OMG! I remember my first Starbucks triple dry cap in Vegas in 1995, it was sublime. I couldn't wait for them to open in Michigan. They finally did in 1997 and it was just as exciting when Burger King opened their first outlet in Southfield and the Whopper was $.49.
The cost of the drink was $2.49 and was a true splurge. At first, I splurged only on Friday's. Then I upped the splurge to Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Over the years, the prices kept going up and I only got Starbucks on Wednesday's. I even had Starbuck's Wednesday monthly for my employees in which I paid their tab.
$1.00 in 1997 is worth $1.93 today. Based on the drink cost of $2.49 then, it should cost $4.80 now. But alas, the new CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, decided the best way to increase shareholder wealth was to increase the cost of its drinks to a record level. Three weeks ago they changed the price of my coffee to $6.97. That is nearly triple the cost from 1997.
I told my wife about it and she agreed, we no longer need Starbucks. I told my kids and they too agreed.
Now mind you, I'm in the top 1% bracket of wage earners and an entrepreneur that loves splurges like Starbucks. But what message is Starbucks sending to its customers if a loyalist like me no longer supports them because of crazy pricing?
