Starbucked - Book Review
A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture

Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture by Taylor Clark hits the market in November 2008. The timing is rather ironic with the downturn in the economy and some Starbucks closing just as the book comes out about the roaring success of Starbucks. On the flip side, my son said that UNC Chapel Hill added another Starbucks. That makes three on campus. The university considered a Taco Bell, but they went with a Starbucks instead. My son was disappointed. He, like his Mom, is not a coffee drinker.

OK – I’ve Confessed

I have only stepped foot inside a Starbucks one time in my life. That was in New York City, and one of my kids needed to use the bathroom. I think that Starbucks, like McDonalds, has enjoyed tremendous success by being generous with the bathrooms. That can’t be all though, so I thought I’d read Starbucked. Really, bathrooms can’t be the only draw.

As someone who very rarely drinks coffee (one of the few vices I’ve avoided), I’ve been amazed at the popularity of Starbucks. When we get something “in town” here, then it must be darn near everywhere, and Starbucks is. They even have them across the street from each other in big cities as noted in the book. I don’t think they had them across corners at the one I visited in New York City, but they sure did have a lot of Starbucks stores in the Big Apple. Who goes head to head with their own shop – all over town? Well, Starbucks.

Build a Better Coffee – And They Will Come

The initial idea with Starbucks was that they’d sell better coffee. The guys who started it up did not plan to have an international mega-company. A sales guy came on board and pushed for coffee by the cup rather than the ground beans with the initial plan. That idea (selling cups of java) showed promise, but it was not in the cards with the start up guys, so the sales guy bought them out. And, Starbucks took off as anyone can see walking down a city street.

We Be Cool Coffee Club

The original idea was kind of stuffy – a coffee snob mentality. Some of that sticks (even now that Starbucks is mainstream). You really need a whole new vocabulary to get a cup of Joe at Starbucks. They’ve even published cheat sheets, so coffee drinkers can sound very sophisticated ordering coffee. Every customer can feel quite special by ordering mass produced drinks and adding a little of this and that.

Being too nose in the air would not cut it with the general public though, so Starbucks has a great training program. You should walk in and feel like you are almost home but maybe better with nothing to clean and no one to yell at you. I know that we felt fine in New York City when we borrowed the bathroom. So, that friendly thing is working. A late thanks to Starbucks NYC.

Advertising On the Fly

Advertising has been ingenious at Starbucks. They just put the name on those cups. Everyone (including stars) carry Starbucks cups around. No need to pay for billboards or commercials. Coffee is an “on the go” kind of product. The cool cup to carry is Starbucks. You see it. You want it. Even if you do not drink coffee, you start to think about it. I know I do. I think, “Cyndi, you ought to get a Starbucks.” Then, I remember I really don’t much like coffee.

You don’t get coupons at Starbucks. Nope. They are above that and do not have to do it to make it. This ties in with the classy mentality and the great advertising. Pay your $4, jump on the fast track, and you are part of the “in” crowd.

Coffee Concerns

Concerns like the starving coffee growers has also been addressed well by Starbucks. They buy the Fair Trade coffee and note it. There are some problems with that model. If you know you get paid, you may not make a great effort. In fact, Starbucks pays more for better beans but has to balance that with Fair Trade coffee. Who would have guessed? Hum. I guess that’s why we try to keep our marketplace competitive, although it works better in some cases than others.

Great Story From the First Drop to the Last

From start to finish, Starbucked is a fascinating story of how a couple of buddies who loved coffee put coffee on the map in the United States where that has not been the hot drink. Once they took off, they managed to branch out and go international and head to head in countries where coffee has been a tradition. That really is amazing.

Small World

Near the end of the book, I discovered that Clark (the author) is not a coffee fan either. He watched this coffee story from afar - as I did. But he took it another step and dug in and learned how Starbucks took the world by storm. He did a wonderful job telling the story, and I would think anyone who loves coffee (and those who don’t) will enjoy this tale of how a Starbucks came to be on almost every corner in every town. The bathrooms help, but the tale is much more interesting than a company with an open door policy.

This really isn’t a fan book, but I would think that those who love a cup of Starbucks would really love the background. The book reads like a fast paced novel. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next, and I stayed up way too late reading. I’m bad about that. Every time I think about Starbucked, I start thinking about getting a cup. One of my students works at our local Starbucks, so I guess I’ll get over there. I really do hate to pay $4 for a cup of coffee, but I also hate to miss out on what’s going on in our culture. So – any suggestions? I’d hate to sound like a country bumpkin when I do drop in at Starbucks.