Think of the Postivies

I'm sitting in McDonald's again this morning (6:30 am) after a few weeks of relapsing back to Starbucks. I know, I know... change is hard. I wrote about that a while back and it's so true. Even after writing that I was breaking up with Starbucks... there I was... back in it's familiar space. This morning though... I thought... "no"... just do it!

I walked in the door at McDonald's and figured out how to place an order on their big display screens. Another new thing. Now, it came in a disposable cup... so I'm going to have to figure out if they do reusable mugs. I'd probably have to order at the counter but... the first order has been completed. I can't articulate what a big hurdle that was for me... maybe not huge... but big enough that every morning I just thought "I'll just go to Starbucks". So it was probably more like a speed-bump hurdle but... it doesn't take much to derail the best laid plans! Oh... and get this... McDonald's has "table service"!? You can place your order, give them your table number and then sit down while they bring it to you! Go figure!

This morning, there is a different crowd hanging out at McDonald's. These are the guys heading off to work, a lot of them middle-aged. There is one table of old guys chatting away. It's not that different from Starbucks actually... where there's a similar gaggle of middle-aged construction guys that hang out. But I guess... the difference is, I'm on a first-name basis with some of them. And here... it's all new and different and strange.

Now McDonald's has a fairly limited tea selection but... the price is ridiculous. At Starbucks, it now costs $3.90 for a small tea. Here... I can get a senior's tea (smaller) for $1.42. And even a small tea would still be less than half the cost of a Starbucks tea. Soooo... sitting here... I am thinking of the positives...

Walkable/Bikeable

The McDonald's is an easy 30 minute walk from home. I can do that. And it's maybe an 8 minute bike ride. Also very doable. And I'll get the bonus of exercise. What's not to love about that? I could also bike to Starbucks but it's probably more like a 15 minute bike ride and that just somehow seems a bit of a bigger hurdle. 

Cheaper

This is a no-brainer. If I get a Starbucks tea every day (more or less)... that's... let's just round up... $4/day = $120/month.

Whereas at McDonald's... it's $1.50/day or $45/day. What could I do with an extra $75/month? A heck of a lot more than over-priced tea!

Reliable Wifi

Sometimes, at Starbucks, connecting to the wifi is a real hassle. You have to login every single time, even if you check off the little box that says connect automatically. And sometimes the wifi just doesn't work well.

Whereas, here at McDonald's, I was here once and connected to the wifi. This morning, I didn't have to do anything, the laptop connected automatically to the wifi and I was off and running. Gotta love that!

Quiet Music

Sometimes, at Starbucks, the baristas have the music cranked and are rocking their favourite playlists. Which is fine when no one is in the store but... when there are customers... it gets to be a bit much. Part of the problem is that the speakers are in the front corners of the store, far from the baristas, so in order to hear the music over the noise of the espresso machines and coffee grinders, they crank it. 

Here at McDonald's, they have ceiling speakers and even though I am basically sitting under one of them, the music is very chill - Lionel Richie, Phil Collins... Not exactly cool coffee shop jazz but... it's not hideous.

Errand-Friendly

The two Starbucks that I visit the most tend to have errand options nearby. The farthest one has Superstore, Home Depot, Costco, Walmart, etc. Hard to beat that for errand- friendly but... can McDonald's compete with the others?

• Starbucks 1 - grocery store, big thrift store, drug store/post office
• Starbucks 2 - dollar store, bulk food store
• Starbucks 3 - grocery store, library, drug store/post office
• McDonalds - grocery store, drug store/post office, vet, hair cut, several thrift stores

So, it does compare quite favourably. 

Scales Tipping in Favour of McDonald's?

It's kind of hard to argue with all of those pros... isn't it? Especially against a tiny list of cons. They are a multi-national conglomerate behemoth? So is Starbucks. It feels unfamiliar and strange. Yep... that's how life works. Life is change. Life is growth. I used to love Starbucks hot chocolates and that was the draw back in 2010. No other hot chocolate (Timmies for example) could compare. But tea? Tea is pretty generic. I'm not a tea connoisseur by any means.

At this point, it's the shear force of habit that keeps me going to Starbucks... and familiarity. But I can do this, right? I am stronger than those well-worn paths in my synapses! Small steps.