Uncovering the Mystique of the Starbucks Phenomenon

It cannot be denied that customers of Starbucks coffee shops are dominating the worldwide coffee drinking population. With thousands of locations across the planet and stores around every bend, it seems that they literally have a corner on the market.

Just look at New York City, where Starbucks compete with other Starbucks, even when they are sometimes only 1 block apart—1 city block, that is. Picture the scene of a loyal Starbucks employee, proudly claiming to inquiring customers, “Our Starbucks is the busiest one in Manhattan.” The novelty of a company competing with itself is only rivaled by the new flavors of drinks this place keeps coming up with, like the Tazo Green Tea Frappuccino blended crème.

Sure, they sometimes get your drink order wrong. But, you have to give those baristas—those masters of creating a coffee-induced buzz disguised in so many different forms—due credit. When they take orders all day for drinks like a double-tall-skim-soy-caramel-mocha-machiatto-no-whip-in-a-grande-cup, it is understandable that a request for a large coffee could be confusing. “That’s all? No fat free banana nut bread to go with that?” No. Just give me a coffee. And I know where the half-and-half and sugar are.

Even with those seemingly endless minutes spent waiting for a drink order just to find out that someone in the coffee house chain gang spaced off on your order or the guy behind you in line made off with your Frappuccino, there is just something about Starbucks. It’s a mysterious pull that keeps you coming back time and again, even after you swear to your friends, “I am totally off of Starbucks for good now! Four bucks for a Latte! Yeah right! The coffee at work’s not that bad.” But alas, a week (or less) later, you are back in line at Starbucks, pondering the menu that you already have memorized, as if you don’t know what you want. “Hmm….well maybe if I get a tea I can start to break the habit for good.” Yes, coffee could quite possibly be a drug after all.