• MoneyAlone said on May 16, 2006....

  If consumers didn't buy from SB, then they wouldn't flourish. Blame it on consumers.

• anonymous said on May 16, 2006....

  Get a life! Or are you just living off welfare?

• SuzyQ said on May 16, 2006....

  Anon: Have the courage to voice your opinion without hiding. I may need a life but you need a set of balls.

• joaneem said on May 16, 2006....

  Starbucks is the MacDonald's of coffeehouses and Coffee Bean is the Burger King. They're all corporate franchises in the end.

• kelly said on May 22, 2006....

  I'm going to say a word in favor of Starbucks. Not a big one, mind you, but in favor nonetheless. I remember when there were no Starbucks in L.A. What I don't remember seeing are all these fabulous little coffee houses that everyone talks about being destroyed by Starbucks. Oh, sure, I miss the e-Bar that used to hide in a funky little back alley in Pasadena, but it's easy to remember that the coffee wasn't that great and the help seemed mostly put out by having to, well, help. So, along came Starbucks. They had what I considered at the time really great tasting coffee, and when you walked in the baristas were friendly and seemed happy to be there, which offered almost as big a boost to me as the caffeine. It's not so much that way these days at Starbucks. They have really let customer service slide. So much so that I feel vaguely uneasy if I ever go into one (rare these days) and it seems as though the people working there feel like they are doing me some kind of favor by waiting on me. Still, in the beginning they had this terrific thing going and they offered a great tasting brew. Not so much anymore. I don't know what happened to them, but the Starbucks coffee quality seemed to slide along with its employees attitudes. Now I almost exclusively go to a place name Peet's, which I'm very fond of. Time will tell if they follow the same track as Starbucks. Finally, I'm more than happy to patronize small, independent coffee bars and pay more for the same type of drink. However, I'm not willing to do that if I feel like I'm somehow bothering the guy behind the counter by trying to order a drink or if I feel like they aren't too interested in serving someone who isn't pierced, tatooed and openly suffering from anomie.

• teletubby said on May 22, 2006....

  I completely agree with Kelly! I don't hate Starbucks, but yes, they are a bit different from how they were when they first began. Seems like this always happens when a business is small and down to earth. I love Peets and Seattle's Best but they are second to those cute little one-off cafes. BUT, I will say, at the end of the day, I'll stick with a place that serves excellent coffee and provides good service, be it a franchise or an independent place.

• Sephi said on May 23, 2006....

  I never go to Starbucks, simple as...

• bloc said on Jun 01, 2006....

  hey kelly, where is this peet's place?

• kelly said on Jun 10, 2006....

  Oh, sorry bloc. I hadn't seen your post there. Peet's are located in various places. Santa Monica has two (Montana St. and Main St.), Westwood Village has one, there's one on San Vicente in Brentwood and one in Pasadena at California and Lake. Those are just the ones I know about.

• Rainydays said on Jul 17, 2006....

  I discovered your blog when I searched for posts using the tag "coffee". When I noticed that you were getting some negative comments I had to comment to show my support. I live in a European country where there is no Starbucks yet and the café culture is very strong. There are small cafés everywhere and the coffee is delicious and cheap and brought to the table by kind and smiling waiters. I would never want to trade that for waiting in line for expensive, watery coffee served in a paper cup.

• TheNakedProfessor said on Jul 18, 2006....

  Wait until you find out how many SEX offenders are in the same area!

• javadewd said on May 20, 2009....

  I hate Star-Schmuck's Coffee... Small, medium, large!

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