XPost: rec.food.drink.coffee, alt.politics.equality, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: democrat-insurrection@mail.house.gov   
      
   https://nypost.com/2024/08/18/us-news/starbucks-losing-customers-thanks-   
   to-high-prices-long-lines-culture-wars/   
      
   Coffee lovers are turning their backs on Starbucks — and there’s no easy   
   fix for the coffee giant to restore the lost love.   
      
   According to a report published Friday by the Wall Street Journal,   
   customers are tired of the rising costs, long wait times, and what some   
   view as the company’s bad political takes.   
      
   The onslaught cost Starbucks a 6% drop in US orders in the quarter ended   
   June 30.   
      
   For Dan Palmer, the skyrocketing price is no longer worth his daily mango   
   dragonfruit refresher.   
      
   “The prices have gone up — a lot,” the 66-year-old Chicago suburbanite   
   told the WSJ, pointing out that each cup costs upward of $6.   
      
   “It’s not a deal in any sense of the word.”   
      
   Palmer is not the only one who has consciously stopped eating out in the   
   face of a looming recession — nearly 40% of consumers reported spending   
   less on takeout, according to a survey by Revenue Management Solutions.   
      
   Many others are turning toward cheaper competition.   
      
   Brad Pearl, of Spokane, Washington was a dedicated Starbucks customer   
   until the high prices and long waits became too much. Now he frequents a   
   local coffee shop with cheaper options, saving him roughly $150 per month.   
      
   “It’s really a luxury,” Pearl said of the cost.   
      
   Those who were willing to fork over the money have been turned off by   
   another nuisance: long wait times, despite mobile ordering.   
      
   In 2024, more than 30% of customers reported waiting as long as 15 minutes   
   for their order, with some even sitting around for up to half an hour, a   
   survey by Technomic Ignite Consumer shows.   
      
   Even former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz admitted there was a failure in   
   the mobile ordering system, which filters 30% of business.   
      
   “Everyone shows up, and all of a sudden we’ve got a mosh pit, and that’s   
   not Starbucks,” Schultz said on the “Acquired” podcast in June.   
      
   Starbucks has tried to entice former customers back to the chain through a   
   flurry of discount offers and promotions, as well as restructuring   
   workflow for faster output, but the company has little wriggle room for   
   the culture firestorm it has repeatedly found itself in.   
      
   Both the ideological left and right have set their sights on the coffee   
   giant over the years, with each side of the aisle calling for nationwide   
   boycotts.   
      
   The chain was once criticized for not explicitly referencing Christmas on   
   his red holiday cups, a move politicians like Donald Trump claimed was   
   anti-Christian, while left-leaning leaders accused Starbucks of   
   financially supporting Israel — both of which Schulz adamantly said were   
   not true.   
      
   More recently, Starbucks has drawn criticism for allegedly squashing   
   employees’ attempts at unionizing.   
      
   Despite its challenges, Starbucks is still a top-performing US company and   
   has seen market growth since its disappointing quarter report.   
      
   Since June, Starbucks stock has jumped nearly 17%.   
      
      
   --   
   We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that   
   stupid people won't be offended.   
      
   Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem.  It has none.   
      
   No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.   
   Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.   
      
   Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden   
   fiasco, President Trump.   
      
   Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the   
   The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood   
   queer liberal democrat donors.   
      
   President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed   
   dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)