Some New Yorkers were disappointed yesterday that they could not get their fix of Choca-Loca-Moccha Grande at Starbucks. The company closed nearly 7,100 of its U.S. stores for three and a half hours, officially – to train their staff how to make a killer espresso. Whatever the reasons can be (Three hours to make an espresso? Are you kidding us – it’s supposed to be “express”, as the name indicates) some marketing experts think it was a trick. The company has lost 50 percent of its stock value since 2006 and is actually closing a hundred stores this year. So maybe it’s just a move to convince Starbucks customers that the corporation is starting fresh.
If they thought people were going to take it to the streets in protest, tough luck. Nothing like that happened. Here’s an idea: why not pair up with some creative force and try to work on some other marketing techniques. Just off the top of our hat: start making coffee with fair trade grains, go organic etc.
Which reminds us. We’re sure all of you know about it, but if you don’t, a quick reminder. Improv Everywhere, New york City-based group of pranksters (responsible for the famous “Frozen Grand Central” skit), played a joke on Starbucks customers recently.
