We may not say we love Starbucks, but the empty Frappuccino and iced tea lemonade cups sitting in our car show otherwise. We come across some Starbucks haters and people joke how a few neighborhoods seem to include one location for each house. But overall, Starbucks is the cool kid on the block. The lines at our local Starbucks drive-thru would make you think an order includes free Super Bowl tickets and despite the occasional exception, the employees working at those drive-thrus are some of the nicest people you’ll meet in the quick service industry.
But the cool kid recently got schooled. Starbucks was concerned that a Missouri bar was serving a drink called a “Frappicino” and served the owner a different sort of order. The owner responded with humor mocking the concern and even sent Starbucks a $6 check for any legal fees it may have incurred. We doubt the author of the Starbucks letter ever imagined the words would end up in the media.
What disappointed us was Starbucks’ response to the humor and ensuing media attention. From what we read in the media, a Starbucks spokeswoman provided a fairly serious response about protecting its brand. Does her statement even reflect the brand? Everyone seemed to be laughing but Starbucks. Sometimes companies should be more willing to laugh at themselves.
Successful companies often start off as cool and the latest trendsetters. But we worry as they grow into behemoths, they lose themselves in bureaucracy, red tape and legal concerns. We assume Starbucks is still a cool place to work and the employees are hip, but the spokeswoman could have acknowledged that the company might have gone a little overboard in this case. The spokeswoman could have said, “Well played” to the bar owner. This was a classic moment for some self-deprecation.
Starbucks, you were once the small guy on the block. Don’t overreact to today’s little guys.