Starbucks doesn't care about us anymore.
Starbucks doesn't care about us anymore. Maybe they never did. I'm not sure if this is happening in your neck of the woods, but have you noticed a change in the vibe of Starbucks' interiors? This could be a complete fever dream, but back in the day, Starbucks had comfortable armchairs and loungers that invited you to stay for a while, chat with friends, or get some work done. They had artwork on the walls. It felt like an actual café.
I didn't notice this change until I recently started considering alternate places to get some writing done. Now that it’s piqued my attention, in all of the local Starbucks I’ve been in, and even a few out of state, they have moved to almost cafeteria-like furniture. Hard chairs, lightly padded benches, and smaller tables seem to be the norm. The whole vibe screams, "Give us your money, take your coffee, and get the hell out!" Like I said, I could be remembering wrong, but I thought Starbucks used to be more inviting. It just doesn’t have a "café" feeling to it anymore.
I type all of this while sitting in a Starbucks finishing up this post. I will give this location a little bit of credit… they have a lot of seating, but none of it is very comfortable. My butt hurts and I've only been here about 20 minutes. I’m thinking it only has this much seating capacity because it’s right next to my county’s government campus. The one on the way home that's in a busy area near a main interstate has almost nowhere to sit.
If I'm totally wrong or you guys are noticing the same thing, let me know!
Have an awesome Monday out there.