OK People, Starbucks is Just a Coffee Shop!

The big news in the Coffee World these days is that Starbucks is closing 600 stores. It seems that people are getting extremely upset by this. I agree that Starbucks makes a pretty good cup of coffee, but prefer their Chai over their coffee. I have to say that I am not in the least bit bothered by the fact that Starbucks will be closing the doors on 600 of their stores. This does not have anything to do with the fact that I live within 10 minutes of two Starbucks that are within less than 5 minutes of each other and that both opened up in my neighborhood in the past 3 years in an area that was nothing but farmland 5 years ago. I don't go there very often at all, less than a dozen times all together since they have opened. I think I make a much better Iced Coffee, along with any other kind of fancy coffee drink I might want, so I see no need to go out and spend money on overpriced coffee.

This morning when I turned on the news, the first thing I heard was a report about how people are so upset that their Starbucks is closing that they have started petitions to save Starbucks. I know that I may greatly offend many people out there, but my first thought was "You have got to be kidding me! This has got to be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard." I mean really people, Starbucks is just a Coffee Shop! It is not a historical landmark or an endangered species for goodness sake, it does not need saving.

The one thing that I have noticed about the people that are upset and the petitions that are circulating around the internet is that people don't seem to be concerned so much by the loss of jobs as they are concerned that if their Starbucks closes they wont have any were Cool to buy a cup of coffee. Yes, some of the petitions mention employees will be loosing their jobs, but the general feeling that I get from the signers is that they just do not want Starbucks to close their special favorite coffee shop in the whole world.

The reason Starbucks is closing all of those stores is because they are not making enough money. It is not as if they want to be in financial despair, loosing money day after day. They are not closing doors because they just don't feel like being open any more. This is a business decision to close stores based on the fact that these stores are just not making enough money to warrant being open any longer. It does not matter how much you say you love your Starbucks. It doesn't matter that you sign a petition that says, "Pretty please don't close my local Starbucks because I like your coffee" Sorry folks, it is just not going to work.

The good news for you though, is that I have a real plan that can help you to save your local Starbucks, and if you stick to it, I can almost guarantee that your favorite coffee shop will still be there when you wake up in the morning. The first thing that you have to do is to go out to your favorite Starbucks and buy a cup of coffee, not just any cheap coffee, you are trying to save something you care about, so you have to spend at least $3-$4.00 on your cup of coffee. As long as you are there you should probably buy a muffin, I think they are just under $2.00, but I will say they are $2.00 after tax. So you get your $6.00 worth of coffee and muffins, and that is a great start to save a store that you love. If you spend the money, they will stay. Now the thing is, is that just visiting Starbucks once or twice a week is not going to save the stores that are just not bringing in the bucks for the Starbucks Corporation. You are going to have to make a commitment to the coffee shop that you love if you want this to work out. You are going to have to go to Starbucks every day and spend between $5-$6.00 a day. Starbucks will start to love you back and might even think about sticking around if you prove that you can make a real commitment.

You might have to go out and get second job to support your relationship with Starbucks, but in the end, it will be worth it because they won't have to close their doors. Let's look at just what you Starbucks coffee loving people have to do to save your stores. By spending just $5 a day for 325 days of the year (I'll round down on the spending and give you a break for holidays, some weekends and vacations) you will be spending $1625.00 a year at Starbucks. If you promise to never go alone and to always bring a friend who will match your contribution, the spending increases to $3250.00 a year. I know it may sound like a lot of money, but saving major corporations can be a costly undertaking. You could even go one step farther and start a Coffee Club. If you get together with just five other people who love Starbucks as much as you do and meet at Starbucks every other week for coffee and muffins you can bring another $2600 to the coffee table.

It seems like a pretty easy plan to follow and if you are independently wealthy, you should have no trouble saving your local Starbucks. You should give up your petitions, put your money where your mouth is and go buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks.