I've always admired the American success story that is Starbucks, but it's no secret that the coffee giant has been feeling the squeeze with its perception of price in these lean times along with a full fledged attack by Dunkin Donuts and McDonald's. Last night I stopped into Starbucks. Since it was late, I asked for a tall (which I guess is medium) decaf. They told me that it would take a few minutes, since they no longer brew decaf continuously after a certain point in the afternoon. I had forgotten about that and, since I didn't want to wait, opted for caffeine. It strikes me as strange, since I would think more people would want decaf late in the day. We're always being told to avoid caffeine after 2:00 p.m. to get a better night's sleep. I really wonder if they did their homework on this one. If it was an arbitrary corporate decision, Starbucks' troubles may be just beginning. That would be a shame, since they are neat, mellow places to meet people and even conduct business without being surrounded by Mayor McCheese and big donut posters! Oh, and they may want to knock down the $3 pricetag on the vanilla chai tea, too.
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