Starbucks fires Donald

Source: BBC

Starbucks has sacked its chief executive Jim Donald and handed the reins back to its chairman and former chief executive, Howard Schultz.

The move is part of the coffee giant's plans to lift its fortunes, which also includes closing some US stores and slowing the pace of opening new ones.

Starbucks shares have fallen 50% in the past year as its domestic business in the US has slowed.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7176225.stm

---

Welcome back, Howard Schultz.

Just sayin'.

People don't understand that coffee is not supposed to be drunk for its flavor, any more than liver and onions on a stick is eaten for its flavor. Coffee is only a delivery medium for caffein. It does not taste good. It CAN NOT taste good.

And Starbuck's is evil for pretending that the different (more expensive) versions of this boiled mud is "better" or has "flavor" as if it were freaking wine. And charging out the wazoo for it.

Not only that, I've had better coffee cake from a Little Debbie's box. And that is no compliment.

(though not on a stick). And I like the taste of a good cup of coffee. It's a generally benign drug, but the buzz isn't worth it if it tastes bad. Or smells like cat pee. We've had some pee issues with our cats over the years, but our coffeemaker makes something that smells a whole let better.

... is not like nicotine. You have to drink an inordinate amount of coffee to get a bad effect, and should you choose to go all herbal it's fairly easy to wean yourself off the stuff by gradually mixing more decaf and less full-caf in each cup you drink. Try doing that with a pack of Camels.

Coffee, like beer, ripe cheese, and green olives, is an acquired taste. Contrary to your assertion, there's an enormous difference between bad coffee and excellent coffee. Peet's happens to be excellent but expensive -- while a lot of Trader Joe's coffees are not only very good and inexpensive, but Organic or Fair Trade to boot.

Back when I first started drinking the stuff as a college freshman, the standard at coffee shops was to brew pots and then let them sit for hours on the hotplate. The results were often referred to as "battery acid."

I credit the proliferation of Starbucks stores with raising the standard of the average cuppa joe at coffee shops. Now you can get a decent cup of French Roast almost anywhere, including lowly McDonald's.

Whatever you think of Starbucks corporate practices, imo they have provided a valuable public service by getting people to expect their brewed coffee to taste good. The fact that they are making a ton of money by selling milky highly flavored coffee drinks is another matter.

Hekate

my local mom and pop ice cream parlor just went out of business. there's no room in the world (even in the "tony" area i live in) for the $5 ice cream cone

as for the coffee, i like my own coffee better than starbucks.

Do they still sell coffee there? I thought they just sold CDs to baby boomers now.

And I'm not even joking!
1 in dominick's grocery store
1 in meijer grocery store (directly across the street from dominicks)
and a traditional drive-up/dine-in one on the corner separating the two.
There's also 2 new drive up/dine-ins being built in both directions (east & west) 2 miles up the road.

I know there are some differences with the in-store, but seriously - it's insane. I live so far out of the city, my town is considered an xurb vs. a suburb.

I remember the old Starbucks, before the big explosion. Working my way through school in the mid 90s, I worked at a Starbucks for a year, just prior to massive growth explosion, back when the focus of the stores was actually coffee. In fact, the stores were tasked more with selling coffee beans, grinders, and brewers back then, rather than sugary flavored drinks with a single shot of espresso in them. I hope Schultz will take the company back to its roots.

When I worked there, every new employee had to go through a 2 week (paid) training course. One day was learning the register, one day was the machines, the rest of the 2 weeks was learning about coffee. It's history, varieties, what coffee goes good with what food, etc.

The final day, before you were allowed to work in a store, you were sat down and 3 small cups of black coffee were put in front of you. You had to taste them, and be able to name the country or region of origin of 2 of the 3, just by taste. I hope they get back to that kind of culture.