Journal Analysis “For the Love of Joe: The Language of Starbucks.”
How many of you have stopped for a cup of coffee at Starbucks this week? For the Love of Joe: The Language of Starbucks is a great article that touches briefly on the history of coffee and explains the unique language used at Starbucks when we go in for our weekly or even daily coffee fix (Ruzich, 2008).
This article is for anyone that has a love of coffee and possibly Starbucks. I would say that it is for a general audience because so many of us have to have our coffee but really it is for the true lover of specialty coffee and that would be a specialized audience.
Coffee and the beans that make it so good have been around for a long time. The beginnings were in Islamic coffee houses. After these coffee houses shut down it the 16th century the European market took over. Vietnam played a role back then and today but they produce an inferior product in comparison. By 2000 Vietnam was the second biggest producer after Brazil. By the 18th century England was saturated in coffee houses, some called penny university which women were not allowed to enter. This was part of their culture, a culture that spread to the U.S. Coffee happens to be the second largest and most valuable trading commodity not just in Vietnam and Brazil but all over the world (Ruzich, 2008).
Starbucks opened their doors during 1971 in Seattle and currently there are three to four Starbucks stores being open ever single day. So how many times do you frequent Starbucks? Well this article states that, “the average customer comes in five times a day. Heavy users come into the store as many as eight times in 30 days. 10% of customers come in twice a day.” (Ruzich, 2008). I don’t know about you but that sounds like it could get real expensive.
Starbucks contributes their success to the culture, atmosphere, employee attitude and the traditions they provided for their customers. Part of their mission statement reads, “We aren’t in the coffee business, serving people. We are in the people business serving coffee.” As a matter of fact Starbucks has spent less than $10 million on advertising campaigns for their fist 25 years (Ruzich, 2008).
When you walk into a Starbucks you will see the ambiance but the most interesting thing is the language used for ordering their coffee. They feel as though it is this unique and offbeat language that keeps their customers and brings in curious new ones daily (Ruzich, 2008).
Their language is about self-love, romantic relational love and philanthropic love and encourages us to relate to our favorite drink as an extension of their own personalities. When you order your drink you have choices such as, “powerful and erotic”, “elegant and intriguing”, “bold and earthy” or “rich and complex with depth and sweetness” (Ruzich, 2008). I would have to say these all sound like characteristics of a good mate and someone I would want to fall in love with. I believe this was the intention as mentioned before a connection to love and the customer’s personality.
Something to think about when you go into a Starbucks the next time is that they want you to have an experience that may enlighten your day since most of us usually only have coffee at home or works why not make it a unique experience.
I hope you all had a chance to read the article it has great transition from history to current times and makes good points about coffee and why Starbucks is doing so well.
Thank You,
Bobbie Hill
Reference: For the Love of Joe: The Language of Starbucks.Full Text Available By: RUZICH, CONSTANCE M.. Journal of Popular Culture, Jun2008, Vol. 41 Issue 3, p428-442, 15p; DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2008.00529.x; (AN 31999976)Database: Academic Search Complete
7 comments:
I really liked your analysis on Starbucks. Personally, I think that spending that much money on a cup of coffee is insane. You can buy a whole container of coffee for the price of two cups of Starbucks. In addition, I think the coffee at Starbucks is extremely strong. I think this is done to get people addicted. Caffeine is really addicting and that keeps people coming back. At my job, the employees are always going on Starbuck runs and they spend $5 each and not to mention, those fancy drinks are a lot of calories.
Bobbie,
I liked your informative analysis on the Starbucks coffee. I have to say that I am guilty for getting Starbucks at least once every two weeks. I thought it was interesting point that you mentioned about their advertising. Their branding is so strong and significant worldwide, it seems like an international beverage.
Thank you for your analysis!
I am not a coffee drinker by any means but I understand exactly why Starbucks is so popular. As your article stated, Starbucks can attribute its success to the culture and atmosphere in every store. In my opinion the coffee chain is too expensive. I guess it’s not about the price but the qualityof their product that keeps people going back for more.
Hi, Bobbie. I am a Starbucks junkie. I usually go there at least once every work day. There were some statistics in the article that seemed contradictory.
"Starbucks opened their doors during 1971 in Seattle and currently there are three to four Starbucks stores being open ever single day. So how many times do you frequent Starbucks? Well this article states that, “the average customer comes in five times a day. Heavy users come into the store as many as eight times in 30 days. 10% of customers come in twice a day.” (Ruzich, 2008)." Does the average customer frequent the chain twice a day or five times a day?
I thought it was interesting that Viet Name produces coffee. I had no idea. Also, I learned that the coffee house dates back to the 16th century. Thanks for sharing.
I am not a coffee drinker and have actually never been inside a Starbucks store. But I have been there a couple of times over the years to get the Strawberry Frappacino. But I think it is interesting about the connection between love and coffee.
I have to commend Starbucks on being all about its customers and not about making money. And I thought it was interesting that they have not spent that much money on advertising. Now that you mention that, I honestly dont remember seeing that many Starbucks commercials. I also liked how Starbucks recently shut down all of their stores in the evening so that they could have a training class for their employees on how to treat the customers. This shows that they do care more for the customer than they do about always making money.
I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but I can't help but notice all the Starbucks in my area. Two have closed down, but there's no shortage of them. I can't belive 3 or 4 are opening every DAY! Even more, I can't belive 10% of their customers go twice a day. I would think it would be cheaper to buy their coffee and brew it yourself.
I read in a Chain Storage magaizine that they are increasing the hours of each shift to help build relationships among the customers. They appear to have high goals for pleasing their customers.
I grew up around coffee my whole entire life! My father was a catalyst for the government, he did it all. From picking the right grain, he would toast it , grind it and eventually taste it. Coffee has had a huge influence in my life because of my father, I didn't drink much of it because I wasn't allowed since I was so young. Today, I'm the expert, I can tell you which brand taste the best, how it was roasted and how high in the mountains it was harvested.Great analysis on Starbucks, they are probably as good as you can get in US.
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