As a follow-up to the Starbucks post, we received a couple emails from employees who told us that Starbucks begins using the red cups typically on the first Tuesday of November, but doesn't start offering the peppermint mocha and all that stuff until later-November 17, according to one tipster.

(Photo: TMQ.st.louis)

Looking back through the site and our tipline, we have a couple of data points for when Starbucks first rolls out the Christmas stuff:

An unposted email from last year has a reader who found holiday-themed cups and music at Starbucks on the 4th. He asked the barista if she thought it was weird, and was told they had just rolled out the Christmas cheer that day.

Two years ago, we posted that Starbucks was using the Christmas goods on November 8th.

That's a little earlier each year. Although they're different stores and there's no indication that the day they were spotted is the day they were rolled out, we're assuming that people who visit coffee shops probably do so pretty regularly, and would have noticed and written in earlier if they'd seen Christmas creep earlier. Starbucks is a big chain, so if we can get some more data from other years and stores, maybe we could eventually track Christmas Creep, a la the Big Mac Index. So, readers, if you have any definite dates for when you've seen Christmas creep at Starbucks from past years or this year, or if you can remind yourself to check things out at the end of next October, send in your findings.

It's funny because on one level you value the origination factor, and think that there's something special, or better by going "straight to the source." But when the product is now internationally distributed and subject to strict quality controls, and the "source" is just a symbol, that's not the case.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls Via the "biggest investment we've made in a national launch," and the company sees the product as a chance to grab a piece of the $21 billion instant coffee market, though, in typical Starbucks fashion, the CEO insists Via is a unique category unto itself. According to Reuters:

Schultz said that due to the higher quality of Via, it would not compete with existing instant coffee products. He added that Via did not cannibalize Starbucks main business in markets where it was tested.

"This is not your grandmother's instant coffee," Schultz said. "The quality of Starbucks Via is a mirror image of the quality and taste of Starbucks brewed coffee."

However, in tests conducted this summer, Consumer Reports found that Via didn't quite live up to that promise:

The Starbucks instant and brewed coffees are similar in quality, but that quality is good, not great. The brewed coffees have the bitterness and darker roast we've found in previous tests of Starbucks Colombian; Via instant has more subdued flavors, is not as bitter, and has a slight cereal taste. ... Via is OK, but if you love the signature bitterness and darker-roast character of brewed Starbucks, you might not love it.

We'll reserve judgment until we try it ourselves. But at $1 a serving, vs. about 20 cents for instant Nescafe — or $1 for fresh-brewed coffee from the corner deli — we will have to love it if we're going to give it more than just a try.

Starbucks Debuts Via Instant Coffee In U.S., Canada [NYTimes.com]
We compare coffee: New brews McCafe and Starbucks instant [Consumer Reports]

On the 14th, the three Samsung phones AT&T supports will start automatically logging on, with other handsets being added in the future.

One commenter at WMExperts notes that although this looks like a great freebie for customers, the reality is that it's probably a smart way for AT&T to offload as much network traffic to Wi-Fi as possible to give their overtaxed 3G network some breathing room. Regardless of the strategy behind it, it's good news for Windows Mobile users.

"AT&T opening up free WiFi for Windows Mobile" [WMExperts via jkOnTheRun]
(Photo: Ed Yourdon)

[via Oyster Blog]

The price of sugary Starbucks concoctions with several ingredients, like Frappuccinos and caramel macchiatos, will increase an average 10 cents to 15 cents, but in some cases as much as 30 cents, or about 8 percent, said Valerie O'Neil, a Starbucks spokeswoman.

The price of the most popular beverages - 12-ounce lattes and brewed coffees - will decrease an average of 5 cents to 15 cents. This is the first time Starbucks has lowered prices, she said. It last increased the price of drinks by 5 cents in 2007.

They'll also be changing menus around to make less expensive brewed coffee and espresso drinks more prominent.

Counter-intuitive move in a recession, maybe, but perhaps customers who once spent larger totals will buy less expensive drinks while maintaining their Starbucks habit. Oatmeal prices remain unchanged.

Will the Hard-Core Starbucks Customer Pay More? The Chain Plans to Find Out [New York Times]

(Photo: Atwater Village Newbie)

Here are Ms. Kimes' suggestions:

I've heard that, in Seattle, you're creating new "stealth coffee shops," called 15th Avenue stores, without the Starbucks brand. Customers will see through this. Instead, why not empower–and incentivize–managers to appeal to their communities by sourcing food, music, and artwork from locals while sustaining our brand?

A few more suggestions: During the morning hours at busy stores, I think many of our customers would appreciate it if a single register were designated for drip coffee. And regarding new products: I just don't think the company is successful in creating excitement. We're told to provide samples, but I rarely see them in stores.

All I can say about that is: hell yes, express line, please.

Guest Post: Advice to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz [Fortune via Starbucks Gossip]

Let PSFK take you inside, with a photo gallery and interview with Starbucks "Director of Global Concept Design," Liz Muller.

The idea is to match store aesthetic to specific neighborhoods—which has led to accusations of simply copying the design of surrounding stores. Muller explains the plan behind this first shop.

We did this by introducing slow coffee, manual machines, the scooping of beans. You are truly looking at a different approach. Is this for every Starbucks? No. There is a place for this in specific neighborhoods in the US and potentially globally. Each approach will be different to reflect the neighborhood it is in.

Fine, but Captain Duvel Moneycat wants to know: how does oatmeal fit into this concept? If it doesn't, then what's the point?

Inside Starbucks New Stealth Store: 15th Avenue E Coffee and Tea [PSFK]
Interview With Starbucks Designer Liz Muller, Creator of 15th Avenue E [PSFK]

PREVIOUSLY:
The Only Thing Left For Starbucks? To Just Stop Being Starbucks

(Photo: PSFK)

Based on the judges' scores alone, though, the differences between the different coffees is pretty minor. All the regular drips hovered around 20 points out of 60.

Perhaps the more significant finding here is that Slate staffers have godlike expectations for what coffee should taste like. Even the highest rated of these chain-restaurant brews scored a mere 33.5 points out of 60.

Which chain brews the best cup? Starbucks, McDonald's, or Dunkin'? [Slate] (Thanks to Joanne!)

Reports WSJ:

To help her understand how work can be done more efficiently, Kim Landreth, a member of the lean team, brought a Mr. Potato Head to Ms. Jordan's store and sprinkled the ears, nose, lips and other accessories across several tables.

Using a stop watch, Ms. Landreth timed how long it took Ms. Jordan to assemble the toy and place it in its box. It took more than a minute. Ms. Landreth asked her to think about how she could complete the task faster. Moving items closer together shaved time, as did altering the order of assembly. Over two hours, Ms. Jordan amended the task. Her final time: about 16 seconds. "That really opened my eyes," she says.

Starbucks is slow. And not "artisinal" slow but incompetently slow. No wonder McDonald's and Dunkin' are grabbin' share. Though, I pity the poor managers who have to dismember and recombine a Mr. Potato Head for hours on end under stopwatch. I think that was in the final chapter of 1985, the sequel to 1984.

Latest Starbucks Buzzword: 'Lean' Japanese Techniques [WSJ] (Photo: jabneyhastings)

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Starbucks had this to say about their de-branding efforts:

"We're continuing our commitment to delivering specialty coffee excellence while refreshing our store design approach with an amplified focus on local relevance," Kim-Williams said, citing the earthy store at First Avenue and Pike Street as an earlier example of the guise. "Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community and a deeper connection to our coffee heritage."

Linda Derschang says that Starbucks is simply forging a deeper connection to her interior design ideas.

"It's got a lot of salvaged wood, it's the same paint color inside as Smith and some of the wood framed chalkboards look very, very similar," she said. "If they had decided to do that look in a different neighborhood or city that would be one thing, but trying to position themselves as an independent coffee house? Where's the independent spirit in knocking someone off?"

Starbucks was apparently spotted hanging out in one of her coffee shops — taking notes. One manager told the paper that Starbucks spies even asked her where they bought their awnings.

Derschang says she's planning on meeting with Starbucks before considering a lawsuit.

Neighbor: Starbucks stole my ambiance [Seattle PI] (Thanks, SK!)
(Photo:louisabate)

The Seattle Times says that the ubiqitious coffee giant is testing several new stores in which there will be no Starbucks branding at all. Instead, the coffee shops will be branded with "community names," like "15th Avenue Coffee and Tea," in Seattle.

Not only will the coffee be rebranded with the "15th Ave." name — the cafe will serve beer and wine and "host live music and poetry readings and sell espresso from a manual machine," or, in other words, not be a Starbucks.

The article goes to describe corporate weirdos from Starbucks sending recon teams into actual coffee shops to see what they look like.

Seattle Coffee Works's co-owner told the Seattle Times, "I said, 'If you want to buy something that's great, but just to look, that's not cool,' " he recounted. "I called the PR department and said, 'Never again.' "

It gets weirder — the owner of Victrola Coffee Roasters describes groups of Starbucks employees camped out in his shop with "obnoxious folders that said, 'Observation.'"

Well, that's creepy. In other news, we think the McDonald's ad in the picture is funny.

Starbucks tests new names for stores [Seattle Times]
(Photo:~wesa~)

Bugaboo strollers - As the CPSC puts it, "One or both sides of the brakes can fail, causing a stroller to unexpectedly roll away on an incline. This can pose a risk of injury to the child occupant." They've been on the market for about two years.

Sanyo hair dryers - sold only around Los Angeles. Missing the feature that turns off the dryer if it's dropped in water.

Viking refrigerator/freezers - The doors can fall off, and have caused bruises and broken fingers and toes.

Starbucks coffee grinders - Grinder can suddenly turn itself back on during cleaning, which is problematic if your fingers happen to be in the way.

Speedy children's hooded sweatshirts - drawstring poses strangulation hazard.

Various LaJobi cribs (other recall) - Parts of both cribs can break off, posing a risk of serious injury to babies.

Warm Biscuit children's pajamas - Don't meet children's sleepwear flammability standards.

"Food has been the Achilles' heel of the company ... That statement will be long buried after we launch this program," Michelle Gass, Starbucks' executive vice president of marketing, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Expect to see new marking materials pushing the reworked goodies as "Real Food. Simply Delicious." Starbucks also said they are currently working on a new Frappuchino formula that, presumably, will contain something that more closely resembles coffee.

Starbucks revamps bakery food ingredients [Reuters via Starbucks Gossip]
(Photo:Atwater Village Newbie)

A decline in the company's fortunes has made his project more difficult. Winter struggles to visit stores slated for closing before they're gone like a bowl of oatmeal placed before Captain Duvel Moneycat.*

The Wall Street Journal profiled Winter and his quest earlier this week.

Winter says he spends about 25% of his earnings, and three months of travel a year, on coffee runs. He declines to say how much he makes but says it would be "six figures" if he worked all year. Though whim and cheap flights have long directed his travel, now he says he plots his trips to hit the most shops. "The thought of the one store I skip being the one that closes is a bit unbearable," he says.

Starbucks is trying to slow the pace of store closings, and leverage the bad economy and real estate market into rent reductions of up to 25%.

Starbucks Everywhere
A Fan Hits a Roadblock on Drive to See Every Starbucks [Wall Street Journal] (via Table Hopping)
Starbucks Pushing Landlords for 25% Cut in Cafe Rents [Bloomberg]

(Photo: louisabate)

* - If you're a new reader and/or don't get the reference, click here to meet Mr. Moneycat.

The same error showed up on bottles of bottled Starbucks Frappucinos and Diet Orange Crush.

GALLERY


END

[SugarStacks.com via BoingBoing]

So the other day, NJ Transit trains all went kaboom, so I wound up driving to my meeting in Jersey City. En route, I stopped at the Joyce Kilmer rest stop on the NJ Turnpike, and hit the Starbucks inside. Knowing that I'm on the turnpike, I accepted my fate of paying nearly $6 for my beverage. At least I don't do that often. But I digress.. The girls there happily accepted my sbux gold card (the card that gives you 10% off on each visit), deducting the cash from the card, but did not give me the 10% off. They explained that because they're a licensed store, not corporate owned, they don't have to honor the discount, and choose not to.

"No problem," I said, "just refund my money and keep your drink then." They refused, since they had already started making the drink. Somewhat put off, I put in a call to SBUX customer service line. My point was simple, they should require stores that don't honor the discount to post a sign saying they don't. That's all. No yelling, screaming, irate stuff, or anything like that. Just a simple request that they let people know what they're getting into in stores like that.

The CS rep, whose name unfortunately eludes me just now, decided that SBUX needed to "make me whole, and give me an experience nothing short of fantastic." I figured that meant I'd get a free drink coupon or something like that in the mail. I didn't really even feel like that was necessary. His offer, a $50 sbux card mailed to me, which I could transfer the balance from onto my gold card. Despite me trying to convince him that he really didn't need to do that, he insisted.

I'm floored. My goal was to spend 5 minutes on the phone with them and make them understand the need to let customers know what to expect in non-corp stores like the ones on the NJTP. Instead, they pulled out all the stops and went way beyond what they needed to.

$50? That's like, four free drinks! Nice work, Starbucks.

(Photo: James Callan)

It's #2 Bank of America (and defending champion, having acquired last year's winner, Countrywide) VS #31 Starbucks!

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2009 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers, and seeded according to number of nominations. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america Download the bracket here.

From the New York Times:

About those lattes: the company is fed up with the characterization that it only sells $4 specialty drinks. "The $3.95 price point is a backhanded way to go at the four-buck perception - it's less than four bucks, and it's not just a drink, but food to go with it," said Terry Davenport, Starbucks's chief marketing officer.

The Times says that chain is also revamping its menus, which will no longer emphasize the pricey specialty drinks and instead focus on brewed and iced coffee.

So, what do you think?

Starbucks Addresses the Price Issue, and Breakfast [NYT]
(Photo:Paxton Holley)

The coffee, called "Starbucks Via Ready Brew," apparently took 20 years to develop. Why bother, you ask? Well, the instant coffee market is bigger than you might think — accounting for 40% of the global coffee market. It's less popular in the US than overseas, taking up only 9% of the US coffee market as opposed to 60% in Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United Kingdom.

CEO Howard Schultz defended the move to instant coffee:

"People are going to say this is off-brand for Starbucks," he told a crowd of about 100 reporters and Wall Street analysts at an event in New York. "This is a long-term strategy. It's not your mother's instant coffee. The proof is in the cup."

The company is offering free samples of the stuff on its website, if you dare.

Starbucks has high hopes for its instant coffee [MarketWatch]
Free Sample [StarbucksStore]

From Crain's New York:

Starbucks will begin testing the soluble coffee — a term that conjures up images of instant brands such as Folgers, Sanka and Brim — by selling it in Starbucks cafes as early as next month. It's unclear as yet whether the company will also extend the product to supermarkets, where it already has a presence with ground Starbucks-branded coffee.

We wonder if they'll follow in the footsteps of Folger's and run some sexist advertising to go with their announcement.

Starbucks poised to launch instant coffee [Crain's New York]

Starbucks says:

Dear Partners,

As we communicated on January 28, Starbucks is reshaping our operating model and organization structure to support the long-term health of our business. This includes both organizational changes and the difficult decision to reduce our global workforce. These changes are necessary as we navigate through this challenging economy, and they are critical to ensuring we have a sustainable and successful business going forward.

Based upon the company's current and anticipated future needs, certain non-store and store positions have been eliminated or restructured globally. In some cases, certain roles or functions are being eliminated, and those partners will be separated. In other cases, there will be a reduction in the number of similar positions. The first part of this process took place last week with notifications in Partner Resources and Partner & Asset Protection.

Today, approximately 500 U.S. and Canada non-store partners are being notified that their positions have been eliminated. Of these, approximately 300 are at the Starbucks Support Center (SSC) in Seattle. Similar notification and consultation processes are currently taking place in company-owned international markets in accordance with local employment laws.

As part of a broader labor efficiency initiative, approximately 870 Assistant Store Managers (ASMs) are being notified today that their positions are being eliminated. An additional 530 unfilled open ASM positions will not be filled. This change reflects our current business environment, along with recent and new store closures and the reduction in new store openings. The ASM role continues to be critical; however, we no longer require as many positions.

A number of organizational changes are being announced globally to ensure that we have the right structure and leadership to support our strategy. These changes include:

• Canada and Latin America will be combined into a single region (Americas) in order to leverage regional talent and leadership and to make SCI more scalable.

• Our U.S. Field Operations structure will be realigned, with DSVPs focused on setting national strategy and implementing enterprisewide programs. RVPs and their RDs and field teams will focus on ownership of their respective regions and on localizing implementation of company strategies.

We are thankful and proud of the contributions our partners make to the organization, and we are committed to treating all partners with respect and dignity - those who are departing Starbucks and those who will stay.

Over the next week or so, partners who will continue on the journey with us will have a series of meetings with their leaders and workgroups. We will use these meetings to map out a direction for the future.

In the meantime, partners have many resources available to provide support. In addition to your leadership team and Partner Resources staff, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available for all partners. In the U.S. and Canada, EAP counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at (800) 682-0364. International partners may refer to the EAP numbers in their respective regions or markets for assistance.

We realize how difficult it is to say goodbye to partners who have played such a critical role in the success of Starbucks over the years. We thank you for your passion for Starbucks - and your fellow partners.

Regards,

Chet Kuchinad

evp, Partner Resources

Over at Starbucks Gossip the former ASMs are sharing their stories. Rumors are flying that all assistant mangers nationwide are being let go, but the Seattle Times says that the number is a less than than half of all positions.

Starbucks pink slips going out today to HQ workers, assistant store managers [Seattle Times]
What are you hearing about Wednesday's layoffs? [Starbucks Gossip]
(Photo:artnchicken)

McDonald's reaction to Starbucks emulating them for a change?

"Value has, and will always be on the menu at McDonald's," spokeswoman Danya Proud says.

In case you're confused as to why Starbucks suddenly cares about "value," their same store sales are down 10% (!) and net income down 69%.

Struggling Starbucks unveils menu deal to halt slide [USAToday]
(Photo:Atwater Village Newbie)

Starbucks is looking to rebound from dismal sales in the U.S. as more consumers cut back on spending in the deepening recession. In its fiscal first quarter report last week, same-store sales — a key indicator of a retailer's performance — dropped 10 percent. That's worse than the 8 percent decline in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, McDonald's has been touting its "recession resistance."

"While we clearly prefer a more robust environment, today's market conditions play to our strengths," Chief Executive Jim Skinner said on a conference call, adding that its customers "are feeling the pinch almost everywhere else."

Are you into this idea?

Value meal at Starbucks, coming up. But will it tempt enough recession-weary drinkers? [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo:sunligarg)

Dear Partners,

As you well know, these are very challenging times for everyone at Starbucks. We are working hard to navigate both a deteriorating global economy and the restructuring of our business. And we do so with the ever-present priority to preserve the culture and guiding principles of our company.

Today we announced first-quarter results. Our revenues were down 6% from a year ago, driven primarily by a 9% decline in same-store sales. Retailers across the country have reported negative comparable store sales as high as 30%, in the midst of declining consumer confidence to levels not seen in 40 years. The forecast by experts suggests the economic situation will get worse before it gets better.

All of this has required us to aggressively re-architect our cost structure. Over the past few months, we have made some progress in containing costs and improving operations in our existing stores. For this I thank all of you for the sacrifices, discipline and effort you are making each and every day.

But we have more to do, and we must act with decisiveness in order to make Starbucks even more relevant in an increasingly worsening business environment.

The leadership team and I have gone line-by-line to reduce costs while considering every decision through the prism of our values and culture. Offering comprehensive benefits — including health care and equity in the form of stock options — are at the core of our company and have taken priority over certain other benefits. We will continue to offer health care coverage and Bean Stock to partners, and we are seeking shareholder approval to amend our equity incentive plans to allow eligible partners a one-time opportunity to exchange certain outstanding underwater stock options for a lesser amount of new options with lower exercise prices.

All told, we plan to invest more than $500 million in total partner benefits and stock compensation this year. While we fulfilled a $15 million company match to our U.S. 401(k) savings plan for 2008, we have determined it should be discretionary in 2009. And, in order to focus on the benefits that provide the most value to the greatest number of partners, we are revising our paid time-off policy for U.S. retail hourly partners, revising our Stock Investment Plan (S.I.P.) and expanding our U.S. commuter benefits program. Details can be found in the attached Q&A document.

We are also making difficult decisions that will impact some of our partners' lives. Moving forward we will be unable to maintain our workforce as it is currently organized. As part of today's announcement we indicated that there will be layoffs. Approximately 700 non-store partners will be separated from the company in the U.S. and internationally, with about half at the Starbucks Support Center in Seattle by mid-February.

We must also close approximately 300 additional underperforming stores in FY09, about 200 in the U.S. and the remainder in international markets. Of our 167,000 retail partner workforce, we estimate we will reduce approximately 6,000 store positions over the course of the next eight months. As before, we hope to be able to place affected store partners elsewhere in the store organization.

Partners who are displaced will be offered severance packages based on job level and/or years of service.

These decisions have been made to ensure the company is leaner and prepared to endure a worsening economic climate. I can assure you the management team is aware of the impact of these steps on the organization — both those who will depart and those who stay. For those of you who will be departing the organization, I thank you for your contributions to Starbucks and wish you and your families the best during this difficult time.

In the last few weeks we have seen countless companies announce layoffs and some bankruptcies. I point this out to try and put in context that the financial crisis is affecting almost every company around the world. The decisions we make are about preserving the future of Starbucks. And I can promise you that I and the leadership team will do all that we can to put us in a position to emerge strong on the other side of this crisis, and stay true to our values and culture.

Respectfully,

Howard

Schultz asked that his own salary be lowered to around $10,000, the minimum at which he would still qualify for health care and other benefits, says the Seattle Times. Schultz received a salary of $1.2 million last year and his total compensation was valued at $9.7 million.

The company is also trying to unload a $45 million corporate jet it purchased last month — which has only made 15 flights.

The new jet has made only 15 flights, according to the sales documents. Several of those landings were in Honolulu and Kona, Hawaii, during a two-week trip apparently taken by CEO Howard Schultz just after Starbucks took delivery of the airplane.

A Starbucks spokeswoman said the company ordered the jet three years ago and determined that canceling delivery would be too expensive.

Starbucks is also trying to sell its old jet, and has so far been unsuccessful.

Starbucks did not release a list of closing stores, but did say that 200 were in the US.

Starbucks will cut 6,700 jobs, close 300 more stores [Seattle Times]
Starbucks trying to sell its new jet [Seattle Times via Starbucks Gossip]
(Photo:Panzoz'd)

Andrew cc'd us on his email to Starbucks.

To Whom it Will Concern:

I am writing to share with you an unfavorable experience I had not while inside a Starbucks location, but rather, outside of one: At approximately 2:45 pm on Saturday, the 10th of January, I found that my car had been towed from a Portland Starbucks parking lot by Retriever Towing.

You see, I was under the impression that I was going to be able to enjoy my Starbucks experience. I was not aware that my car would be towed from the Starbucks parking lot if I didn't keep a watchful eye out for a marauding tow truck driver and let him know "yes, I am here, and no, you do not have permission to tow my car." I reserved the right to enjoy my drink and ignore my surroundings, as a Starbucks customer. In fact, the parking lot sign stated that parking was for customers only, and as my receipt or bank statement and witnesses will attest, I most certainly was a customer.

It is the practice of Retriever Towing to record license plate numbers from cars in the parking lot, then check inside the business for those cars' owners. Customers and partners alike will agree that this practice is detrimental to the Starbucks experience. In fact, a partner who was there when I returned to the store after I realized my car had been towed called the practice in general "vicious." It has become (un)popularly known as "Predatory Towing", and for Starbucks customers like myself, it comes down to this: if a customer is listening to music, reading, on an important phone call, otherwise indisposed while drinking their beverage, or unable or unwilling to be disturbed by a tow truck driver, they run the risk of having their car towed from the Starbucks parking lot. This does not take into account customers with handicaps or who are otherwise impaired and not able to be disturbed by a tow truck driver.

It is my request that Starbucks contact the owner of Retriever Towing, Gary Coe, or the General Manager, Charles White (chuck@retrievertowing.com) and urge them to cease or modify this regrettable behavior. It has affected me (to the tune of $210.50 for the tow), and I'm sure it has affected countless other Starbucks customers. Starbucks should refuse to do business with such a company, at the risk of tarnishing its own image, as well as giving implied consent to this gruesome tactic by standing by without formal consternation.

If you, the reader, are unable to personally contact the owner or general manager or Retriever Towing, I request that you escalate this message to someone who is able to take effective action. I have already addressed my concern to Mr. White, and also to the City of Portland's Towing Commission and the local police department. I will press on with emails to the Consumerist and the BBB, as well as other businesses that share the parking lot where this unfortunate incident occurred, and other businesses in the area who utilize the services of Retriever Towing. Again, I urge Starbucks to not do business with a "predatory towing" company such as this, for fear of sending the wrong message:

"Welcome to Starbucks, have a drink, sit down, and feel right at home... but keep a weather eye on your car outside in the parking lot."

Respectfully,

Andrew

Retriever Towing has several complaints on RipOff Report and their cruddy record includes charging an "anger fee" if you raise your voice to them. In Portland, they are notorious for towing a bloodied-up domestic violence victim's car from outside her grandmother's home. Clearly, these are the people Starbucks wants patrolling their lots.

Update: Andrew writes:

Thank you for helping me call attention to this! Starbucks was very quick to respond when I called their customer service line to follow up earlier this week. They provided me with the name of the company that owns the building (and the lot), and called back a few days later with an apology. They also asked for my address, and yesterday I received a gift card for $15 in the mail (even though I assured them that I was not looking for recompense from Starbucks).

I judge Starbucks initial response to be commendable - a big thanks to Malayna and Julie - but it remains to be seen how this problem will be dealt with in the long term for the rest of Oregon.

In the mean time, I followed up with the city's towing commission, who took my statement and further noted many "inconsistencies" in Retriever Towing's records relating to my tow. A full investigation is underway, and they will render a judgment on or before Thursday, 1/29.

(Photo: LinBow)

Other findings by the Times and CSPI:

• Unless you consume more than 575 milligrams, caffeinated drinks don't actually make you pee more.
• Coffee does not increase the risk of heart disease or cancer
• Even though it stimulates the metabolism, caffeine does not increase weight loss. It does aid exercise, however, by dulling pain and stimulating the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates.

Sorting Out Coffee's Contradictions [NYT]
Caffeine Chart [Center for Science in the Public Interest]
(Photo: AutumnRedux)

Starbucks coffee shops seem to be on nearly corner in major U.S. cities, but surprisingly 76 percent of American adults say they rarely or never visit one of the shops, and only 14 percent say they visit occasionally.

That might be because the java giant's prices are too high.

This may explain why we're so bored of "personal finance experts" telling people to stop going to Starbucks for their daily latte in order to save a million billion dollars a year. Apparently, you've already stopped.

Starbucks coffee is too expensive, new survey says [Star-Tribune]
(Photo: iwantamonkey )

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