Starbucks in Decline: The Slow Sad Death of a Beloved Mega-Brand

Check out this sign posted at Starbucks in August. It reads:

"An email offering a free Starbucks iced coffee beverage was distributed by Starbucks partners (employees) with instructions to forward it to their group of friends and family. Unfortunately, it has been redistributed beyond the original intent and modified beyond Starbucks control. Regretfully this email offer will no longer be valid at any Starbucks location effective immediately."

If I was going to embarrass employees and ick out patrons by design, I am not sure I could have done better. The McDonaldsization of Starbucks continues.

HUGE LAWSUIT FILED! SEE NEWS UPDATE BELOW...

From August 4, 2006 WSJ:

"Starbucks blamed the weak July sales growth on unexpectedly heavy demand for cold, sweet Frappuccinos in the morning, spurred by heat waves across the country. Frappuccinos take longer to prepare than most drinks because they are mixed in a blender, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with sweet toppings. That made Starbucks's frequently long lines even longer, driving away customers, the chain said."

Frappuccinos were one of the earliest harbingers of cosmic decline. The automatic espresso machines were another. More on that soon.

August 2006

Some months ago I came before you to proclaim a new economic truth based on the declining the quality of service at Starbucks. I called it the Bad Barista Index and suggested the nationwide decline in the Starbucks experience augured well for the economy as a whole.

Well folks I take it back - I was wrong, I was wrong I was wrong. Starbucks service and the economy are both headed into the crapper. But I have since come to understand the real truth behind the decline of the Seattle-based caffeine empire.

They are milking the purple cow.

Here's what I mean.

Purple Cow is a term coined by marketing uber-guru Seth Godin to connote a product or service that is truly remarkable. By remarkable, he means worthy of being remarked upon, as in people talk it up and spread the word. Since no one pays any attention to advertising any more, word of mouth is the only way marketing really happens in our post-modern society. Make a purple cow, and the world beats a path to your door.

Starbucks was as purple as any purple cow in its heyday. Starbucks was synonymous with coffee. Starbucks was the poster child of the new experience economy. Starbucks taught us to order a grande, extra hot, no foam, half caf, one pump vanilla latte without even a tinge of embarrassment. Well maybe a tinge%u2026

But then the inevitable happened. Godin says it is in the nature of all purple cows to get milked. The people who thought Starbucks was supposed to be about insanely great coffee give way over time to the people who think Starbucks is strictly about insanely great quarterly earnings.

The irony of course is that as the money guys milk the purple out of the cow, the cow stops being remarkable. And the day comes when there is no more milk to be had. And the signs are many that the Starbucks cow is rapidly losing its royal hue.

It's not just that the baristas don't know how to make drinks anymore, though the fact that they don't is annoying. Much worse -- It's that Starbucks people are developing the dreaded McDonald's face. McDonald's face is the thousand-yard fast food worker stare - an expression made up of equal parts hopelessless, suppressed rage, and existential boredom. They don't want to be there. It's a job. And a sucky one at that.

You've seen McDonald's face. It makes you not to want to be there either.