One of the reasons why I love Starbucks is the ambience. It's comfortable, it's cozy, it's convenient. I also love the electrical outlets and the free wifi! I also love that they are open early! I am an early bird and like to hit the ground running at 5:00 a.m. The only thing open at that time is... Starbucks. A match made in heaven!
But a few years back, before Covid, all of my favourite Starbucks started getting rid of their comfy chairs... slowly but surely, they all disappeared. All of the locations got remodelled as well, and added extra storage space for refrigerators and the like. So the overall seating declined as well, making it harder to get a spot to sit.
Back in mid-February, 2023, Starbucks also adjusted their rewards program. You get "stars" for every dollar you spend. With 50 stars, I could get a free tea or a free brownie. Yay! Except... they decided to join the inflation band-wagon and doubled the number of stars I would need. So instead of 50 stars, it was 100 stars. Well... that sucks. And... that same day, I walked in there and found that my tea had also jumped in price, another 20 cents.
It used to be that I could get a tea there for $2 but now... it's $3. And that just seems a bit too steep for me.
If that wasn't enough... their wifi has gone to the dogs. At my regular location, I usually have to piggy back on the Subway fast food place, two doors over. It has faster and better wifi than the Starbucks that I'm sitting in! At some of the other Starbucks, I have to use my smartphone as a wifi hotspot in order to get anything done. Not cool.
And sooo... after the stars doubled... and my tea went up... I thought... I need another hang-out place. I scrolled through Google Maps searching for coffee shops in my area. I would love to be able to support an independent, locally owned business, but they all open at 8 am. That is too late for me. And soooo... I was left with one option. One that I hate to even mention in this hallowed space. Ewwww... it's... ready for it... yep... McDonald's. I know, I know... ugh!!!!
But here me out... and look at my checklist...
- Open early - check - they open at 5 am
- Free wifi - check - I will have to test it out though and see how good it is
- Electrical outlets - check - I scoped out the nearest McD and they had outlets at every single table (better than Starbucks where you have to jockey for tables near outlets)
- Tea - check - different flavours and... it's $1.50 (half the price of Starbucks)
- Walkability - check - this isn't even an option with Starbucks which is a good hour away, but the nearest McD is only a 30 minute walk. Perfect
- Ambience - meh - not the greatest... although they do have padded bench seats (which Starbucks eliminated pre-pandemic)
- Convenience - check - it's actually in an area of shops that I often stop at for small things (like cat treats)... so I could kill a few birds with one stone here.
Sooo... as I write this... tomorrow is my Starbucks day... and... as long as it's not bucketing rain, I will be walking to McD... (or driving if it is bucketing rain). And... I'll report back on my experience.
Sometimes change happens gradually... and sometimes... the pressure builds up over time until... it's a big change. Wish me luck.
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