Just want to get in before the snobs to say I actually like starbucks. I didn't say love. What Starbucks is, is fine. It's acceptable. It's ubiquitous. It's consistent. The coffee is hot. They have real cream and I don't have to open four little plastic puzzles to get it. And since I just drink the brewed coffee and don't eat there I also think it's pretty cheap. Sue me.

And if you follow Motley Fool et. al you were brilliant and sold all your stock around the time it hit 8.00 a share on thier sage advice that the company was doomed.

/tee hee.

Kuroshin: Proof that the economy is building steam. If things were really tight, people wouldn't be spending exorbitant amounts of money on coffee - they'd brew their own for pennies.

Starbucks is indeed the economic barometer of our time.

Reading about the amusement parks in Florida had to turn away people during the holidays for the first time in years tells me that the economy is recovering.

There's nothing wrong with a slow recovery. Keeps inflation down.

One reason I go to Starbucks is because I know they treat the employees pretty well, and because all employees can get full benefits (health/dental/vision/stock options) at only 20 hours a week. Most managers will do their damnedest to make sure anyone who wants 20 hours gets it, too. None of this "we'll make you work 39.5 hours a week so we can call you part time and not give you any benefits" crap.

Dragonblink: One reason I go to Starbucks is because I know they treat the employees pretty well, and because all employees can get full benefits (health/dental/vision/stock options) at only 20 hours a week. Most managers will do their damnedest to make sure anyone who wants 20 hours gets it, too. None of this "we'll make you work 39.5 hours a week so we can call you part time and not give you any benefits" crap.

Dragonblink: One reason I go to Starbucks is because I know they treat the employees pretty well, and because all employees can get full benefits (health/dental/vision/stock options) at only 20 hours a week. Most managers will do their damnedest to make sure anyone who wants 20 hours gets it, too. None of this "we'll make you work 39.5 hours a week so we can call you part time and not give you any benefits" crap.

BUT THEIR COFFEE TASTES LIKE BURNT ASS!

B... but we were supposed to destroy them after they announced they were supporting teh gheys!

More proof that most Americans can only taste one flavor.

Actaully, they are starting to get some support around here since they took a stand against the gun-grabbers recently. Call it a response to the National Gun Victim's Action Council planned boycott.

JohnBigBootay: Just want to get in before the snobs to say I actually like starbucks. I didn't say love. What Starbucks is, is fine. It's acceptable. It's ubiquitous. It's consistent. The coffee is hot. They have real cream and I don't have to open four little plastic puzzles to get it. And since I just drink the brewed coffee and don't eat there I also think it's pretty cheap. Sue me.

Pretty much this. The locations I regularly visit always have well-trained, friendly staff who usually anticipate what I want. When there is a line out the door, they see me and usually have my drink ready as I step up to the register.

Add a clean, comfortable place to meet with friends and a general lack of noisy crotchfruit and you have a place I'm happy to patronize!

I'm old. When I travelled around in the 1980s, I could not get a decent cup of coffee anywhere. Starbucks made inroads into the Great Flyover in the 90s. Their coffee is not the best, but it is drinkable. It was a real treat to finally have drinkable coffee while I was travelling.

It is also a beacon of sorts. If there is a good cafe in a town, they will build a shop across the street from it. If I am travelling and need good coffee, I look for a Starbucks. If there is a cafe across the street, that's where I go for the good coffee.

HeadLever: Actaully, they are starting to get some support around here since they took a stand against the gun-grabbers recently. Call it a response to the National Gun Victim's Action Council planned boycott.

Yeah... From the looks of their Facebook page, I don't think that boycott thingy is working out the way they hoped.

Link (new window)

Ontos: Yeah... From the looks of their Facebook page, I don't think that boycott thingy is working out the way they hoped.

Yeah, these folks are finding it more difficult for anyone to take them seriously. This group is especially whacked and appears to be a regurgitation of the Brady Campaign.

They burn their beans

Shazam999: Dragonblink: One reason I go to Starbucks is because I know they treat the employees pretty well, and because all employees can get full benefits (health/dental/vision/stock options) at only 20 hours a week. Most managers will do their damnedest to make sure anyone who wants 20 hours gets it, too. None of this "we'll make you work 39.5 hours a week so we can call you part time and not give you any benefits" crap.

Dragonblink: One reason I go to Starbucks is because I know they treat the employees pretty well, and because all employees can get full benefits (health/dental/vision/stock options) at only 20 hours a week. Most managers will do their damnedest to make sure anyone who wants 20 hours gets it, too. None of this "we'll make you work 39.5 hours a week so we can call you part time and not give you any benefits" crap.

BUT THEIR COFFEE TASTES LIKE BURNT ASS!

Coffee tastes are subjective. To some its burnt, other it is not, its your choice to buy it or not. I buy at Starbucks when I am on the road for travel or work and when its right in the hotel (or right around the corner and there are no other options)I am staying and I need to cup (no lattes, cappuccinos, etc...) to jumpstart me for the day. Other that all my coffee is made at home and a hotpot in my office for tea in the afternoon.

yoyoyo: Shazam999: Dragonblink: One reason I go to Starbucks is because I know they treat the employees pretty well, and because all employees can get full benefits (health/dental/vision/stock options) at only 20 hours a week. Most managers will do their damnedest to make sure anyone who wants 20 hours gets it, too. None of this "we'll make you work 39.5 hours a week so we can call you part time and not give you any benefits" crap.

Dragonblink: One reason I go to Starbucks is because I know they treat the employees pretty well, and because all employees can get full benefits (health/dental/vision/stock options) at only 20 hours a week. Most managers will do their damnedest to make sure anyone who wants 20 hours gets it, too. None of this "we'll make you work 39.5 hours a week so we can call you part time and not give you any benefits" crap.

BUT THEIR COFFEE TASTES LIKE BURNT ASS!

Coffee tastes are subjective. To some its burnt, other it is not, its your choice to buy it or not. I buy at Starbucks when I am on the road for travel or work and when its right in the hotel (or right around the corner and there are no other options)I am staying and I need to cup (no lattes, cappuccinos, etc...) to jumpstart me for the day. Other that all my coffee is made at home and a hotpot in my office for tea in the afternoon.

Hello McFly, I'm joking.

Kuroshin: Proof that the economy is building steam. If things were really tight, people wouldn't be spending exorbitant amounts of money on coffee - they'd brew their own for pennies.

Starbucks is indeed the economic barometer of our time.

I don't know about that, I know people that will rummage through their couch cushions to find money when they're hungry. Do they do the smart thing and buy enough ramen and PB&J to last till next payday? Nope, straight to McD's for a value meal.