On the lines of a true-blue aficionado of fine
dining, wining, reading and shopping, I deem that a day of your
existentiality (hangover effect of Meursault’s musings in Camus’ Stranger) is wasted, if you haven’t
indulged in at least one of these pleasures. I landed up at the next location on
my bucket-list - the much hyped (and yes, certainly overrated) Starbucks coffee
house - to satiate my curious connoisseur pangs. Of course, my reviews are coloured not only from the single day’s experience, but also against the backdrop
of my ostensible ‘association’ with Starbucks through newspapers and HBR case
studies.
The
backdrop: Hearsay, Howard and HBR
Looking at the American chapter, thus goes the 'Starbucks’
story'. Howard Schultz introduced and sold the concept of specialty coffee in
the 80’s to the Americans, who were then used to the regular roaster. Initially
positioned as a distinguished premium brand, offering specialty coffee to connoisseurs
of the Italian brew, Starbucks ended up elevating the hoi polloi to the Starbucks ‘coffee experience’. The chain of
stores thus proliferated in America in the ‘90s, with profits and revenues
flying off the charts. Initially viewed as a premium coffee house brand,
synonymous with upright product quality, excellent service and cozy ambience, Starbucks
slowly became a commonplace joint – the 650% mushrooming growth coming at a
price. The brand then led its name to packaged coffees, ice creams, jazz CDs, and
extended its menu to non-coffee beverages and snack accompaniments. (Thankfully,
it did not sell its name to toothpastes, once famously alluded to by Schultz!)
It sold at airports, bookstores and supermarkets through mass distribution
channels. Thus it broke the mould of a distinguished label and catered to serving
the mass market.
Tete-a-tete
with the Tatas:
Starbucks entered into Eurasian markets
concurrently. The entry of Starbucks in Asia had been accompanied by huge
noise, be it Tokyo in 1996 or Mumbai in 2012. The Asians allegedly suffer from
the ‘liability of origin’ syndrome, as one of our candid professors had opined,
which among other things, manifests into a vicarious pride as well as awestruck
anxiety, on being wooed as a potential market by Western MNCs. Starbucks, in
the same context, was envisioned as a status symbol; and the brouhaha
surrounding its entry and JV with the giant Tatas, its posh SoBo (South Bombay,
for the uninitiated) locations including its prospective vicinity in the Taj
Hotel had only fueled the hype and hoopla in our eager minds. Avani Davda had also
once stated in an interview that he wishes to exclude targeting the student
population, so that Starbucks remains an ‘aspirational’ brand for them!
Encounter
at last: Enter me!
I landed up at the Colaba coffee house on a Friday
evening. The insides of the coffee house were not any less crowded or noisier
than the bustling Colaba Causeway, where I had to bide some time as my company
ended up getting delayed. Looking at the beeline of customers waiting in the
single-floor crammed area, we ended up relocating to the Fort Starbucks.
The Fort Starbucks is a 2-storeyed coffee house, and
we thankfully found a table on the first floor (rushing the occupant couple
though :P) A female barista suggested
Java chocolate-chip frappuccino, which was seconded by my company, who ended up
going all the way to the ground floor to place the order, whereas I ended up
‘catching place’ at our table! He arrived with the Caramel & Java chip frappuccinos
in about 20 minutes! So much so for an ambient atmosphere and excellent
service!
Biased I may sound, but hunger is the best sauce!
Though admittedly, the frappe was rich, creamy, awesome and filling. The same barista asked for feedback amidst the
blaring music and swarming voices. We contemplated ordering accompaniments, but
the waiting time and the teeming crowd was a huge turn off. The much
tried-and-tested Marine Lines ended up being our much sought refuge!
My third, or technically the second, rendezvous with
Starbucks was a week later on a Saturday evening when my roomie and I ended up at
the Powai Starbucks. The lure of trying ‘The Starbucks’ was too elusive for her,
to be weaned by my reviews. I realized that I too was in her shoes the week
before! Starbucks, I realized, had ended up becoming a Salman Khan movie, which
attracts starstruck one-time watchers, who end up with nothing but
disillusionment once the movie has ended! Anyway, we ended up ordering hazelnut
flavoured frappe and chicken croissant. The experience was almost the same. I
was seated on the corner of a sofa, whereas my roomie perched on a chair – the
only space we could locate in the crammed place. The door was not glazed, so
the sunlight ruined the lighting ambience. The décor, paintings and furniture
were ethnic and classy, but our peace was disturbed by the humming noises. Add
to that, the barista at the counter
used to yell each customer’s name when his or her order was ready! They could
have well taken a leaf out of the neighbouring Dominoes, which discreetly
displays order numbers without embarrassing its customers with mispronounced
names! The overall experience, as expected, was a dud.
The frappe had cost about 160 bucks. We discussed on
our way back, how Starbucks had miserably failed in creating the much fabled
‘coffee experience’ for its customers. Customers, including us, would have
readily paid an even greater price premium for it– something that Davda had
been recommended too, when he priced the plain latte at Rs. 85.
Today, Starbucks has burgeoned into 11 stores all
over India and Davda plans to move into Tier-II cities too. Given this pace, a
Starbucks carafe would soon move from the stores of Dolce Vita to your local kirana
dukaan! Ironically, I recalled the interview in which he positioned
Starbucks as an aspirational brand for young students. Seriously? Did he
envisage that students who lap up Rs.99 happy meals could not afford a coffee
for Rs.90! Or that the erstwhile argumentative Indian had not turned
experimentatively indulgent! Had Starbucks accurately captured the psyche of
its target customer and aligned its positioning with the already elevated
expectations, the young urban hedonistic bourgeois would have surely poured
their hearts into it! (sic)
