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21 Jun 2008 11:16 am
Coffee By Focus Group
Taylor Clark reviews Starbucked by Taylor Clark:
One of Clark’s great strengths in Starbucked is in exposing the almost
fanatical level of calculation that goes into every corporate decision,
from the colour of the walls to the layout of the stores to the music
on the stereo, “which changed in mood throughout the day to reflect the
needs of customers in each ‘day part.’” While Schultz speaks in
artificially elevated, New Age language about the vaunted “Starbucks
Experience” and about Starbucks as a mythical “third place,” separate
from home and work, where customers can retreat to rejuvenate their
spirits and to feed their souls — Schultz claims that the chain was
“built on the human spirit” — the entirety of the company is the result
of relentless planning and constant focus groups, the quizzing of
potential customers about their “need states” and their “lifestyle
segments.” The soulful experience that Starbucks patrons putatively
crave is the result of a carefully micromanaged plan that
systematically erases any kind of individuality or the flaws that allow
for uniqueness. The “Starbucks Experience” is the apex of cookie-cutter
corporate sameness.
And I love it. Mysteriously, no mention of the petite vanilla bean scones.
(Hat tip: John Baker)
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