egoldstein,

Absolutely. Here in the Northwest we know our coffee, and we know good coffee from bad coffee, which usually transcends beyond the matter of a community's opinion into fact. The million Starwrecks in Portland, which at any given moment are swarmed by coffee bees, are still experiencing competition from the the million locally owned coffee houses/stands/drivethru Tuff Sheds serving by far a superior cup than S's Burnt Blend. I prefer these smaller shops with better brew- in fact the free wireless I'm now using is compliment of Willamette Coffee House in my neighborhood.
Since we have quite the diversity of coffee establishments here, we are lacking the consistency Starcluc...

egoldstein,

Absolutely. Here in the Northwest we know our coffee, and we know good coffee from bad coffee, which usually transcends beyond the matter of a community's opinion into fact. The million Starwrecks in Portland, which at any given moment are swarmed by coffee bees, are still experiencing competition from the the million locally owned coffee houses/stands/drivethru Tuff Sheds serving by far a superior cup than S's Burnt Blend. I prefer these smaller shops with better brew- in fact the free wireless I'm now using is compliment of Willamette Coffee House in my neighborhood.
Since we have quite the diversity of coffee establishments here, we are lacking the consistency Starclucks brings to the coffee table. Yes, the smaller houses are generally better in my factual opinion , but there are a few bad ones, too. You have to know the good ones from the bad, and fortunately I live in an area populated by good ones.
Pushing the Bucks around is hard to do. As is McDonald's, because of the consistency they both offer. Now if only quality could enter the equation! Of course, they would have to downsize.