“You have to pay a price for your distinctiveness, and it’s worth it.” Jeff Bezos
By: Gabriela Yareliz
I stopped at Starbucks this morning for a boost of energy; matcha. I felt a lot of desperate energy from the staff.
Businesses— they lose their soul through rapid expansion, technological advances, being sold, having a change of leadership, losing what made them unique to begin with, etc., etc.
My husband and I talk about this all the time. He tells me about what Starbucks used to be like in a more golden era for NYC.
Now, businesses like Starbucks are trying to go back in time. They are whipping out Sharpies, and the barista who was cursing you out under her breath hands you a cup that has “Enjoy!” scribbled on it. You ask her for a straw, and you feel the judgment. Sadly, when it comes to Starbucks, I am invested in its success, and at the same time, I am not sure it can succeed.
I don’t know if everything that is lost can be found.
I think what is missing is authenticity. Before, you would walk in, and you were completely ignored while baristas whispered inside jokes while the blenders ran. They would finish your drink and let it sit on some back counter you couldn’t reach, and you would (patiently) wait 15 minutes until someone gave you the time of day, so you could politely ask (while seething), “Is that mine?” Then, you taste the drink, and it tastes like water or pure milk (not what you ordered). After enough of these experiences, you swear off the morning anger like any rational person would. You don’t step foot in there for a good few months.
And now, after ages, you venture back in and every barista is lined up like a scene from The Sound of Music, giving a coordinated “Good morning!”
It’s giving desperate. I am not sure what it will take to fix this, but we still feel far.
About three months ago, I got a spinach wrap, and they wrote in Sharpie, “Be better than you were yesterday.” I laughed. I almost turned around and told them to do the same.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 