Boulder Coffee Shops blog

The no-longer-Gray Lady and undisputed matriarch of journalism and c-shop staple, The New York Times this Sunday morning dared to broach the subject of free wi-fi and it’s notable absence from every Starbuck’s on the face of the Earth.

The article (see it here) draws a parallel to movie theaters of the 1920s boosting summertime attendance by installing costly and (for the time) high-tech air conditioning systems. The brim-full theater attendence created by rare oases of air conditioned space open to the public created such a boon to business that owners scrambled to upgrade and earn a quick payback. In the process they created one of the first and finest examples of technology transfer to the massess, not unlike the internet cafe’s springing up througout the developing world.

The writer (Randall Stross) argues that free wi-fi is the spiritual successor to an old-time theater’s air conditioning and lavish lobbies. In my opinion, Starbucks’ embracing of this spirit is unlikely and unwelcome.

On the surface it appears that Starbuck’s has opted for “wi-fee” in their stores due to the simplistic cost/benefit analysis endemic in the world of corporate-think.

What are the costs of free wi-fi? Certainly not the technology, it’s obscenely cheap and already bought and paid-for anyway. Starbuck’s executives may be sleepless in Seattle because potential customers might survey the uncomfortable hardwood chairs and purple velvet couches packed with laptop endowed patrons slowly growing roots, and decide to go buy their 900-percent-margin hot water elsewhere.

We’ve all seen a comrade enter a c-shop look around for a niche and walk out, probably have done it a few times ourselves. For the coffee shop community this is a beautiful thing. As modern nomads find their pastures full, they move on to new ones and the business grows more vibrant, diverse and interesting.

Starbuck’s is not and can not be interested in this sort of letting go, this zen of acceptance that allows others to grow and succeed. To allow a potential customer to slip away to the enemy competitor is unacceptable. Shareholders demand market domination, inexhorable growth of not the community as a whole but their particular share.

I suspect that Starbuck’s execs, well paid, savvy folks, whom are more like us than we wish to admit (I doubt they spend many Sunday mornings in their own stores) are fully aware of their company’s limitations. I believe that they understand that their customers are in no way similar to us. Starbuck’s customers have not developed the allergies to cookie cutter styling, mass marketed cultural icons, and tyrranically consistent experiences. Let Starbuck’s serve these folks as they wish with $3.50/per hour wi-fi and skin-deep social consciousness. The community is better off for it.

Maybe a few from the schools of Starbuck’s patrons will swim a bit further upstream and find the independant shops that we all enjoy. When they make it to our hidden and serene pools we should welcome them.

Also, we with the wi-fi fed roots should do the independants a favor by making room for fellow nomads. Offering a share of your table is great Karma, a chance to meet interesting folks and will ultimately rescue a few from Starbucks’ nets. Maybe that’ll keep ‘em up in Seattle.