CD you’re right the passion is missing because along the way, as Starbucks tried to be all things to everyone, baristas forgot why they’re there. You can see this on MSI. The percentage of threads even mentioning whole bean coffee, like Gold Coast, or Verona, is probably less than 2 percent.

Yesterday (Sat. 12-26) afternoon, I walked out of a Starbucks empty-handed, after hearing a “no” to brew on demand. Baristas make no association that they have something to do with real coffee.

But part of it all is this feeling that people have inside of them when they think they have or are something really unique.

So, what I am trying to say is that all this ties back together. I am convinced that baristas at the concept stores are more enthusiastic, and partly because they realize they have something special that not every other Starbucks has.

Schwag plays into the same role. Starbucks should do very limited SMALL quantities of things and use it as rewards, as you suggested, or even possibly, special offers to their most loyal customers (if they know who they are).

Sorry for typos. It’s early in the morning.

Whatever it is – Via caps, Starbucks lunch boxes, small batch coffees, etc… — all mystique and joy about the product is forever lost when it gets mass produced on the scale to be distributed to 16,000 stores.

It goes back to the “dime a dozen” problem Starbucks has that I’ve mentioned many times on SG.

CD, thank you for your thoughtful post!

Smalrus, that’s so cool you have a green apron you got as a gift!! I think I’ve seen green aprons for sale on ebay, but it’s a lot more special if it comes from a barista!!!

Melody

So when I finally moved up here for the doctoral program, they gifted me a green apron… better than a shirt, except I never use it

On the subject of mystique, do you think one of the reasons you like some of the new store concepts is because they bring back some of the mystique (or “romance”) of Starbucks in the 1990s? I don’t mean they are the same as the stores in the 90s, but the experience is more like that in the 90s.

Schwag certainly has its place but at this point in time when it is so important for Starbucks to regain its focus on its core, I would recommend that it not produce products like this for retail sale (either in stores or online).

However, as GAStarbucksGirl points out, there is a place for this type of item. I would recommend that they produce these in limited quantity for their employees only. They could be offered as rewards for sales quotas, etc. The rarity would help regain the mystique and offer a unique incentive/badge of honor for employees.

Juan Valdez at SG has pointed out that the passion is missing with many of the employees at SBUX. Perhaps this could be a small way to bring some of it back.

On the subject of focus and core, a friend of mine has a blog post on “Less is More” and the impact of the book How Starbucks Saved My Life. Please take a moment to read her post and comment if you feel compelled to do so. The post is at http://www.innertrackstrategy.com/2009/12/23/is-less-really-more/ or the link in my name.

Happy Holidays.

CD