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+--- Thread: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response (/showthread.php?tid=20225)
The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - elmo3 - 10-08-2006
This:
http://tinyurl.com/fv2vg
says:
The official word from Starbucks is that they're cool with the Ghetto Latte. "Customization is a fundamental attribute of the Starbucks Experience. We provide condiments to our customers so they can make their drinks to their liking and we appreciate their patronage. We trust our customers to make the choices that are right for them," Starbucks Gossip reports.
It led me to this:
http://tinyurl.com/zlbpk
which says:
A report on Starbucks Gossip, starbucksgossip.typepad.com, a site not affiliated with the company, said Starbucks' response to the flap is: "Customization is a fundamental attribute of the Starbucks Experience. We provide condiments to our customers so they can make their drinks to their liking and we appreciate their patronage. We trust our customers to make the choices that are right for them." Although the statement isn't found on Starbucks' official Web site, a company spokesman confirmed that this is the official position. Also, the manager of the Michigan Avenue store said she has been told not to interfere with bootleg latte makers.
It's confirmed: Starbucks is fine with all of this. And by definition, if Starbucks is fine with it, then it's not stealing. By definition, they're inviting you to be creative and do what you wish with the condiments.
It just turned out that some nosy busybodies decided that corporate was "wrong" and thought they had to spout off about it.
Well, it says Starbucks on the door--not "cutebaristabucks".
From the Tribune article, this pretty much sums it up:
Joel Goldhar, professor at the Stuart School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was called to comment as someone with expertise in business ethics. He didn't see it as a question of ethics, however, but capitalism in action.
"I believe in capitalism," Goldhar said, "and prudent people who see the same product at different prices will find a way to get the cheaper one. What's the difference between the Starbucks thing and my flying to Florida for $175 while the person in the seat next to me is paying $450? If your diesel car runs on home heating oil, which is cheaper, maybe you think about getting a 500-gallon tank installed. If you order a coffee in a cafe on the Champs Elysees, what are you really buying? Not the coffee. You're buying the view, and you're buying it with the cheapest thing on the menu."
He said that too much marketing today is to convince people that the same things are different, or as one online commentator noted of the Starbucks latte, "It's strong coffee with milk in it."
Please allow me to repeat that last point, as it is crucial to understanding much of the consumer world today and to understanding the underlying business model of Starbucks and places like it:
He said that too much marketing today is to convince people that the same things are different...
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - Carthaigh - 10-08-2006
I think we need a response to this from herbiesyufy. Still with the way over-the-top outrage? Hmmm?
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - elmo3 - 10-08-2006
More information, from here:
http://tinyurl.com/l4jmt
published September 19.
In a statement released Thursday, Starbucks sided with customers.
"Customization is a fundamental attribute of the Starbucks Experience," the company said in an e-mail statement. "We provide condiments to our customers so they can make their drinks to their liking and we appreciate their patronage. We trust our customers to make the choices that are right for them."
The statement reflects the company's "Just Say Yes" policy, another way of saying the customer is always right.
Hmmmmm....Just Say Yes. In other words, Starbucks is saying that they're big boys, they can take it, and that they know how to run their own business. That they don't need nosy busybody "baristas" to make snap business judgments in front of customers.
Should Starbucks decide to change how they run their business, they will change how they run their business. And I guarantee, they will not consult "baristas" or otherwise let those people decide when it's appropriate to stop a customer from using condiments that Starbucks puts out for the customer to use.
Starbucks made it plain: they know what they're doing.
I suspect that the "baristas" at this point have gotten the message loud and clear.
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - SeattlePhotog - 10-08-2006
No over-the-top outrage. Just this, from the same website:
"Ethics professor says making a "Ghetto Latte" may be OK, but...
Marquette University ethics prof Keith Bauer says: "Strictly speaking, if you take something from someone without their consent, it's stealing, but if, in this case [of the Ghetto Latte] Starbucks consents, it's not. Whether or not the company charges too much is irrelevant. It's not that you cross an ethical line in how much milk you pour. The line is when Starbucks says, 'no.' But there's a broader universe to this, the character of the people who do it. It seems that they may be of poor character -- opportunistic, taking advantage." (If you feel you have to comment on this -- there already are more than 500 related comments on this website -- go to the original Ghetto Latte post.)"
That pretty much sums it up! If you are of "poor character", as Elmo claims to be, then go for it! Still seems degrading, of course...
Rick! (with a silent 'P')
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - elmo3 - 10-08-2006
[quote herbiesyufy]No over-the-top outrage. Just this, from the same website:
"Ethics professor says making a "Ghetto Latte" may be OK, but...
Marquette University ethics prof Keith Bauer says: "Strictly speaking, if you take something from someone without their consent, it's stealing, but if, in this case [of the Ghetto Latte] Starbucks consents, it's not. Whether or not the company charges too much is irrelevant. It's not that you cross an ethical line in how much milk you pour. The line is when Starbucks says, 'no.' But there's a broader universe to this, the character of the people who do it. It seems that they may be of poor character -- opportunistic, taking advantage." (If you feel you have to comment on this -- there already are more than 500 related comments on this website -- go to the original Ghetto Latte post.)"
That pretty much sums it up! If you are of "poor character", as Elmo claims to be, then go for it! Still seems degrading, of course...
Rick! (with a silent 'P')
Notice that it's couched in the context of what he calls "taking advantage of an opportunity". To him--and to you--it's immoral and unethical to "take advantage of an opportunity".
That speaks volumes about you.
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - SeattlePhotog - 10-08-2006
[quote elmo3]"Customization is a fundamental attribute of the Starbucks Experience," the company said in an e-mail statement. "We provide condiments to our customers so they can make their drinks to their liking and we appreciate their patronage. We trust our customers to make the choices that are right for them."
That's a brilliant statement! Starbucks has essentially come out and stated what I was saying all along. Customers can "make the choices that are right for THEM".
So, if you are of poor character and enjoy degrading yourself, by all means continue! Starbucks is just better than you, I guess.
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - SeattlePhotog - 10-08-2006
[quote elmo3]
Notice that it's couched in the context of what he calls "taking advantage of an opportunity". To him--and to you--it's immoral and unethical to "take advantage of an opportunity".
That speaks volumes about you.
Thank you, Elmo...I agree. I prefer to MAKE opportunities, NOT take advantage of others.
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - MacGurl - 10-08-2006
Oh please - if Starbucks *really* cared about Ghetto lattes, and the condiments being used, they'd just hand out those little pre-packs of creamer and sweeteners at the counter when you ordered, and would control usage that way. Starbucks knows they are doing well and can absord the little "extra" condiment usage by the occassional customer. A few uppity baristas just somehow got into their heads that they own the company, and know what should be policy, better than Starbucks itself does.
Me - I just like plain coffee, with a blop of half and half. I could care less about making my own Ghetto Latte.
Kathy
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - ztirffritz - 10-08-2006
I'm not sure which is worst:
1) there is space in a newspaper dedicated to this
2) that people pay to read it
3) people took the time to write letters to the editor about it
4) that people here are meta-discussing it
Re: The Starbucks "bootleg latte"--Starbucks' official response - SeattlePhotog - 10-08-2006
I know...and when you get right down to it, I really think we're all in agreement:
1) Starbucks Corporate realizes they're screwed no matter what, so of course they take the "high road".
2) Some people will degrade themselves and sink to almost any level to save a buck.
3) Some people like to brag about being cheap, thinking they are "beating" some imaginary "system".
I've said, over and over again, that taking the milk isn't illegal. But the fact that this has been debated to death shows that there are (at least) two ethical positions on it.
Now you just have to decide which ethical side you want to be on.