Have Coffee Houses Become A Separate Dimension Of Hell?
Coffee houses have a place in 90s nostalgia. It was the epi-center of FRIENDS, is referenced as the hot spot in film and television, and is scorned as a place where writers are working on their career breaking project. While I didn’t get to live through these caffeinated days in the 90s, I took full advantage in my college days being one of those people dreaming in a coffee shop. I wrote a novel, now published, back and forth between McDonalds’ booths and a local Starbucks in Boystown, Chicago. They’ve once given me a sense of comfort; a home away from home. Flash forward to today: I cannot bare to stay inside a Starbucks for another moment after I receive my iced, green tea. I find myself rejecting coffee dates because of some of them are noisier than a West Hollywood bar on a Saturday night. When did coffee houses become so unbearable?
According to the Business Insider, Starbucks employees are also fed up with the insanity is in nearly every coffee shop. One of the employees has written a letter to corporate expressing his beliefs.
“"A neighborhood cafe store (no drive-thru window) is now dealing with the impact of a different business model being introduced within an existing one, which is leading to slow death of the coffee house experience," he writes. "What was once an atmosphere that was relaxing for customers has turned into a battle ground of 'who's order do we make first?' or, 'We don’t have enough time. Looks can be deceiving. A customer can walk into store that appears empty, and instead of a line of people, there are ten or more Mobile Orders being prepared for customers who don’t want to wait. Mobile Order and Pay is stealing every last drop of time to devote to in-store customers. At the heart of all of this is the disconnect."
From experience, I can attest to the employees’ concerns. Going into any of the Southern California Starbucks; the stores are extremely overcrowded, the lines are forever, distractions can become harassment, and there is rubbish from the streets coming into the stores. As a writer who loves to show off the fact that I’m, you know, writing the next big Instinct Magazine article or the greatest Horror film, I try to frequent coffee shops when I can. You never know who you can meet in there! Future husband number three?! But, with the busybodies and craziness of angry-decaffeinated customers, I’d rather order a drink to go and bring it back to my home or office. Do you have time to have someone make 14 Unicorn Smoothies when you want to purchase something quick?
Do you still hang out in coffee shops or are you one of those who get their drink and get the hell out of there? Let me know!
Check out the full article here!
