The Infamous Coffee


I conducted a little experiment last week with Starbucks and Second Cup. Allow me to explain. The lovely patio coffee shops are located diagonally from each other at Queen St. West and John. This five-minute walk from OCAD is a common place for flocking students. Being a huge fan of coffee, I decided to see the reaction of my peers and perfect strangers depending on the coffee cup I held in my hands for those days. For example, I would alternate days having either Starbucks or Second Cup coffee. Both are similarly priced, S.C being a little less expensive. The cups are obviously different, and to my surprise others responded to that. I would get more attention as a customer in retail stores, on the street, and on the subway if I had a Starbucks cup. On the contrary, people didn’t care less what I was holding when it was S.C. The looks, the attitude, and the gestures all were apparently different depending on the coffee. Has anyone noticed the same thing? What does that say about the coffee branding empires?

3 comments:

Wai Yuan said...

I noticed the attitude of people when you drink Starbucks coffee. Hell I even worked at Starbucks. It's the attitude that you can say "My coffee is more expensive than yours!" kind of thing. Try holding a Coffee Time or McDonald's coffee and see the attitude change based on those brands. VERY interesting.

sam said...

I asked a friend to coffee after class tonight, gave her the option of Second Cup or Starbucks (the John & Queen locations). She chose Starbucks, what does this mean? Haha , we are just friends but I've been pondering her decision for a couple days now, why Starbucks over SC?

SarahD said...

Dear Sam,

Maybe she just likes Starbucks better.

Yours truly,

Delilah

(if you don't get the reference, wiki it)