Coffee giant is our home from home
By Katya Idba (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-25 09:41
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Most Chinese people, along with anyone else who isn't from the United States, can't fathom why Americans love Starbucks so much.
Is it the bland coffee? Is it the Frappuccino? Or maybe the comfy armchairs and clean bathrooms, accessible for free to any and all?
It's all of this. Like many American females, I am an extremely picky eater who is both weight-conscious and mildly allergic to everything (that includes dust, dander, some nuts, lactose and gluten, depending on the day).
Since moving to China in 2007, I've also become semi-vegetarian.
Call me picky - so what? It's my body and I should have the option to choose what goes into it, especially when I'm paying todine out.
Places like Starbucks are a picky Western eater's respite in China, especially in smaller cities, and virtually the only places that offer skim and soy milk, as well as sugar-free syrups, Splenda and honey for diabetics. This serves the lactose intolerant as well as those who just happen toprefer soy.
Starbucks never runs out of coffee, creamer, milk, sugar or syrup (unlike its Chinese counterparts, which often run out of everything by 4 pm), is never closed on Monday afternoon because the manager had to wash his cat, and never refuses the requests ofpaying customers - no matter how ludicrous.
Contrary to popular belief, it is reasons like these that are behind Starbucks' massive popularity - not stellar coffee. At best, Starbucks coffee is mediocre and overpriced, but we ugly Americans are willing to pay 25 yuan for a cup, with a smile.
Before eco-friendliness, the Starbucks platform was built on encouraging consumers to "personalize" their coffee orders (that is make your drink as complicated as humanly possible), even down to the temperature.
What we pay for is the peace of mind and the convenience and ease with which it's provided to us.
The barista never bats an eyelid or gives a harsh look, roll of the eyes, or even the most indistinguishable grunt.
Those expatriates who may have scoffed at the Starbucks at home as a symbol of capitalistic yuppiedom overwhelmingly drop their pretenses andappreciate it for what it is in China - a haven for the picky and the intolerant.
Many of us have been bruised by cafes in China. Even in an expensive cafe, we are snickered at or stared at in confusion when we ask for skim instead of whole or brown instead of white sugar.
I suppose I've have been spoiled, raised on a "customer is always right" mantra, which has left me disappointed during the past few years.
It is imperative that standards for things like service be raised in China, especially as the country guides itself out of a current economy based on manufacturing and other low-skilled traditional industries into one driven by service-based and high-tech sectors.
Recently, I was told by a Chinese saleslady who used her chest to block the entryway to the fitting room that perhaps the size 4 blouse I was holding wouldn't fit over my "meaty" arms and that I should try the next size up. Or two.
When I told her politely that I knew my size, we proceeded to commence a game of tug-of-war over the garment that she, in the end, refused to hand back to me, as if she were afraid that I would damage it.
Everyone knows that you don't tell customers the truth. Retail is escapism. As is the coffee shop.
The Chinese, as sweet as they are, would do well to learn not to tell Westerners how fat they are, and at the same time, implement strict smoking bans in cafes. China should not only open its doors to welcome foreign talent from all over the world to come to this country to chase assorted dreams, but make these people feel at home.
Forget national reserves, GDP growth and technological innovation. If the Chinese really want to get ahead, what they need to do is create a Chinese version of Starbucks. What better way to say welcome than with a cup of coffee, made to order?
What better way to show the world how progressive China is than to beat the Americans at their own game?