Comments on: Store Review: North Bend, Washington & Melody’s Via Taste Challenge

By: Melody

Melody — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:25:08 +0000

@NotImpressed – You make some valid points. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’ve been saying all along that Starbucks over-expanded because nobody wants a lovely coffee experience at a place that feels like it is a ‘dime a dozen’ chain. However, the greed came not with opening up too many corporate locations, but rather the over licensing of the brand. If tomorrow all the licensed Starbucks locations were wiped out, it would feel like nearly half of them were gone. That would be an incredible change.

And of course what does a company do when it gets too big? It fractures. It definitely fractures. You can see that now at Starbucks whether or not they admit it. There is the typical Starbucks operating like a fast-food business, and the more coffee-oriented experience at their limited number of Clover locations and the recent introduction of the mercantile stores. What Starbucks really needs to do is hound the baristas at these exclusive locations that they have something special to offer. They have unique coffees. They can easily do coffee sampling. It’s unfortunate that sometimes one encounters baristas at these locations still operating under the fast-food mindset, but you’re more likely have a coffeehouse experience at one of the unique Clover stores.

And frankly coffee is a food product. It is perishable and can be prepared a million different ways with a million different brew methods. I want my cup of coffee to be rich and roasty, and I don’t want it to be tea-like.

By: NotImpressed

NotImpressed — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:05:21 +0000

When ideas get to big for their own good they destroy what once was the very essence of the idea in the first place: interesting, unique, elusive and local. If Charbucks…and I use the adjective “char” to describe nearly every cup of plain regular coffee this over boated chain has become…had opened a reasonable number of locations it would have been so much better off. Instead, the stupidity of greed has changed the product and experience…forever. No matter what anyone says…when 800 locations and counting are closed and continue to close it’s tells us one thing…the massive expansion idea has become a failure. Their own hype has driven this company into a very poor place especially with the attitudes of many many coffee drinkers. Reminds me a lot of Microsoft…operating systems have not improved like their chief competitors and their stocks prove that. Instead of staying focused and refining what they do, they continue to push MORE ITEMS, MORE CHOICES which are average at best and it’s all an attempt to capture an audience with a new gimmick. As a result Charbucks has become the “fast food” of coffee. Bottom line? Gluttony and greed has killed this chain.

By: Melody

Melody — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:24:58 +0000

That last comment was in reply to Denise R.

By: Melody

Melody — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:23:51 +0000

I admit that I saw a number of stores over the weekend doing their Via challenges right at the register, which is not really the best way to do it, in my humble opinion. Also, I think that the marketing about what a customer was supposed to take away from the challenge was unclear.

It may make a nice sound-bite to say “Can you taste the difference” but the difference in taste was OBVIOUS. The real question was “Can you figure out which one was drip-brewed?”

And I never once saw a barista talk about the 4 stages of a coffee tasting!

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:14:52 +0000

I think the taste test was a bit unfair and designed so that Via would win every time since it was compared to Starbucks’ worst coffee Pike Place Roast or what is affectionally referred to as Pike’s Puke. A much fairer comparison would have been to compare Via to one of Starbucks’ better coffees. That’s just my opinion.

Also how do I get my picture on like Amanda?

By: denise r.

denise r. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:12:27 +0000

Great writing Melody!! re: the VIA challenge, altho we’ve had it here (Chicago) all along, those little cups were everywhere for those few days. Sadly, in most of the stores where I went, as you alluded to, they absolutely did not have enough manpower to even begin to do it properly. At 50% of the stores, they had it set up right at the register! so the barista who was taking your order and ringing you up, was also doing the whole ‘challenge’. You get the picture, especially when periodically the lines would be to the door (long). At ‘my’ store, I really wanted to just take over, set the thing up on a little table, and do it right…they really needed help. (too bad I couldn’t) In any case, since they were comparing VIA Columbian (I like the Italian Rst) vs PPR, I thought it not a true ‘challenge’. I was right (& wrong) about 50% of the time. The stores were too short & rushed to even make the VIA correctly, I saw this..so, it was pretty much hit or miss. Besides all that, they should’ve done this here in Chicago back when it came out! crazy. I remember one morning ??? when it was maybe about pastries? and the theme was ‘come in your pajamas’, (which quite a few people actaully did)…the store I go to actually was very well staffed for that event. and it was just a normal morning that required really not so much more work…they had pasty samples. Anyway, great blog and great info!

By: LatteRose

LatteRose — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:56:43 +0000

Good review. Sounds like the partners were really getting into it!

(But how was the pastry case??)

By: camspi

camspi — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:41:44 +0000

I have to admit that I like your reviews a little more than Juan’s.

By: Chase

Chase — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:20:13 +0000

I hear ya Melody. As a partner for the bux working this weekend it really felt spread thin. There is a lot of pressure and excitement at my store to double our goals so our manager was taking every chance to do the challenge. What that meant for me is at points there would be a line and I would be juggling bar and register. I don’t mind, I want to hit our goals too, but i’ll be glad when the taste challenge is over!

By: AmandaJ

AmandaJ — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:34:52 +0000

Haha, NBDT is my old manager’s store! Sarah runs a great (usually really clean) store and was likely there as she doesn’t rest! I go in there time to time, usually in the ski season, to say hi. That’s funny that you stopped in there. That store was number #1 in VIA sales during the test launch… one could see why, lot’s of commuting customers that would take a pack camping or skiing on the east side of the mountains.