Starbuck's blames it on housing...

[PublicEnemy#1]

[Lake Hills Renter]

Maybe it has something to do with charging $4 for a cup of f$#king coffee.

[Alan]

McDonalds is going after Starbucks hard.

[deejayoh]

[Ouch!]

I used the free coupon in Sunday's Seattle Times to try MickeyD's iced mocha. It was so bad that I ended up dumping it down the drain. I can't imagine that their lattes are any better. Starbucks rocks by comparison.

[aldreth]

McDonalds is nasty. I can't believe anyone eats there. That crap will kill you.

[The Tim]

I hope some of you were able to enjoy my Naked Loon story about this subject:

I especially enjoyed making the picture that went with it:

[SeattleMoose]

Good riddance....Starbucks is the poster child for the "la di da" culture in America.

Soon to follow Sharper Image into the history books.

Next up...the "can of soup" culture.

[ira s]

Somewhere along the line, Starbucks stopped caring about quality..they stopped grinding the beans fresh in store, and started using fully automatic espresso machines, which is what McDonald's also uses...
So now Starbucks is pushing their one dollar cup of coffee and they've lowered prices on some coffee items..that can't be good for profit margins..
Me? I've discovered home coffee roasting and can't go back to stale, overroasted, overpriced crap, whether from Starbucks or Mcdonald's.

[Lake Hills Renter]

For me, coffee is simply a caffeine delivery mechanism, although I do admit it tastes pretty good if you put enough sugar in it to choke a horse.

[deejayoh]

[Max Rommel]

Starbuck's will always be just a "coffee shop." McDonald's will hurt them terribly. I mean, it's just coffee. And not great coffee at that. Max

[rose-colored-coolaid]

I don't think it's ever been as much about the coffee as people seem to think. The real reason Starbucks could charge $3 for a cup and McDs was charging $1 might have been the atmosphere.

When I enter a Starbucks, it feels very relaxing. Assuming the line isn't too long, I feel like I can get a drink, sit down and chat or read a book or something. Compared to most retail outlets, it's just a couple notches up.

When I enter a McDonalds, I have no such feelings. The restaurants usually feel kind of chintzy. The yellow and red coloring is garish. The strong smell of fried food is overwhelming. It's just not a nice experience.

That said, of course a luxury item ($3 coffee) marketed at the middle class will suffer during recessions. Starbucks can survive and do well, they just need to use this opportunity to reposition themselves a little bit.

Just my 2 cents.

[Cougar]

Starbucks has gone from a quaint coffee boutique at Pike Place to pimping themselves into Target and Fred Meyer. I'm sure Wal-Mart and casinos are next. I think they are oversaturated, overpriced, robotized burnt coffee whores with a lack of quality customer service. Thanks Schultzy for bullying the mom and pop shops out of business and for the loss of our great basketball team. Going to make my own brew now, thank you.

[ira s]

You are so funny, Cougar...
It seems that very recently, in their effort to regain customers, Starbucks is actually trying to get employees to be nice.