477300 Tue Jan 08 10:11:19 -0800 2008 31 32 Chains 0 3273703 McDonald's is fighting back against Starbucks' rip-off of their breakfast sandwiches. They're upping the ante, creating coffe bars and have job openings for "Baristas". http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080107/mcdonalds_coffee.html?.v=1 I forsee an ultimate merger creating a McStarbucks chain. Now, how many outlets would such a chain have? "I'll have a McVente, please." Tue Jan 08 10:11:19 -0800 2008 131118 Xiao Yang 1 3276265 Are we to believe they will train employees to be true baristas when I have yet to meet one who can properly work the McFlurry machine? Tue Jan 08 23:36:58 -0800 2008 3273703 16564 Arthur 2 3276402 LoL...So true! I wouldn't trust a fast food chain with my coffee. Then again, I don't really trust Starbucks, so what do I have to lose? Wed Jan 09 04:42:22 -0800 2008 3276265 106169 linz_e_moore 2 3276662 Are you saying Starbucks does? Wed Jan 09 06:58:06 -0800 2008 3276265 131118 Xiao Yang 1 3277860 Our local Sheetz gas station now has an espresso bar, where the "barista" is the same kid who makes the "Shmuffinz" and "Shmagelz." But not surprisingly (if you know Sheetz), for $2.49 I got a large latte that was not bad at all. Conversely, our local McDonalds screws up virtually every order we place, so my expectations for their barista service will be fairly low. Wed Jan 09 11:50:04 -0800 2008 3273703 12829 Bob W 2 3278338 The whole barista idea came first, and then Starbucks implemented the breakfast sandwiches. I have seen pictures of the "espresso machines" to be used by the "baristas" and they are nothing more than glorified coffee brewers. I am for one totally unimpressed. Howard Schultz has recently taken back his post of CEO of Starbucks, and I am very hopeful that things will be changing for the better. I started with Starbucks back in 1994 and it was a way better place than now. Hopefully a return to the original concept of great coffee, great (well trained) partners, and great enviornment. Mickey D's cannot compete with any of the 3. Wed Jan 09 13:41:07 -0800 2008 3277860 25364 momof3 3 3278544 In some parts of the country McDonald's is already using high-end coffee like Green Mountain and brewing a better cup than Starbucks' house coffee, which isn't that hard to do, IMHO. The laughable aspect is EITHER chain calling their pimply-faced glorified soda jerks ""Barista's" http://starbucksgossip.typepad.com/_/2007/02/consumer_report.htm Wed Jan 09 14:26:23 -0800 2008 3278338 131118 Xiao Yang 4 3279334 Hey now...slamming the companies seems like fair game to me but let's not paint with such a wide brush the folks who have jobs, huh? Starbucks is using fully automatic stuff at this point, so other than quality of the machine and beans, I'm not sure the job description is going to vary much between Starbucks and McDonald's. Wed Jan 09 18:02:18 -0800 2008 3278544 80141 ccbweb 5 3279391 "Hey now...slamming the companies seems like fair game to me but let's not paint with such a wide brush the folks who have jobs, huh?" You expressed my thoughts exactly... Wed Jan 09 18:28:06 -0800 2008 3279334 20921 Tay 5 3279731 Sorry, just an indelicate way of referring to the obvious youth of some of the "Baristas" I've seen at Starbucks, not to mention my distaste with Starbucks using that appellation so loosely. They do remind me of the "Soda Jerks" of my time (of which I was one, who, BTW, could mix up a mean Cherry Phosphate). Wed Jan 09 20:34:00 -0800 2008 3279334 131118 Xiao Yang 5 3282156 All the starbucks employees I know are way over qualified, college students or grad students (or graduates), and quite good looking (myself included). We are also very well trained on the espresso bar as well as customer service, coffee knowledge, etc... As I said before, McDonalds cannot compete with that. Thu Jan 10 13:10:20 -0800 2008 3279334 25364 momof3 1 3279440 If their Stock Holders report is any indication, McDonald's intends to pursue this market very aggressively. They are targeting all those people who stop in for a Mc something but pick up their coffee at Starbucks. They're thinking that as the economy tanks more and more 'Starbuckers' will be cashing an unemployment check instead of a paycheck. They will be unwilling/unable to spend more on a cup of coffee than they do for a pound of steak.. Mc Donald's will be standing by with their McCoffee at their McPrices. Now may be the time to buy more McStock :-} Wed Jan 09 18:43:49 -0800 2008 3273703 20921 Tay 2 3279757 Unfortunately, it may result in Starbucks expanding their Asian expansion even more aggressively. They now have as more Starbucks outlets in Shanghai (92) than in San Francisco (82), mostly serving expats (and a handful of "Chuppies"). They are making a bundle, charging American prices and paying Chinese wages and Chinese rents. And no public bathrooms in many of them, which is my primary reason for stopping at a Starbucks. Wed Jan 09 20:44:59 -0800 2008 3279440 131118 Xiao Yang 2 3279894 I agree that it may be unfortunate from the standpoint of those of us who enjoy high quality coffee, but it sure seems to make sense from a business perspective from the McDonald's perspective. I don't think they'd have to come up with a decidedly excellent cup of coffee/latte/whatever to convince people who are already buying breakfast or lunch there to just get their coffee for a somewhat lower price and with more convenience than a second stop. It's the same idea that works on me when I go to the really nice market near my house for produce and cheese and fish and buy the overpriced paper towels and cereal there instead of making a second stop at another store that will have better prices on those products. Coffee drinks are becoming commoditized so it's a combination of convenience, price and quality on which people will make their decisions rather than quality first and foremost. I'll stick with my home brew and the occasional cup of drip out and the very occasional latte (I do, actually, enjoy an "grande organic latte" from Starbucks on those occasions). Wed Jan 09 21:46:27 -0800 2008 3279440 80141 ccbweb 3 3280182 ABC News did a story on this topic last night. They had some "expert," head of a coffee trade association or something like that, who rather sheepishly admitted he thought the new McDonald's product was "smoother" than the comparable item from Starbucks. Personally I don't have the kind of money to buy Starbucks (or likely the McDonald's coffee for that matter) so I'll be sticking with my home brew, also. Thu Jan 10 04:59:52 -0800 2008 3279894 21777 Emm 4 3280422 It is $1.50 for a tall and $1.95 for a vente, (which is way too large) coffee at Starbucks. The other stuff, which is not coffee, costs more. Thu Jan 10 06:43:47 -0800 2008 3280182 12123 Cathy 5 3280784 But Cathy, the vente is a mere 20 ounces! Thu Jan 10 08:22:56 -0800 2008 3280422 12829 Bob W 6 3280841 The cost to Starbucks of the extra 10 or 12 ounces compared to whatever they call the "small" size is almost infinitesmal. It's all labor, packaging and other overhead costs to begin with. And the last I knew, McDonalds had free refills....... Thu Jan 10 08:38:37 -0800 2008 3280784 131118 Xiao Yang 7 3280984 50¢ to refill any size at Starbucks... But I am not complaining. It is always fresh at Starbucks, and if I don't like the flavor(s) of the day, I can ask them to make me a press pot and they will-no extra charge. Thu Jan 10 09:10:17 -0800 2008 3280841 12123 Cathy 2 3280810 I agree, Tay. People who go to McD's go there for one reason.....CONSISTENCY! Unlike a lot of chains when you pull up to McDs you(for the most part) know exactly what you're going to get. Is it the best? Probably not. But, it's always the same, and when I want "the same", I'll go to a place that does it. I'm not fond of most of McDs products, but I do like their McMuffin sandwiches....and they're always the same. IF they put out a decent, affordable, "consistent" cup of coffee, why would I want to stop somewhere else for a nearly equal product at double the price? It seems like Starbucks initiated the feud and McD may be who ends it. Thu Jan 10 08:29:06 -0800 2008 3279440 146359 Deepster 1 3281516 SFGate article. You can click on the pictures to get a look. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/11/30/MNGQM3D72S1.DTL Whose to say? Doesn't look all that bad. But then again it is McDonalds. Since finding a local independent Cuban coffee house nearby our home that beats Starbucks all to hell, we don't frequent Starbucks. Only when 'on the road' and our Cafe Contigo isn't available. Thu Jan 10 10:56:07 -0800 2008 3273703 141261 crt 1 3281656 Jfood predicts major failure. McD has never moved to the "have it your way on burgers" because of their six-sigma process of making their food. Now they move into custo-specific drinks? Anyone who has lived through the painful wait at SB while their coffee-makers made those silly drinks will try the McD only once and say "This just ain;t worth it." Thu Jan 10 11:23:08 -0800 2008 3273703 11290 jfood 2 3283313 "McCafes" have been extant all around the world for years now- I popped in one in Cologne because it was one of the only smoke-free places in town. Their drinks menu wasn't very ambitious- espresso, cappuccino, "latte macchiato," and that was about it. I got an espresso "einfach" (that's a single espresso auf deutsch) and it was horrible, at least 4 oz for a drink that should be one ounce, but not worse than most espresso made with German superautos. Thu Jan 10 18:17:16 -0800 2008 3281656 12135 John Manzo 1 3283648 honestly, I tossed the caffe' I bought at a Rome McDonalds (bought for the sole purpose of powder room access.) If the coffee is inedible in ITALY..... Thu Jan 10 20:15:42 -0800 2008 3273703 41097 chocolatstiletto 2 3284657 I've been to the store you are referring to and found the overall experience to be light years ahead of anything in the U.S. I didn't try the coffee, mainly because there are so many places in Rome to get great espresso, it never occurred to me to buy one at McDonald's. I wouldn't be so hard on McDonald's coffee in Rome, but I guess it's because I wouldn't expect it to be very good. Especially when you consider that Starbucks doesn't even have the cajones to open up a store in Italy. Fri Jan 11 08:11:49 -0800 2008 3283648 135212 punkin712 3 4105225 Starbucks is wise not to open a store in Italy. Their business model runs counterpoint to the way coffee is drank in Italy. Italians will have a cappuccino with breakfast, maybe an espresso macchiato (espresso with a small dollop of foam) mid-morning, and then any other coffee through the day is espresso. There's no sitting around the coffee house lingering over the espresso; you down it in two or three sips and get on with your day. Starbucks, on the other hand... 16 ounce cappuccino in a place that wants to be your second living room. Tue Oct 14 22:51:35 -0700 2008 3284657 10996 JK Grence the Cosmic Jester 1 3285717 I heard about this! Very very odd...what is the world coming to?! Fri Jan 11 12:10:42 -0800 2008 3273703 112406 Chew on That 1 4104251 Am resurrecting this thread as there's nothing more recent. I'm finding our local "McCafe" entities in Eastern Massachusetts to be a total joke. The lattes I tried recently are amateurishly bad, horribly sweet with little real coffee flavor. And despite the TV promotions, it was brutal trying to get the promised free samples during September. Went to three of these places. One refused to serve a free sample at all, then said they were only offering them Friday that week from 2 PM to 4 PM. The TV ad said McCafes would be offering samples Thursday through Saturday that week from 7 AM to 7 PM -- this location didn't seem to care when I said I'd complain to the corporate home office about it. A second location also refused to provide a sample but reluctantly and peevishly relented when I loudly threatened to complain to corporate -- they said they were only offering samples from 7 AM to 2 PM (it was 2:30 PM). The third place gave a sample as requested, but acted as if I were trying to abscond with their first born. And I really have to laugh at the recent commercials which are clearly designed to entice Starbucks customers. McD's coffee is much worse than that at Starbucks, and anyone who likes the latter isn't going to enjoy the former. Also, Starbucks has a much more pleasant atmosphere; the McCafes here are all in existing McDonalds restaurants which are overrun with noisy families with little kids and/or homeless folks -- no thanks, I prefer to avoid such customers when I want to relax with a cuppa. Tue Oct 14 14:46:26 -0700 2008 3273703 76251 bachslunch 1 4107298 I actually don't mind Starbucks. The one right outside my campus serves better stuff than the cafeteria or the 'we brew starbucks coffee' stand on campus. It is insanely overpriced, and it doesn't compare to what I can brew at home, but at least I'm getting my caffiene fix. Wed Oct 15 18:17:28 -0700 2008 3273703 217807 cheesecake17 2 4107536 I'll have to try the local McCafe. I tried one in New Zealand in 2002 and it was very good with Italian coffee. There are McCafe style pastries in some of the McD's in the Beijing airport which were quite good. But I'm skeptical about the local McD crew pulling it off. Wed Oct 15 20:34:36 -0700 2008 4107298 15082 repete 1 4117255 A McD's I go to in eastern PA makes a good iced latte, and at $2.75, i'm not complaining. Mon Oct 20 17:39:07 -0700 2008 3273703 15507 Rick 1 4118132 Do they respond with "do you want Foam with that?" Tue Oct 21 07:11:50 -0700 2008 3273703 152667 Ralphie_in_Boston