providing aid in a variety of ways to the improvement of coffee processing facilities in a number of the countries of origin."

Starbucks also supports certified Fair Trade coffee buying practices. If that doesn't mean anything substantial to you (it didn't to me until recently) this might help you get an idea of what that means. From this story:
"The wholesale price for Arabic beans, the type used by specialty coffee roasters, is about 51 cents a pound. Fair Trade growers are paid $1.26 per pound for their beans. All the money goes to the farmer, not to a wholesaler or middleman." That's a tad misleading, since the actual price is negotiated with the individual co-op by the buyer, but it's representative of the value of Fair Trade practices over traditional wholesale purchasing.

They also enter into long-term (3 to 5 year) contracts with growers to ensure that growers have capital during tough times, and provide financial assistance in times of stress. They provided financing for more than 1.2 million pounds of coffee in 2002 (205 farmers received pre-harvest financing, 691 postharvest financing). This financing would be difficult if not impossible for growers to procure if not for the Starbucks loan guarantee programs.

As much as I hate the fact that Starbucks forces their employees to fit a certain aesthetic, disregard local customs and cultural forces during international expansion, and force their competitors out of the market altogether with brutal real estate practices, I have to admit that the fact that they work so hard to enrich the lives of traditionally underpaid worldwide coffee growers is more important. So I'd say they are, as a company, more positive than negative.

DECAF: WHAT'S THE POINT!!!

Uh...where did you get that info?

Also...(continuing my post up above)...if you want to see the numbers on Starbucks' social responsibility programs, you may want to check out their 2002 Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Report.

Also, go here.

Can they do more? Of course. But seriously, there are far worse global companies out there that aren't putting half the effort into improving conditions for anyone worldwide as Starbucks is.

Also, according to their site, they only brew Fair Trade coffee once a month to be featured as their coffee of the day, but it can be brewed at any time at customer's request.

[Edited on Mar 15, 2004 by bean]

I've never heard that done in the US. They just call out the name of your drink.