Some tough love for Starbucks

[PLOL]

What do you do when somebody you love starts misbehaving? Do you let them continue on their current path? Do you ignore their actions and let them sort it out on their own? No. That wouldn't be the loving thing to do. Should you disown them? No. That would be equally as bad. You must instead, show them the right path. You must help them see how their behavior is disruptive not only to those around them, but to themselves. You must discipline them, but you must do it solely out of love and not out of vengeance.

As you've probably guessed, this is the case with Starbucks. If you follow me on twitter, or know anything about me at all, you probably know that I take my Starbucks quite seriously. I am a high-level Gold Card member, and have openly pushed for Starbucks to release a platinum level to obtain. Lately, however, they have been insulting their highest volume gold card members. They have been insulting them with ridiculous 'custom' offers. In reality, they'll offer even better deals to their low-volume customers. Their recent promotion is for you to try to earn 25 or 40 stars in the next 14 days. How do you get a star? You simply make a purchase. So they want you to purchase 2-3 items per day for the next two weeks. Well, that's pretty insane even for most high-volume Starbucks consumers. So what is the reward for making 25 or 40 purchases in two weeks? It's 10 or 20 bonus stars. What's the value of a star? Well, 12 stars will get you 1 free drink. So they're essentially give you a $5 or $10 reward for spending possibly hundreds of dollars. They've done these star dashes in the past, but they were always much more reasonable and a better value

But wait, it gets worse. I find out on twitter that not everybody gets the same offers. Do high-volume Gold Card members get better offers for being loyal customers? No. In fact, it's the opposite. One person got the offer where they only needed 8 stars and they would get a $5 gift card. That's a far better value, and can easily translate in to getting 30%+ off, effectively.

And so I must make the tough choice of what to do with Starbucks. Do I boycott the chain for good? No, that wouldn't be right. Do I call for others to stop visiting Starbucks? No, again. Do I call up Starbucks corporate and voice my complaints? No, that would require social interaction. Do I make a melodramatic thread on the internet on a website that has nothing to do with coffee, calling them out? Yes, that is part of it. Do I continue asking questions to myself and then answer them? Of course. Do I take a 6 week hiatus from the coffee chain to re-evaluate where they should be in my life? Once again, yes.

And so that is what I intend on doing. For six weeks I will not be supporting Starbucks. If you were contemplating shorting $SBUX, now would be the time to do it. However that doesn't mean I will be taking a 6 week hiatus from coffee, or other yuppie activities. Instead I will be supporting independent places in my area. I've basically already done this with food places. I eat at a chain maybe once a month now, and I eat out 5 days/wk. I will use this thread to highlight the places I visit during my hiatus. After 6 weeks, I will have to decide whether I want to come back to Starbucks fully, partially come back, or continue my hiatus.

Thank you and godbless

[ThreeBet]

What do you do when somebody you love starts misbehaving? Do you let them continue on their current path? Do you ignore their actions and let them sort it out on their own? No. That wouldn't be the loving thing to do. Should you disown them? No. That would be equally as bad. You must instead, show them the right path. You must help them see how their behavior is disruptive not only to those around them, but to themselves. You must discipline them, but you must do it solely out of love and not out of vengeance.

As you've probably guessed, this is the case with Starbucks. If you follow me on twitter, or know anything about me at all, you probably know that I take my Starbucks quite seriously. I am a high-level Gold Card member, and have openly pushed for Starbucks to release a platinum level to obtain. Lately, however, they have been insulting their highest volume gold card members. They have been insulting them with ridiculous 'custom' offers. In reality, they'll offer even better deals to their low-volume customers. Their recent promotion is for you to try to earn 25 or 40 stars in the next 14 days. How do you get a star? You simply make a purchase. So they want you to purchase 2-3 items per day for the next two weeks. Well, that's pretty insane even for most high-volume Starbucks consumers. So what is the reward for making 25 or 40 purchases in two weeks? It's 10 or 20 bonus stars. What's the value of a star? Well, 12 stars will get you 1 free drink. So they're essentially give you a $5 or $10 reward for spending possibly hundreds of dollars. They've done these star dashes in the past, but they were always much more reasonable and a better value

But wait, it gets worse. I find out on twitter that not everybody gets the same offers. Do high-volume Gold Card members get better offers for being loyal customers? No. In fact, it's the opposite. One person got the offer where they only needed 8 stars and they would get a $5 gift card. That's a far better value, and can easily translate in to getting 30%+ off, effectively.

And so I must make the tough choice of what to do with Starbucks. Do I boycott the chain for good? No, that wouldn't be right. Do I call for others to stop visiting Starbucks? No, again. Do I call up Starbucks corporate and voice my complaints? No, that would require social interaction. Do I make a melodramatic thread on the internet on a website that has nothing to do with coffee, calling them out? Yes, that is part of it. Do I continue asking questions to myself and then answer them? Of course. Do I take a 6 week hiatus from the coffee chain to re-evaluate where they should be in my life? Once again, yes.

And so that is what I intend on doing. For six weeks I will not be supporting Starbucks. If you were contemplating shorting $SBUX, now would be the time to do it. However that doesn't mean I will be taking a 6 week hiatus from coffee, or other yuppie activities. Instead I will be supporting independent places in my area. I've basically already done this with food places. I eat at a chain maybe once a month now, and I eat out 5 days/wk. I will use this thread to highlight the places I visit during my hiatus. After 6 weeks, I will have to decide whether I want to come back to Starbucks fully, partially come back, or continue my hiatus.

Thank you and godbless

[PLOL]

Druff, if you could please lock and sticky this thread so that only I can post in it, that would be appreciated. I will be keeping this as a running column. Thanks!

 

Today I'll be visiting La Fournette. It's a French Bakery that opened it's second location 5 months ago at 2468 North Clark Street. I don't know what 'Fournette' means or stands for, and frankly I don't care. Rumor has it they brew Intelligentsia coffee. Their pastries and bread are as close as you'll get to France, in Chicago. Allegedly anyway, I've never been. I love it because if you want to talk to the baker and conduct your whole transaction in French, it's no problem.

Hi, I'm PLOL. And this is KidWithDream On Foot Getting Coffee.

[abrown83]

First, I assume that means you are living in Southern Lincoln Park, why aren't you in Boys Town?

Second, it disturbs me somebody of your intellect doesn't understand loyalty programs. Loyalty programs have no basis in rewarding loyalty, they are designed to get you to spend more money with a company. Starbuck's already knows you are going to be in there everyday so there is no need to offer you the better deals.

Basically I am saying Starbuck's sees as as an easy mark SFO!

[Salty_Aus]

I wonder if they use the same coffee in your neck of the woods, as they do here in Australia... just about the worst coffee I've ever tried.

[PLOL]

Actually I'm in the northern part of Lincoln Park (north of Fullerton, south of Diversey, east of Halstead). While I will go drinking in Boystown, I wouldn't necessarily want to live there. I am still close to that area though, I'm like a mile away from the main gay bar drag. I like the area where I'm in a lot. If I do move, I'd probably go a little further south. Either to the Old Town, Gold Coast, or River North neighborhoods. But I'd have to increase my rent by like 50%. And I don't really have to deal with homeless people up here.

As far as the Starbucks comments, I know. I'm not actually mad, I'm just being tongue-in-cheek (though I am actually taking a 6 week hiatus).

And I'm not really intended on reviewing the places I'm visiting, since I'm really just parodying Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee and I know nobody will ever visit these places, but seriously La Fournette is so good. The people working there are super French, but don't have any attitude. They gave me a free sample of a pastry because I had to wait 4 minutes for their oven to heat up (I was the first customer inside). Hands down the best quiche I've ever had. It's pricey for the portions, but you get what you pay for. I'm so glad to be out of the cultural wasteland that is Orlando.

[BCR]

I thought you were strictly a poker pro?

Do you have a regular job? I can't imagine the Chicago poker scene approaches South Florida. None of my business, just surprised to see you in Chicago. It doesn't surprise me that you're educated. You've always seemed among the sharpest of the younger posters here.

[nunbeater]

What do you do when somebody you love starts misbehaving? Do you let them continue on their current path? Do you ignore their actions and let them sort it out on their own? No. That wouldn't be the loving thing to do. Should you disown them? No. That would be equally as bad. You must instead, show them the right path. You must help them see how their behavior is disruptive not only to those around them, but to themselves. You must discipline them, but you must do it solely out of love and not out of vengeance.

As you've probably guessed, this is the case with Starbucks. If you follow me on twitter, or know anything about me at all, you probably know that I take my Starbucks quite seriously. I am a high-level Gold Card member, and have openly pushed for Starbucks to release a platinum level to obtain. Lately, however, they have been insulting their highest volume gold card members. They have been insulting them with ridiculous 'custom' offers. In reality, they'll offer even better deals to their low-volume customers. Their recent promotion is for you to try to earn 25 or 40 stars in the next 14 days. How do you get a star? You simply make a purchase. So they want you to purchase 2-3 items per day for the next two weeks. Well, that's pretty insane even for most high-volume Starbucks consumers. So what is the reward for making 25 or 40 purchases in two weeks? It's 10 or 20 bonus stars. What's the value of a star? Well, 12 stars will get you 1 free drink. So they're essentially give you a $5 or $10 reward for spending possibly hundreds of dollars. They've done these star dashes in the past, but they were always much more reasonable and a better value

But wait, it gets worse. I find out on twitter that not everybody gets the same offers. Do high-volume Gold Card members get better offers for being loyal customers? No. In fact, it's the opposite. One person got the offer where they only needed 8 stars and they would get a $5 gift card. That's a far better value, and can easily translate in to getting 30%+ off, effectively.

And so I must make the tough choice of what to do with Starbucks. Do I boycott the chain for good? No, that wouldn't be right. Do I call for others to stop visiting Starbucks? No, again. Do I call up Starbucks corporate and voice my complaints? No, that would require social interaction. Do I make a melodramatic thread on the internet on a website that has nothing to do with coffee, calling them out? Yes, that is part of it. Do I continue asking questions to myself and then answer them? Of course. Do I take a 6 week hiatus from the coffee chain to re-evaluate where they should be in my life? Once again, yes.

And so that is what I intend on doing. For six weeks I will not be supporting Starbucks. If you were contemplating shorting $SBUX, now would be the time to do it. However that doesn't mean I will be taking a 6 week hiatus from coffee, or other yuppie activities. Instead I will be supporting independent places in my area. I've basically already done this with food places. I eat at a chain maybe once a month now, and I eat out 5 days/wk. I will use this thread to highlight the places I visit during my hiatus. After 6 weeks, I will have to decide whether I want to come back to Starbucks fully, partially come back, or continue my hiatus.

Thank you and godbless

What is this? Should I be more offended than a regular noose yourself post?

Anyway abrown pretty much nails it. You buy so much coffee/latte/frappuccino that they know they don't need to really reward your ass. Kind of counterintuitive but that is how they operate.

Support local business yo

[PLOL]

I thought you were strictly a poker pro?

Do you have a regular job? I can't imagine the Chicago poker scene approaches South Florida. None of my business, just surprised to see you in Chicago. It doesn't surprise me that you're educated. You've always seemed among the sharpest of the younger posters here.

Hey BCR, the South Florida poker scene is big, but I was mostly playing in Central Florida, and that poker scene is somewhat dying. I hate South Florida, and didn't want to move there. The Chicago poker scene is decent. There's a casino that's just outside the city in Hammond, Indiana. The WSOPc Hammond is one of the biggest stops on the tour. Any time you have a casino near a metro area that has 9.5 million people, you're going to have plenty of action. The 5/10 NLHE goes 5-7 days a week, and a bigger 10/20 or 10/25 goes a couple times a week. Really, all that matters is for a good 5/10 game to go regularly. My hourly would be higher in South Florida, but I'm happier here in Chicago, so it's +LifeEV. Starting in mid February I'll be getting a backer for the first time. I will have 0% of my action (meaning my backer will eat 100% of my losses and take 100% of my profit) and I'll be paid a flat hourly wage for playing. I won't say what that hourly amount is, but it's an amount that I'm very happy with. And having 0 variance will mean less stress in my life.

[BCR]

I thought you were strictly a poker pro?

Do you have a regular job? I can't imagine the Chicago poker scene approaches South Florida. None of my business, just surprised to see you in Chicago. It doesn't surprise me that you're educated. You've always seemed among the sharpest of the younger posters here.

Hey BCR, the South Florida poker scene is big, but I was mostly playing in Central Florida, and that poker scene is somewhat dying. I hate South Florida, and didn't want to move there. The Chicago poker scene is decent. There's a casino that's just outside the city in Hammond, Indiana. The WSOPc Hammond is one of the biggest stops on the tour. Any time you have a casino near a metro area that has 9.5 million people, you're going to have plenty of action. The 5/10 NLHE goes 5-7 days a week, and a bigger 10/20 or 10/25 goes a couple times a week. Really, all that matters is for a good 5/10 game to go regularly. My hourly would be higher in South Florida, but I'm happier here in Chicago, so it's +LifeEV. Starting in mid February I'll be getting a backer for the first time. I will have 0% of my action (meaning my backer will eat 100% of my losses and take 100% of my profit) and I'll be paid a flat hourly wage for playing. I won't say what that hourly amount is, but it's an amount that I'm very happy with. And having 0 variance will mean less stress in my life.

Got it. Sounds like a good gig, and certainly a much better city than Orlando. I thought you were a Miami-Dade guy, but Orlando sucks, and is too far from those lucrative south Florida games to drive regularly. Any Neverwin sightings yet? Good luck.

[PLOL]

Hey BCR, the South Florida poker scene is big, but I was mostly playing in Central Florida, and that poker scene is somewhat dying. I hate South Florida, and didn't want to move there. The Chicago poker scene is decent. There's a casino that's just outside the city in Hammond, Indiana. The WSOPc Hammond is one of the biggest stops on the tour. Any time you have a casino near a metro area that has 9.5 million people, you're going to have plenty of action. The 5/10 NLHE goes 5-7 days a week, and a bigger 10/20 or 10/25 goes a couple times a week. Really, all that matters is for a good 5/10 game to go regularly. My hourly would be higher in South Florida, but I'm happier here in Chicago, so it's +LifeEV. Starting in mid February I'll be getting a backer for the first time. I will have 0% of my action (meaning my backer will eat 100% of my losses and take 100% of my profit) and I'll be paid a flat hourly wage for playing. I won't say what that hourly amount is, but it's an amount that I'm very happy with. And having 0 variance will mean less stress in my life.

Got it. Sounds like a good gig, and certainly a much better city than Orlando. I thought you were a Miami-Dade guy, but Orlando sucks, and is too far from those lucrative south Florida games to drive regularly. Any Neverwin sightings yet? Good luck.

Thank you sir. Tbh, I have really bad facial recognition, so I'm not sure if I would recognize Dustin if I saw him. From what I understand he mostly plays limit games, and I strictly play NLHE (almost all 5/10). Also, I've haven't been playing much in the last couple months because it's been cold out and I've been travelling.

[DRK Star]

Gamble, Gallo and I saw him over there wearing an old, faded NEVERWIN POKER shirt. White with the red donkey in the middle of the shirt. He is always there in Hammond, apparently, playing limit.

[Dan Druff]

Gamble, Gallo and I saw him over there wearing an old, faded NEVERWIN POKER shirt. White with the red donkey in the middle of the shirt. He is always there in Hammond, apparently, playing limit.

What limits does he play there?

Those old neverwinpoker donkey shirts were an example of Lithuanian stupidity. The shirts themselves were pretty cool, but all of the shirts were size Medium. Not just some or most, but ALL. I squeezed into one when we were attempting to create a NWP rail for Micon's supposedly televised final table, but it never made it on TV because ESPN didn't show that episode for some reason.

I am surprised Dustin is wearing it because he told me once that he likes shirts to be really big on him.

Anyway, we had hundreds of those shirts, but they were just too damn small for me, so they were useless, at least for me or any other guy who weighs over 175 pounds.

[ThreeBet]

LOL at "reading your tweets". I noosed you because you are a screech looking little whiny bitchboy who sucks cock, not because your friend noosed himself.

[BCR]

Gamble, Gallo and I saw him over there wearing an old, faded NEVERWIN POKER shirt. White with the red donkey in the middle of the shirt. He is always there in Hammond, apparently, playing limit.

What limits does he play there?

Those old neverwinpoker donkey shirts were an example of Lithuanian stupidity. The shirts themselves were pretty cool, but all of the shirts were size Medium. Not just some or most, but ALL. I squeezed into one when we were attempting to create a NWP rail for Micon's supposedly televised final table, but it never made it on TV because ESPN didn't show that episode for some reason.

I am surprised Dustin is wearing it because he told me once that he likes shirts to be really big on him.

Anyway, we had hundreds of those shirts, but they were just too damn small for me, so they were useless, at least for me or any other guy who weighs over 175 pounds.

I must have a different white shirt with a red donkey on it then. Mine was bought through cafe press, and there is no way it was medium. I haven't worn a medium since junior high. I'm going to look for it now.

edit-can't find it at the moment. I've seen it in the last 3 months so I'll turn it up. Mine is long-sleeved. Maybe you're referring to short sleeved t.

[DRK Star]

His could have been a medium, possibly a large. He's not a big guy, and wasnt fat or anything like that. His shirt was REALLY faded though.

We couldnt tell what limit he was playing, however, he was up on the higher level, and that is where the higher limit tables were, and the dealer said that he is always there.

[WillieMcFML]

best live staking deal since project sep

[Muck Ficon]

best live staking deal since project sep

[bukowski72]

Gamble, Gallo and I saw him over there wearing an old, faded NEVERWIN POKER shirt. White with the red donkey in the middle of the shirt. He is always there in Hammond, apparently, playing limit.

What limits does he play there?

The bravo ap is showing the game I thought he would be in 20-40. There are also 2 40-80 mixed games he might be in. Last time you talked to him he said he was really killing it when the games would get short handed late at night. But, then people started hearing who NW was and they refused to play short with Dustin.

[Walter Sobchak]

First, I assume that means you are living in Southern Lincoln Park, why aren't you in Boys Town?

Second, it disturbs me somebody of your intellect doesn't understand loyalty programs. Loyalty programs have no basis in rewarding loyalty, they are designed to get you to spend more money with a company. Starbuck's already knows you are going to be in there everyday so there is no need to offer you the better deals.

Basically I am saying Starbuck's sees as as an easy mark SFO!

Exactly this.