Wednesday, November 11, 2009

a disclaimer concerning my place of employment


I work for Starbucks Coffee Company, and have for the last six years. In certain circles saying I work for a corporate giant is blasphemy and can polarize a crowd. I understand some of the complaints, and I like to support the little guy, the mom-and-pop shop, but Starbucks has been a great employer, maybe the best I’ve experienced. I hated Costco, car sales, retail, and manual labor. I was even one of those kids on his bicycle that did a paper route. So to the haters and naysayers; Starbucks is a job that pays the rent- I have stock options and both my wife and I have health benefits.

In the same vein, I understand how ridiculous some of the rhetoric, training and corporate lingo might seem. Once you’re in the inner circle it becomes even more apparent. Starbuck recently released, VIA ready brew coffee. It’s not instant, it’s ready brew. Phrases like this are just the beginning; Starbucks has a complex marketing scheme with millions behind it, along with years of coffee research behind this product. In all my years at Starbucks I have never seen the company push anything so hard, and I left sales jobs for coffee shops because I’m tired of selling and being sold. consumerism can be exhausting. I hate being pressured and I’m too blunt to even give the standard, effective, sales pitch.

Starbucks released little pamphlets to accompany VIA that were next to the register to inform the customer about this “amazing” new product. I should mention that Starbucks sat on this product for years because when building their brand, the corporate “big wigs” did not want to tarnish the brand, because we all know now, “It’s not coffee, its Starbucks.” On the cover of these small pamphlets, which resemble the readers Jehovah’s Witnesses pass out, was a silhouette of a man kneeling down with his arms raised as if praising something, with a title that states, “How Starbucks VIA ready brew can change your life.” This struck me as odd, extreme, and almost offensive to anywhere with a religious background. I was raised in the church aand went to Catholic school, and all bias aside, it is still just plain ridiculous.

Starbucks is considered the premier purveyor of coffee,so i guess the company can rely on the appeal of authority, and buys more beans than just about anyone, but I still disagree with the approach. The explicit and implicit rhetoric are obvious once dissected. Starbucks can change your life, right? That’s obvious, but the implicit is what concerns me. The religious resemblance is the there, maybe I read into this too much but implying that instant coffee will have some profound effect on my life is a stretch. It’s absurd actually, and the motives behind the marketing are incredibly entertaining. I could probably dissect this forever and I’m ranting, but I challenge you to observe what’s thrown at us on a daily, even up to the minute basis.

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