Why Oh Why Didn't You Buy The Venti Skinny Hazelnut Latte?

Oh joy of joys! Starbucks has ordered 600 stores closed and 12,000 employees laid off. I'm really not a coffee drinker, but I used to think McDonald's were placed too close together until Starbucks came along. The NYC midtown area alone has tons of them at what seems like a block apart - which is probably why they're losing 6 of them. Coincidentally, on May 17, 2008 a Starbucks employee on 200 Madison Ave started the wheels rolling with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize his Starbucks shop of 13 employees. I wonder if Starbucks is taking a page out of the Walmart playbook and closing this store to avoid dealing with what would be their first union store.

Don't get me wrong. I don't wish any business ill and I certainly don't wish anyone would lose their job. Especially in this economy. But what did they think would happen when they placed these locations 2 blocks apart?

In Galesburg Illinois, at least 2 petitions are being circulated to stop the local Starbucks from closing. You can read the article by clicking on the blog title link, but the basic premise is that their small, local Starbucks hasn't gotten an opportunity to show that it can succeed and the local patrons want the opportunity to prove it can be successful and that the neighborhood is behind it's favorite business.

Anyone see anything wrong with this? This is America. We have a basic, consumer mentality. The way I see it, the community of "loyal patrons" had all the time from store opening until the closing announcement was made to "show" how much they loved their Starbucks. They wouldn't even have had to write a petition. All they had to do was BUY MORE OVER-PRICED COFFEE on a REGULAR basis. Not once a year or only when you pulled an all-nighter. If they had done this, no one would have thought of closing the location. Face it. The number$ don't lie and no company wants to lose money.

The idea that these "loyal" customers are outraged about this closing is pure ignorance. They basically want to buy a cup of coffee once in a while and sit in an air conditioned location for hours. They want the convenience of having the place available in case they choose to use it. Sorry buddy, but you're the reason the coffee costs so much in the first place. Who do you think is paying the electric bill for the time you spend in the location on ONE cup of coffee?
Starbucks is a business, not a park. You don't want to spend a lot of money? But a cup of "gourmet" coffee at the local McDonald's and go sit at a park bench or on the lawn at Central Park. Just make sure you recycle that cup so you can say you're "going green."

On yeah, by the way -just a heads up people, the next business being milked by your non-paying "loyal" asses is the local bookstore so don't be surprised when they close down too.