The Guardian Express – by Ryan Ross
Starting Saturday, Starbucks Corporation will enforce a no smoking policy that will force smokers to move 25 feet away from the building premises. Previously being an employee of Starbucks, I am very interested to see the reaction of the customers to this new policy. When working at Starbucks, I would see many customers have their morning fix of caffeine and nicotine while they would read the paper or a book outside.
For years, caffeine and nicotine have gone hand in hand. This type of ban makes one wonder if this is going to have a serious impact on the Starbucks community and overall sales? Other coffee shops have already been asked if they would follow suit with the push towards a smoke free environment. Some of these local coffee shops say that they believe their customers are very respectful and normally, they will move away from someone outside or put their cigarettes out if it seems to be causing a problem for others. This may turn out to be a bad move by the Starbucks Corporation.
In recent interviews conducted by CBS, they asked several Starbucks customers what their thoughts were about the new policy about to take effect on Saturday. The results of the question were mixed, some saying that they wished they would outlaw smoking all together. Whereas others said they didn’t see a problem with people smoking outside. Danny Jordan, a smoker, told CBS Dallas-Fort Worth, “I don’t blow smoke on people, or try to get them polluted. I don’t push their rights, so, leave mine alone. Let me have this” Another customer, who was a non-smoker, said “I think it’s a good thing, because I’m a non-smoker and I really don’t want to breathe somebody’s smoke.”
It certainly does seem that in more recent events to curb people away from unhealthy habits, smokers have become a major target. It makes you wonder if second hand smoke is truly as bad as they claim it to be? Or is this is just another try at forcing people to quit, hoping to lower healthcare costs? By making customers move 25 feet away from the building, that makes employees of the Starbucks Corporation also have to move 25 feet away from the building. In making smoking more difficult, maybe the hope is to deter employees from smoking as well. But, have we forgotten how bad coffee is for the body? Sure second hand smoke can’t be good for you, but is the Carmel Macchiato any better? Such a drastic change coming from a company, who also can has been targeted as a contributing factor to unhealthy habits, may have a reverse effect later on.
Good. Maybe more people will stop patronizing the supporters of gun control and communism.
They want $3 for a 50-cent cup of coffee, and there’s nothing special about it. It’s percolated Arabica bean coffee, and you can make it at home. (8 o’clock coffee is Arabica beans)
The last time I drank a StarBucks coffee was 10 years ago. It tasted like battery acid. I do like a good cup of coffee so here is what I did. I bought a $100 BUNN Coffee maker, experimented with several different coffee brands and found 2 that are excellent. 8 O’Clock Coffee is very good but my favorite is Farmer Brother’s. A small can of Farmer’s last me a month for 7 bucks. Go to Starbucks twice and you spent 8 dollars, so just do the math.
The solution is simple, go to Avoca until they decide to change their policy, and in the mean time save up for your own coffee machine and thermos and find a nice place to to park your car and enjoy yourself somewhere else,
oh yeah? stuff starbucks, I’m going to go and stand and smoke outside and not even buy a coffee 🙂
No comment.
Overpriced and not that good. Dunkin’ Donuts is the best flavored coffee out there. I quit Starbucks over their gun control BS.