Well, the cannibalizing store placement methods have finally caught up with Starbucks.

Definition: To cut into; cause to become reduced; diminish: New products introduced in the next six months will cannibalize sales from established lines.

They did this mainly to establish an iron grip monopoly on coffee shops. Of course this method has its downside. The downside obviously becoming more clear now that the economy is heading where it is now. When people have to choose between gas or Starbucks they’ll choose the gasoline for their cars and cut out Starbucks. Starbucks will be closing six hundred locations. Here in DC WTOP has been mentioning this non stop, so I figured I might as well blog about it. What this means is that there will be a lot of employees who will be out of jobs. The coffee chain has stated that they want to reintegrate the employees from the closing stores into other locations, but I’m skeptical about this. I’ll believe it if and when this is actually done. I did hear that a lot of full time jobs will be gone.

What was really weird was to hear someone that WTOP had on to talk about this say that Starbucks is really good to its baristas, bussers and shift supervisors. That is, unless they start engaging in union activity of course. We are made to feel that the company really values their people. That same person on WTOP said that the baristas are highly trained. If this were true then why are they treated the way they are now?

From the IWW Starbucks Union press release on the 600 locations being closed:

If Starbucks is serious about distinguishing itself from competitors like McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, Schultz should stop prohibiting full-time status for retail hourly employees and improve a health care plan which insures a lower percentage of workers than Wal-Mart’s.

I hear that the hourly pay isn’t that great either. I think that one of the reasons that Starbucks has this undeserved reputation that they treat their employees well; is because they offered some sort of health care insurance even to their part timers. After reading the above citation we learn that actually not everything is great concerning health insurance for it’s workers.

While Starbucks isn’t the worst corporation in the world there are some things that they do which is rather disgusting.

And the company should stop wasting millions of dollars on its union-busting lawyers and PR professionals at Akin Gump and Edelman.

I still get my Starbucks in the morning. It’s mainly because there’s not many other independent shops around which make a good mocha latte, or are close enough that you don’t have to go on a trek to get to one. I wish the Juan Valdez shops would come back to DC. I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to my mocha lattes, it’s one of the few things I indulge in. I don’t own a car so I guess I can pay the prices. After all, it’s not just a regular cup of coffee, this is an espresso based drink, so naturally I’d expect to pay more for it. However, it is the choices of where you can get these drinks that have been diminished.

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