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17 Oct 2011 11:22

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Biz: Has-bean? Starbucks worried climate change will damage coffee supply

  • They say they’re already seeing the effects: Could you imagine a world without Starbucks … or coffee? That’s what officials for the world’s largest caffeine hawker are seriously worried about, especially after a fairly busy hurricane season and more resistant bugs. The company has even considered partly converting many outlets to juice bars. “What we are really seeing as a company as we look 10, 20, 30 years down the road – if conditions continue as they are – is a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean,” says the company’s sustainability director, Jim Hanna. Three words, Jim: Yerba Mate Frappuccino. (photo via TPEGroup Photography & Design’s Flickr page) source
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03 Sep 2011 12:30

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Biz, Politics: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz planning political town hall next week

This is the CEO’s follow-up to his call for more corporate responsibility, and it’s sponsored by No Labels. All we know is that there had better be free coffee. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Aug 2011 02:48

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Biz: Starbucks CEO to corporations: Get off your butt and hire some people!

  • Record levels of cash are piling up in corporate treasuries, idling. The only way to break this cycle of fear is to break it.
  • Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz • Following the lead of Warren Buffett and pushing for more responsibility from those that can afford it. While Buffett went after super-rich taxpayers; Schultz instead is going after corporations that are sitting on piles of cash, yet are staying on the sidelines and choosing not to hire more people — or worse, putting that money into political campaigns in hopes of putting business-friendly leadership in power in 2012. While Starbucks has had union issues and gay rights issues crop up recently, the company does have a reputation for treating its employees better than most corporations of its size. Kudos, Howard. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Aug 2011 15:17

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Culture: Guy subverts clever Starbucks Card experiment, because he’s a jerk

  • cool Mobile developer Jonathan Stark came up with this interesting idea called Jonathan’s Card, to allow people to let people buy other people coffee from Starbucks, as a social experiment. The experiment took off and drew massive media coverage, and roughly $8,700 has been spent through the card so far. Pretty good for a clever idea.
  • lame Another developer, Sam Odio, decided that this idea wasn’t interesting enough for him, so he decided to siphon money off the card using a script that transferred the funds to his own Starbucks card, which he plans to sell on eBay for charity. Hey Sam, whatever your point may be, could you not be a jerk about it? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 11:08

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Biz: Starbucks employees: Coffee company no longer respects us

  • It’s just been cut after cut … The fact is that it’s just gotten harder and harder to survive working this job. If Starbucks is doing what every other company is doing, then what makes it a different kind of company?
  • Minnesota Starbucks barista (and union member) Erik Foreman • Expressing frustration with the company, which may not have paid awesomely for a long time, but offered perks that kept its workers happy. However, when the economic downturn hit, changes in corporate structure hit employees hardest. They got Starbucks back to profitability, yes, but the cost seems to have been the happiness of their employees. “In the last two years, the company has become more dedicated to its shareholders and less to its employees,” said Omaha macchiato maker Tyler Swain. Is Starbucks about to become McDonald’s? Makes sense. McDonald’s is becoming more like Starbucks every single day, so eventually they’ll look exactly the same. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Oct 2010 11:40

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Biz: Magic Johnson sold his Starbucks. Is a venti-sized deal next?

  • what Magic Johnson has been on a selling spree lately. A day after selling his share in the Lakers, he sold his 105 Starbucks franchises, many of which are known for being located in inner-city areas.
  • whyThere’s a rumor that Johnson wants to buy a sports team with his money. He’s made around $100 million from the sale of his two major investments, so he could afford something that big. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Oct 2010 21:26

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Biz: Starbucks trying out booze, but it’s not strong enough for our tastes

  • It’s possible that soon enough, you may go to Starbucks and find this cup filled with something other than coffee. Like booze. See, the company is testing out beer and wine at some of its Seattle testbeds. If it proves popular, other Starbucks across the country could get it. If you ask us, though, we don’t think we could get behind this until they serve hard liquor, mainly because that’s the only way we think we could survive being in a Starbucks for an extended period of time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Jul 2010 11:45

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Biz: Old man doesn’t like Starbucks’ unlimited wi-fi for some reason

  • You won’t be able to find a place to sit down anymore if more people are coming in to use their computers. I thought a coffee shop was for drinking coffee.
  • Santa Clarita, Calif. resident Ted Thompson • Getting really angry over Starbucks’ unlimited wi-fi service. See, the problem that Thompson doesn’t seem to understand is that Starbucks is that coffee shops were never about drinking coffee. They all have coffee, sure, but they’re social beasts in nature, plus they encourage people to read the news or play checkers while they’re there. But, with laptops, people don’t have to do that anymore. The social element is online. If you want good coffee instead of a place filled with laptops, try somewhere that doesn’t have wi-fi. Just a tip. And get out of our way  so that we can blog in peace, kind sir! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2010 21:22

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Biz: Three reasons why Starbucks’ wi-fi plan could be big for newspapers

  • Smart synergy USA Today’s most brilliant move was brokering deals with hotels to give free copies of the paper to patrons. It helped them build their brand. Starbucks’ deal with the WSJ could be the modern equivalent of that, except more effective.
  • People do this already If you’ve ever been in a coffee shop, you know that copies of the newspaper are already sitting around for people to read if they so choose. This is the exact same thing without the paper waste. (Or the social elements, but alas.)
  • New business model If this works, it could effectively turn into a new revenue model for the newspaper industry, one that could be replicated in bookstores, restaurants and other public meeting places. Hope the WSJ is getting paid well for this.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2010 21:02

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Biz: Starbucks says “screw it,” stops charging for wi-fi like losers

  • It had reached a point where it was affecting sales. For years, Starbucks was one of the few coffee-shop chains that didn’t have free wi-fi, instead charging high fees for usage. Then, they gave Starbucks Card holders two hours free. Now, they’re opening it up for everybody July 1st – and using their clout to sweeten the deal, big time. The details:
  • yesIt’ll be a simple process to log in – just hit a button and you’re on. You can stay as long as you want, bucking the independent coffee shop trend away from moochers.
  • noThat’s not all – they’ll offer free access to pay sites like The Wall Street Journal, and free music and movie previews. Holy crap. This could be big, everybody. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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