McDonald’s-Starbucks: The barista war

Something interesting; I was in San Francisco over the summer and went to a SB around 630 because I needed to work overtime. I was hungry and was going to get a sandwhich, and noticed dates on the sandwhiches so I jokingly asked them if I could have a free sandwhich because they were closing at 630 and I assumed they couldnt use them the next day. Turns out over 1/2 of the food in the display was going to get thrown out (I’m talking sandwhiches, fruit cups, parfaits, cookies, veggie trays…

It made me wonder if every SB in the city was doing this EVERYDAY — what a waste. does anyone else know stuff about this?

Overall Starbucks is about the environment. You pay for the relaxed environment and the good coffee plus the smell. It is somewhat like Barnes and Noble – people don’t go to B&N just to buy books. Some of the Dunkin Donuts in some neighborhoods provide similar environment.

I like McDonalds but I go there for different occasionally to get that fast food when I am in a hurry. The food at MacDonald and other fast food chains is not healthy – if you want to gain weight, add more fat into your body and want to have health problems, these places are good. Once you start eating on a regular basis, you get somewhat addicted to these foods. Dunkin Donuts make some good coffee but those donuts add too much calories and sugar is not good if you have diabetes in the family.

At Starbucks, you get good coffee and green tea. Green tea has lot of health benefits. Now, Starbucks provides health insurance to their employees who work there for more than 20 hours per week. It looks like Starbucks is good place to be – at least they are not all for profits only; they seem to care for their people. Isn’t that a nice thing.???

There’s more Fitness weight loss and diet info at:

http://www.fitness-weight-loss-diet.com/

As a former Starbucks store manager, I can tell you that the downfall is not weather, McDonalds or Dunkin’ Donuts. It is their supply chain and their unwillingness to allow managers to keep enough stock on hand to give the customers what they want. I can’t count the times my orders were cancelled because the warehouse was out of a product. I got really tired of having to tell customers that the whole bean they wanted was not available, or the box of tea. When I ordered enough of these items to keep my customers supplied, I was chastised by my district manager and was told to ship my excess product, (8 bags at one pound each), to another store. I also could not believe that the paper suppliers could get away with running out of hot and cold cups. Were there no penalties mentioned when these suppliers were lined up concerning whether or not orders were filled on a timely basis??? There is one more area that they fail in, not enough payroll dollars spent to make sure that the customers got the legendary service they were promised. Just one employee available to build customer relations in the store would have made a world of difference. I watched another national retailer make the same mistakes and was a manager for them when they filed for bankruptcy protection. What a shame that Starbuck’s writing is on the wall. Say what you will about McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts, but I have yet to see a McDonalds out of hamburgers or a Dunkin’ Donuts out of donuts.

I’m not allowed into Starbucks. I want to, but I only drink decaf. Everyone laughs at me and point their fingers.

Yes, it IS Espresso..no “x” involved. Drives me nuts! And since we are on it, it is SherBET, not SherBERT. And it is NucleAR not NUCULER. What a bunch of lazy boneheads we have become racing to get our $4 lattes! I like Starbucks coffee…but I brew it at HOME! I’m not impressed with those that have to carry around the cup!

As for those people who think the coffee at Starbucks tastes “burnt”…. it’s because you have bad taste and are used to drinking maxwell coffee or any of those other god awful coffees. Get it right….ESPRESSO…..
Tsk tsk tsk

Personally, I’m surprised you’re only finding out about this now… McDonalds in New Zealand have had McCafe’s all over the country for years now. Almost as long as we’ve had Starbucks.

I wouldn’t call either of them “high-end” coffee at all. As many of you have said - Starbucks (and McDonalds) both make very average coffee. Local coffee houses always seem to do a better job than the chains. Then again I suppose we are spoilt for choice here, the number of coffee shops per capita is just staggering.

The Starbucks service in NZ doesn’t seem anywhere near as bad as some of you mention, but their coffee is VERY overpriced for what you get. McCafe’s are better value for money (as you’d expect), but not the best value. They do try to separate you from the screaming masses and have replicated the Starbucks experience to a certain degree with decor changes, etc. But there’s only so much you can do without soundproof walls….

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ex·pres·so (ĭk-sprěs’ō, ěk-) Pronunciation Key
n. Variant of espresso.

So there you are you spelling bee failures!

PLEASE, people! “Expresso” is the name of a model of Dodge Neon that was produced in the 1990’s! The coffee drink is “ESPRESSO.” If you’re going to drink it, and leave blog comments about it, at least spell and pronounce it right, for criminy’s sake.

PS: Susan in Southwick. OK, McD’s I understand, Duncan I understand….. but Burger King coffee??? Ouch. It comes from one of those autodispenser machines. And they also offer “turbo” coffee with double caffeine. Nasty. It is the worst coffee I have ever had, and yes, styrofoam again.

Hi there. Starbucks can be overpriced I realize. You are not really discussing coffee though. You are discussing specialty drinks. I drink Starbucks everyday. Regular old coffee. With my own cup it is like $1.60 as compared to $1.20 or something at McD or Duncan. .$40 for a better atmosphere, better treatment of employees and not to mention all you ragers against the machine…. Starbucks uses paper cups. McD and Duncan both use styrofoam. Come on. That is the worst material known to man. Did you know that from space the most visable item over china is the everlasting pile of styrofoam waste.

Shultz might be the right person to spearhead the turnaround of Starbucks. A few months ago, he publicly stated that the company was losing sight of its core mission. I couldn’t agree more. When I enter a Starbucks today, I feel as if I’m in a drug store or department store, not a café. There’s too much merchandise on the floor, and too few places to sit down and relax. Starbucks use to offer an environment that was conducive to reading and to discussing ideas with people. Lately, it’s become just another store, with a hurry-up-and-buy-something culture.

It’s all about the PRODUCT and it’s all about the CUSTOMER. Starbucks should try to go back to basics. I remembered way back when I was so excited about Starbucks opening in China. Then, there was something special about the coffee, the cafes and the baristas. Somehow, that magic is gone as Starbucks go after growth over everything else.

For Goodness sake. Is it any wonder Starbucks(/bux/why not just Star$$$? )has to close some stores? Overpriced commodity commonly found elsewhere with overall better run business plans. Greed. If they can get more for their product they will, but it sounds like some people are tightening up on casual spending. To the folks who say there is an atmosphere at Starbucks, sure, yes. It’s cookie cutter same in each one. Blah. Dark and exotic? No. No individuality there, just a bunch of sheep in a que herding themselves to the left…to the right….stay in line… Dunkin Donuts in sheep’s clothing.
Call it by any other thing you want, it’s still snobbery–oh sure, among the quiet atmosphere, the internet connection, yadda, yadda. Doesn’t anyone have any common sense? Starbucks charges outrageous prices for the same darn quality you CAN get elsewhere. We have lots of very chic and laid back coffee houses in my area and I go to some every now & then because they support the arts, or there are events there, or because I’m driving by and I can grab a parking space. But don’t fool yourselves, we go to places like Starbux and other coffee houses because we have time to participate in herd mentality. Starbucks can get upwards of $3 to $4 a cup because people support it and don’t forget, it is a marketing perception that screams -you look good/chic/smart going into a Starbucks!— People, you are being led to believe there is some mystical quality about a Starbux. I don’t mind the coffee there, in general, but it tends to be over roasted and bitter, for my tastes. The people in line obnoxious. Drive thru-windows are for people on the go and lots of elderly folk go to MacD’s and Dunkin Donuts because they can afford it. These 2 places will win in that arena. Every now & then I go to MacD’s drive thru window too. It was a great day when our town opened up a Dunkin Donuts. The kids at our drive thru there are pleasant and upbeat and from our town’s high school & we all know them, so I’ll support that every time. If Starbucks wanted to have any edge in this, they’d invest in less of the “canned” atmosphere approach and capitalize on the local area’s tastes while still maintaining the verprocessed bad coffee. Figure out why their bottom line has been hurting–greed. Here is a tip; try Raven’s Brew from Alaska. Look it up on line & order some and be amazed at how truly good boutique coffee tastes, that is, if you have the money and like something different. Good coffee- different. Thank you for the rant–time to make my own coffee now.

Starbucks Coffee is much better than than Cigarette-acid-water they try to pass off as coffee at Petes. But Starbucks food SUCKS … the WORST … completely unedible. Plus, no one goes to Starbucks to buy Music CDs. If they want to succeed again, Starbucks need to scrap the bad food and music, and just get back to serving great coffee. No one makes a latte as good.

Okay to Anthony in Los Angeles: Starbucks kills people? I assure you that by providing health insurance to any person who works twenty hours or more, Starbucks is saving lives. They are one of the handful of companies that have addressed the healthcare nightmare this country is in; and should be commended for taking a loss in overall profits to keep their employees insured. Mr. Schultz himself has even lobbied Washington to change the national healthcare scene. This is not even mentioning the fact that they pay more than three times the commodity price for coffee so farmers can provide healthcare and a living wage to workers. They use twenty-five percent renewable energy (that may not sound like a lot but it’s a global organization), they open free medical clinics and schools in underdeveloped countries and they help to provide clean drinking water to remote villages in Africa, no stings attached. In the modern world of big evil corporations, Starbucks sets itself apart. They are one of the rare organizations with a big heart and do what they can to help others.

I’m afraid you’re very misinformed Anthony. I must assume you also think the moon landing was a fake and that aliens killed JFK.

Starbucks has over-priced lousy coffee–way too much roasting, producing that burnt taste.

Dunkin’ Donuts, MacDonalds and Burger King have better tasting coffees for less money.

What sad group we Americans are. “I’ve got to have my coffee or I can’t cope with life!” Lest we forget, caffeine is a cheap drug, like alcohol.
What a bunch of suckers we are thinking that coffee is some new miracle drug that we NEED. I can hear them laughing all he way to the bank. I’m sick of seeing ANY coffee establishment every 2 blocks.

I work for Starbucks and I love it! I started as a Barista three and a half years ago and now I am a Store Manager. I get to meet fantastic interesting people every day on both sides of the espresso bar and I do wish that all my partners would understand that what a great responsibility we have to our customers who do choose us for what has become a ritual for many of us in the United States.
I worked for McDonald’s when I was 19 and I was paid minimum wage, had no health care, no opportunity for growth and the corporation treated me like a second-class citizen. Regardless if you enjoy Starbucks or not, please understand that the $4 spent at Starbucks you are providing us with health benefits for all of those who work an avg. of twenty hours a week, tuition assistance, adoption assistance, 401k, employee stock purchasing program and so much more. I’ve worked for several different companies and for the first time in my life I wake up every morning looking forward to working with people who are passionate, genuine and love what they do; and serving the highest quality of roasted coffee to my wonderful customers.

Is there anything worse than people who refer to “espresso” as “eXpresso?” There’s no x, people. Say it with me - ES-PRESS - O.

McDonald’s offering baristas and premium coffee drinks would be another disaster in their long line of “let’s redefine our brand” disasters.

It’s typical in Alaska for coffee stands to take in between 1,000 and 5,000 /week. The coffee stands that do the best have 4 following main ingredients:

1. Hot Baristas (With Personality)
2. Great Coffee
3. Location
4. Quick Service

Starbuck’s in Alaska is considered inferior due to superior quality of many local roasters (Kaladi’s). Many of our stands serve only free-trade Organic coffees. Starbuck’s definitely needs to revamp their strategy and become more personalized with better service, coffee and atmosphere.

Well, as anyone who watched Mike Myers’ Austin Powers films knows, Starbucks is owned by Dr Evil. Now Dr Evil had a way of dealing with underperforming execs.

Seriously, Starbucks put the bar up several notches from the boring McD/Dunkin Donuts level over the past two decades. The others simply had to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’.

Don’t count ‘em out quite yet. Would you meet a date at McDonald’s after the acne stage of life?

Here in Appalachia, the gas/conv chain Sheeta has put in an espresso/latte/mocha bar. In Appalachia…where pissy coffee is de rigeur.

Some interesting changes are coming to Starbucks. You can count on it.

I work for Starbucks, and I would never drink a coffee at another coffee shop - McDonalds does not offer the atmosphere that I could enjoy coffee in. Starbucks’ prices are so high because they offer their part-time employees paid vacation, 401K programs, stock options and full benefits.
Our customers come to see US, they care about us, and enjoy the way we provide them coffee.
McDonalds cannot compete.
SO if you want a quick cup of coffee served by an employee that doesn’t care about her job - go to McDonalds.
Starbucks is passionate people serving people passionately.

Brian, for $1100, that coffee machine better traipse down to Brazil every morning, harvest fresh coffee beans, grind them on the way to Wisconsin to get me fresh milk for my latte, and bring it all to me in bed with a big smile on its overpriced Gaggia face.

Just the other day, the barrista at my local Chargebucks got my order wrong for a third consecutive time. That was it. I went a block over to the supermarket, bought some French coffee and hazelnut creamer, and within 30 minutes, I was relaxing on my sofa with coffee done right for a fraction of what it cost to get it done wrong down the road. Should’ve gotten off the carousel ages ago.

I spent $1,100 on a high end Gaggia expresso, cappucino, latte & coffee maker which is a ONE BUTTON operation. Who needs any of them? Not Me! I drink as much as I want as often as I want with no inconvenience of going out on the road.

Starbucks needs to start doing many, many more drive-throughs. That’s where McDonald’s will beat them … the drive through window. I think a lot of people with too much time on their hands want the groovy in-store feeling … but a lot of us need to get our java and get on down the road.

For those of us who live in markets where truly high-quality coffee is routinely available (SF; Seattle; NYC; Boston), the inevitable downfall of SBUX has been long-expected. Starbucks coffee simply isn’t very good! Almost any foodie can tell you: the way to manage inferior coffee (or chocolate, for that matter) is to flavor it, a practice that Starbucks successfully sold off as “premium” drinks.
It’s interesting to note that, when positioned near a superior product’s store (Peets, for example), the Starbucks tends to increase the competitor’s business, rather than run it into the ground.

$150 a month for Starbucks!!!!! Are you crazy????

Starbucks needs to work on their organization. I think how they provide their service is their biggest downfall. Nothing worse than ordering a coffee, waiting 10 minutes only to find that someone before you snatches your coffee and sips it before you can stop them. And the clincher…that person then throws the coffee out because it’s not what they wanted.

There are better coffee brands out there. Check out Caffe Umbria in the Seattle area - they ship anywhere, and their coffee tastes 1000x better!

Starbucks kills people by funding evil militaries and U.S. wars. Mcdonalds kills people by feeding people artery clogging junk. Both corporations are evil. I’d rather have my four dollar latte money support a local business that won’t use the funds to murder for profits.

There is simply no comparison between the “gourmet” coffee brewed harsh and left to overheat at McDonald’s, and the incredible quality control at Starbucks. I choose my coffee by taste alone — although of course the atmosphere at the two businesses could not be more different. I fail to understand why anyone who appreciates fine coffee would attempt a comparison. If you’re like my Dad and like cheap, weak coffee, you were never going to be a Starbucks lover. Nobody does it better than Starbucks, including some of my favorite local coffee shops.

After spending a year of blowing at least $150/month on lattes at Starbucks, I realized I could get a decent cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts for $60/month - without much difference in taste. Why support a brand that is overrated and overpriced?

Finally somebody is gone compete with these guys. They are opening 3 stores in each block in cities like San Francisco, New York, Chicago, LA….
Starbucks sold an idea early on to people and now the competitors are catching up. LOOK for starbucks to start selling more food items in years to come since their coffee product will have lot more competition in hand.

McDonalds is known for cheap food, like Walmart is known for cheap merchandise.

I go to starbucks daily. I dont go just to get the best priced express drink. I go because i enjoy the atmosphere, the soft music, the hi-speed internet connection, the awesome tasting cookies and snacks, the awesome tasting drink, quiet atmosphere, comfortable chairs, etc.

I am never going to get an expresso drink from McDonalds. With kids running around, the smell of fast food, the low quality products, did i say kids (screaming and running around) etc.

I am willing to spend $4 per expresso drink for the atmosphere that Starbucks provides. Nothing has beat that yet, not seattle coffee shop, not Java D’Lite, not Dunkin Donuts or Mr Coffee or any other coffee/expresso chain store.

Now that Starbucks has recreated their menu, added breakfast sandwiches and lunch sandwiches and are adding more and more drive thru’s, well I am a firm believer that Starbucks will remain king of expresso!

I had the “barista experience” at a McDonald’s in Argentina in August, 2005.

The barista was cute and my “cortado con leche caliente” was just right.

That’s a shot of espresso with hot milk.

I don’t put sugar in my coffee.