I’m Just Askin: Why Waste Money at Starbucks?

There is a Starbucks in my neighborhood grocery store.   Then again, where isn’t there a Starbucks?   I live in a place that has almost as many Starbucks (11) as the Lakers have NBA championships (14).  Based on those numbers you might expect that I live in a big city with a large population, but in fact it is a fairly small town with a population of maybe 75,000; that’s one Starbucks for every 6,800 people!   By comparison, we have only two McDonalds (and thank God for that).

Occasionally the Honeybee likes to get a venti Caramel Macchiato which, I’ve been told, is some kind of special caramel vanilla coffee drink.   These abominations on the traditional cup of joe cost in the vicinity of $4.60 with tax, which is why I like to call Starbucks “Fourbucks.”

The Honeybee might have one of these overpriced concoctions a couple times a month, which is tolerable as far as our budget is concerned.  But I know people that come in to my office with one of these 20 oz. Starbucks coffee concoctions every stinking morning.

I wonder if my co-workers took the time to consider the money they are wasting on a glorified cup of java?   Let’s assume they average two weeks of vacation, and another two weeks of sick time and holidays each year.  That means they come in to work with their Starbucks brew 48 weeks a year, 5 days a week.  That is 240 trips to Starbucks at roughly $4.50 a pop, or $1080 annually for a stinking cup of morning coffee! Remember, this doesn’t count the days they go to Starbucks when they aren’t working.

Even worse, if you consider the 10 minutes you have to wait just to get the drink, that means you also waste one entire 40-hour work week each year at Starbucks standing in line!

So can anybody tell me why waiting in line to spend $4.50 for a cup of the foo foo coffee you get at Starbucks better than making your own Folgers at home, or walking in to your local Quickie Mart and taking a minute to pay a buck and change for the Maxwell House blend Apu is serving up?

I mean come on, folks.   Is going to Starbucks really worth 40 hours of your life each year and the annual $780 premium?

I’m just askin’.

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