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I gotta disagree (mostly). They offer a wide-range of consistently high-quality products. Their staff usually has a certain level of professionalism (something not guaranteed by the smaller cafes). The comparison to McDonald's is unfair. They're more like Chipole or Taco Del Mar. You get a standard product of reasonable quality consistently at either of the chains. The smaller independent things (taco trucks or cafes) can offer specialty stuff at sometimes discounted prices, but they are far more of a gamble. If I want a cup of Americano that I can be sure isn't fucked up, I'll take Starbucks over the stupid hippie store with the heavily pierced and really rude barista who's also a dumb bartender and will take like an hour explaining shit about coffee beans that I don't care about and have dumbass music playing all the time.
I will agree with the overpriced thing though.
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I'm not criticising the quality of the wares they're pushing.
Nor am I criticising the level of professionalism offered by the staff.
The McDonald's comparison isn't unfair - they are a huge American chain, a ubiquitous presence on the high street of most towns and cities in my country (Like McDonald's). They sell coffee in a similar 'fast-food' manner in a very commercialised, impersonal way (McDonald's).
They also have a history of tax avoidance in the UK that means they're leaching off our economy in an entirely unethical way:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23019514In this regard they are worse than McDonalds:
http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/targets/9We don't have Chipole or Taco Del Mar here, as far as I'm aware. We also don't have 'taco trucks'. We have cafés of varying quality and I'm not saying I will pick just any old dive just because it's small and local - I'll pick a decent café with a nice, personal service that isn't crammed full of commuters or hipsters (Starbucks is a hive of corporate caffeine fiends and too-cool-for-school teens). These cafés will also, in all likelihood, be paying the tax they owe.
I'm not averse to huge corporate chains, by the way. But if I can support local businesses who are overlooked despite offering equal or better service, I will.
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When large corporations push out smaller, local businesses, I divide the phenomena into two categories. There's the Wal-Mart or Home Depot take, where a store simply offers variety, with large floor space that local retailers simply cannot compete with. I'd agree that this one is usually more destructive than constructive.
On the other hand, there's the more specialized takeover, and we can use McDonald's for this example. In my city, there are both chain fast food shitty places (McD, Wendy's, BK, etc.) but there are also just straight burger places that are locally owned and independently run. The reason that both of these can co-habit the same environment is because they both offer enough of a quality product to the point where they can cover overhead and wages and whatnot. If the smaller burger places got pushed out by McDonalds, it would have been because their product (rather than their price) was worse than their competitors. When you have a hyper-specialized niche for a multinational company that company usually knows their product.
There's something to be said for supporting local businesses, to be sure, but you gotta make sure it's more than just that.
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I used to but not anymore. It's extremely unhealthy. It has a lot of oil in it. Where does the pil come from? What is that type of oil exactly? Whatever it was, it was like a gigantic laxative for me. I was practically having the runs when I would drink it. Somehow, I never managed to have an accident though, it certainly felt like I was getting close to it on more than one situation. O_o It is not even real Coffe as far as I am concerned. Overpriced. A creepy sexual siren, that remarkably resembles Baphomet when flipped upside down, is the logo. And, they have a nonsensical sizing system.
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Well, I must admit I have a Starbucks everyday. I don't like anything fancy, but I get a Vinte Americano half calf (because I can't take straight caffeine anymore). I find that compared to nearly every other provider, Starbucks is the best in consistently of product, value for what you get, friendliness of staff, and overall satisfaction of the product, it's hard to beat Starbucks.
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I try not to go there if I can help it. My soul feels bad when I buy coffee there. It's such a commercialized corporation that I almost feel like I am in Walmart or something when I go in there. Yep, that's the vibe I get. Walmart... I DETEST Walmart!
I much prefer my local coffee shop where they bring you the coffee when it's done, and are much more customer friendly too. They're not profit and everything and donate to charities. They even have performances, but I haven't been able to check them out yet.
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