Tag: Starbucks

Six Cops Eighty-Sixed, Starbux Spox Perplexed

TBA
TBA
5023
 

TEMPE, AZ – Short and not-so-sweet: Six (in some stories five) Tempe police were drinking coffee at a Starbucks before going on shift to police July 4th festivities. An unidentified patron complained of feeling unsafe with the police officers there. The person in charge, who knew at least one of the officers, asked them to either move out of sight of the complainer or leave. Cops left.

The Police Union posted about it on Twitter, adding a ‘Dump Starbucks’ graphic. The Union also ‘reached out’ to Starbucks corporate, apparently as corporate was reaching out to them (I am imagining an accidental collision that looks like a glancing open-handed fist bump) with the kind of verbiage that only dedicated flacks can: “We know this is not a national policy at Starbucks Corporate and we look forward to working collaboratively with them on this important dialogue,” and “We have deep respect for the Tempe Police Department and its service to our community,” said the Starbucks statement. “We have reached out to understand better what may have happened in our store, and to apologize for any misunderstanding or inappropriate behavior that may have taken place.”

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I’m not saying it’s the hat, but…

Henry Racette
Henry Racette
2323
 

I ran out of coffee at home yesterday, so last night while I was in town I stopped at the local Starbucks to pick up a bag of dark roast. As I pulled into my parking spot, I noticed an Obama-Biden sticker on the car next to me. I figured that meant overt displays of political affiliation were allowed, so I grabbed my Make America Great Again cap from the dash where it lives, popped it on my head, and went inside.

My favorite gay bartender/barista was on duty, so after nodding a quick hello to him, I grabbed a bag of Verona and walked up to the counter, where a young fellow I didn’t recognize, a bearded college-age kid, was waiting to take my order.

I handed him the bag of beans, asked him to grind it for flat-bottom drip, and fished out a Starbucks gift card that, I figured, had enough left on it to complete the transaction. The young fellow rang up my order and turned away to grind my coffee. When he came back and I held out my card, he waved it away and said: “we got it, you’re all set.”

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Howard Schultz Wants to Be Your Venti, Half-Caf, Vanilla Americano

Jon Gabriel, Ed.
Jon Gabriel, Ed.
3018
 

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is considering a new location in the West Wing. On Sunday’s “60 Minutes,” the lifelong Democrat outlined a potential run as a “centrist independent” in 2020.

“We’re living at a most fragile time,” Schultz told CBS’s Scott Pelley. “Not only the fact that this President is not qualified to be the president, but the fact that both parties are consistently not doing what’s necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged every single day in revenge politics.”

“I want to see the American people win. I want to see America win,” Schultz continued. “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Republican. Bring me your ideas. And I will be an independent person who will embrace those ideas because I am not, in any way, in bed with a party.”

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Three Martini Lunch

Facebook Fights Fake Accounts, Trump Defends Manafort, Howard Schultz 2020?

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Hosted by Jim Geraghty

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Chad Benson of Radio America are glad Facebook has uncovered and eliminated coordinated activity involving fake accounts that promote fringe political movements on both the far right and far left, thus debunking the idea that Russia wants to elect Republicans. They also fail to see why President Donald Trump keeps sticking his neck out for Paul Manafort, since the charges are separate from the Russia collusion investigation. And they discuss former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’ potential partnership with former John McCain presidential campaign adviser Steve Schmidt to mount a 2020 presidential run.

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Three Martini Lunch

Tedious Anthem Spat, Cruz Speechless Over Pardons, Starbucks Boss’s Venti Dream

00
Hosted by Greg Corombos & Jim Geraghty

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America groan as President Trump disinvites the Philadelphia Eagles from their White House visit, after most players decided to boycott the event.  They also laugh as the normally loquacious Sen. Ted Cruz is left speechless after being asked if he thinks President Trump has the power to pardon himself.  And Jim rips outgoing Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz for his pathetic noncommittals on the 2020 presidential race, while explaining how Schultz would likely be a flop in the Democratic primary.

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Matters of Policy & Politics

Anticipating Global Insecurity with Amy Zegart

21
Hosted by Bill Whalen

In a world complicated by terrorism, cyber threats and political instability, the private sector has to prepare for the unexpected. Amy Zegart, the Hoover Institution’s Davies Family Senior Fellow and co-author (along with Condoleezza Rice) of Political Risk: How Businesses And Organizations Can Anticipate Global Insecurity, explains lessons learned in keeping cargo planes moving, hotel guests protected – and possibly coffee customers better served.

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Three Martini Lunch

Kim Really Ready to Give Up Nukes? Starbucks Training Session, Stingy de Blasio

11
Hosted by Greg Corombos & Jim Geraghty

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see South Korea’s president say North Korea is ready to give up nukes with no conditions, but wonder whether this is yet another ruse from Pyongyang.  They also wonder why 175,000 Starbucks employees need racial sensitivity training because of a high-profile controversy at one franchise.  And Jim has the perfect charity in mind for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio after tax returns show the mayor and his wife donated just $350 to charity in 2017.

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Member Post

FreeWifiDuringSermon
FreeWifiDuringSermon
2112
 

Note: This was originally published on mah blog, but I though you all might like it too. Due to the complexities of renewing the passport of my spawn in advance of the Christmas trip back to Canada this year, I’m working from a Starbucks this morning. The people who walk in and out are not […]
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Will Starbucks Cut Wait Times With Mobile Orders?

Bereket Kelile
Bereket Kelile
3618
 

two cups cofeeshop

The following post has been brewing in my mind and I just now realized that was unintentionally bad pun on my part. You’ll see why in a moment. Starbucks is expanding a new mobile order service that lets customers place their drink orders prior to arriving at the coffee shop. The idea is to cut down the wait times by having the drinks ready when you get there. All you have to do is pay when you arrive.

However, I started thinking about the issue from the perspective of a budding economist, which I am. The Starbucks down the street from my office is patronized by the professionals who work in the nearby office buildings and jammed every day at lunch. Now, if everyone placed their order on their phone 20 minutes earlier it seems to me that all you’ve done is shifted the demand to an earlier point in time.

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Member Post

David Deeble
David Deeble
75
 

You’ve probably noticed how the employee-recommends section of your local Barnes & Noble invariably features some conservative manifesto like End Of Discussion by Mary Katharine Ham and Guy Benson or Hayek’s The Road To Serfdom. Or maybe you’re familiar with walking into a coffee shop tastefully appointed with posters of Reagan and Thatcher and dog-eared copies of National Review resting […]
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Does Starbucks Really Want an Honest Conversation?

Mona Charen
Mona Charen
3724
 

starbucks-race-together-3Starbucks is hoping to lead a national conversation about race. According to a video released by founder Howard Schultz, Starbucks barristas are encouraged to scrawl “race together” on coffee cups before placing them in the hands of customers. This hollow bit of moral exhibitionism is supposed to encourage “compassion,” “honesty,” “empathy,” and “love.” Does Starbucks sell caffeine-free compassion?

Each and every time we’re hectored to engage in an “honest conversation” about race, it’s a sham. What’s wanted is not honesty, but confession of sin by white people and expressions of pain from blacks and others. Decade after decade, despite vastly diminishing levels of white racism (and the rapid growth of non-white populations), we are told that the old stain of racism continues to poison the lives of minorities. By encouraging that fiction, Starbucks is subtracting from racial understanding.

For what it’s worth, here’s my little contribution to the “honest conversation.”

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Stop Making Everything Political, Please (cc: Starbucks)

Cameron Gray
Cameron Gray
3724
 

On Tuesday, Starbucks unveiled their new #RaceTogether campaign.  From the press release:

“Each story, each voice, offered insight into the divisive role unconscious bias plays in our society and the role empathy can play to bridge those divides,” said Starbucks chairman and ceo Howard Schultz, in a free USA TODAY newspaper section that will be distributed in Starbucks stores beginning Friday and through the weekend.

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