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wi-fi
Starbucks' desperation means free Internet for card customers
With the purchase of a $5 gift card, or by entering your personal information in the company's database for a rewards program, Starbucks will allow you to sip on two hours of free Wi-Fi from AT&T at stores. The Seattle-based fast food chain may be one of the first to be hit by any economic downturn as Americans cut back on the affordable luxury of $4 caffeinated drinks and spend that money at competitors like McDonald's. One look at the stock's performance over the last year, down over 30 percent, and you can see why CEO Howard Schultz would look to freebies like Wi-Fi to keep the company's FrappucinoTM junkies coming back. As our very special correspondent once put it, "Wi-Fi isn't a luxury or even a commodity. It's a condiment."
AT&T turns off free Wi-Fi
AT&T meant to make Wi-Fi free only for iPhone users. But a hack made it free for laptop users at Starbucks and other network points controlled by AT&T. The free Wi-Fi has now been disabled. Guess the hoi polloi stealing bandwidth ruined it for iPhone owners. [Gizmodo]
AT&T meant to make Wi-Fi free only for iPhone users. But a hack made it free for laptop users at Starbucks and other network points controlled by AT&T. The free Wi-Fi has now been disabled. Guess the hoi polloi stealing bandwidth ruined it for iPhone owners. [Gizmodo]
wi-fi
Get free Wi-Fi at Starbucks with or without an iPhone from AT&T
AT&T is offering iPhone owners free Wi-Fi at hotspots managed by the company, including those at megachain Starbucks. But all the system checks is the user-agent string supplied by the iPhone's Safari browser and a phone number from a working iPhone. So anyone with a laptop can simply change their browser's user-agent string, put in the phone number of a friend with an iPhone, et voila! Free Wi-Fi. Why you won't get? The phone number of the cute barista you've been flirting with in vain. (Via Slashdot, photo by Synthesis Studios)
earnings
Starbucks quarterly results spill scalds analysts's laps
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz dampened analyst expectations for the company's performance ahead of its April 30 quarterly earnings anouncement, sending shares tumbling 10.4 percent in after-hours trading. "The current economic environment is the weakest in our company's history," he said to explain why the company is facing the first quarterly profit decline in eight years. The retailer has long traded on being a relatively affordable yuppie status symbol, serving up a dose of psychological salve for four dollars a cup to an American middle class in decline. But it looks like Schultz's stunt to bloster the elite cachet of a brand now as ubiquitously plebeian as your local McDonald's might not be enough to fuel continued growth. (Photo by Peter Kaminski) More »
coffeehouse politics
Starbucks won't "laissez faire" -- even on its gift cards
Starbucks will let you create your own customized Starbucks gift card with anything you want stamped on it. Well, almost anything. When Roger Ream tried to get "Laissez Faire" printed on his Starbucks card, it was rejected. Starbucks says "we review each Card before printing ... but we can't honor every" request. Starbucks policy considers "overtly political statements" inappropriate. The Wall Street Journal discovered that "People Not Profits" and "Yes We Can" both sailed through just fine. For a company that's fighting in court against paying back tips to its employees, I'd think Starbucks would embrace "laissez faire" wholeheartedly.
trendspotting
New social networks fighting against ebb tide of user interest
Social network fatigue is nothing new, at least to The 250, and VCs are finally catching on — the Starbucks social network might be the watershed moment when everyone stepped back from updating their umpteenth profile, put down the double-tall soy mocha and said to themselves, "You know, maybe we've reached the point of diminishing returns." More »
serious investigative journalism
What's new at Starbucks: 3 changes
I'm a reporter, dammit, so after reading about today's all-hands training sessions at all Starbucks stores I walked over to the store at 333 Market in San Francisco's Financial District and asked my barista to explain, step by step, exactly what's new. More »
addictions
Starbucks closed for three hours to make buying lattes even slower
In a much publicized
caption contest
Craig Newmark doesn't care about indie coffeeshops
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark supports multinational coffee chain's outlet at 4th and King. (Photo by glovercom)
starbucks
AT&T to become leading Wi-Fi provider to latte liberals
AT&T is replacing T-Mobile as the Wi-Fi provider at 7,000 Starbucks locations in the U.S., starting in the spring. Even better? Customers who pay with a Starbucks gift card get two hours of free Wi-Fi. Now, I could tell you how this benefits iPhone sales, or takes pressure off AT&T's overcrowded cell-phone networks, but I'm more concerned about how many more people are going to be leeching free Internet at my local Starbucks.More »
Starbucks has fired Jim Donald as CEO, replacing him with Howard Schultz, the coffee chain's chairman. Changes in the works: Closing struggling stores, slowing store openings, and improving the "store experience." Translation: Dealing with the reality of competing with McDonald's as yet another fast-food chain. [WSJ]
coffee
McDonald's outs Starbucks as fast food chain
It would take a lot to pull San Francisco's bloggers out of their default Starbucks habitats, but with a new, cheap line of espresso drinks and its free Wi-Fi, McDonald's may well yet lure poor newsfeed slaves to its golden arches. While the constant aroma of fried food may not be the most appealing work environment, neither is the modern-day Starbucks. More »
patents
Apple to make ordering at Starbucks less embarrassing
On December 20, Apple filed a patent on wireless technology for ordering coffee from an iPhone or iPod. The goal, according to a copy of the patent filing obtained by Forbes, is to help customers avoid the "annoying wait in a long queue before completion of the order." Whatever. I just know I'd finally buy an iPhone if it means I never have to take an extra 20 seconds to say, "halfcaf soymilk chai latte with an extra shot of espresso and only two pumps, please." (Photo by idogcow)
retail
Apple to open 40 new stores in 2008
Megamillionaire Ron Johnson, Apple's senior VP of retail, announced that Apple will open an additional 40 retail stores next year. The company already fruitfully operates over 200 stores worldwide, but this year Apple will focus on international markets including several new stores in the U.K., Brazil, and perhaps Mexico City. I don't know, Ron: Until you reach Starbucks territory, can you really say you have enough U.S. outlets? (Photo by Sarah Baker) More »
stats
Men get their coffee 20 seconds earlier than women who order from the same staff in the same coffee shop, according to a recent study written up in Slate. If you've ever stood behind iJustine ordering her triple grande nonfat no-whip 6-pump extra-hot white mocha, you know being on camera doesn't speed up slacker baristas one bit.
Can I order you a coffee, miss?
Men get their coffee 20 seconds earlier than women who order from the same staff in the same coffee shop, according to a recent study written up in Slate. If you've ever stood behind iJustine ordering her triple grande nonfat no-whip 6-pump extra-hot white mocha, you know being on camera doesn't speed up slacker baristas one bit.
online advertising
Starbucks has few fans on Facebook
The premise behind Facebook's Social Ads is the notion that users of the social network will declare their brand loyalty on the site, and thereby opt into targeted ads from some of their favorite corporations. Starbucks, despite a recent dip in store visits after a price hike, serves 44 million customers a week. So you'd think a few of those customers might have admitted to being fans of Facebook, right? Wrong. Facebook's Starbucks product page has all of 59 fans. I think there were that many people in my local Starbucks the last time I bought a latte. More »
bad ideas
