3 ms·

That's a good "problem" to have if you price and market it correctly

by moolcool 7y ago

gwd 7y ago
Right, but then you don't really have a coffee shop anymore. I disagree with the posters above who say there's a 90% markup on the coffee. What you're buying at Starbucks isn't a coffee, but a coffee plus the right to sit at a table and use the wifi for an hour or two. And as OP points out, at the moment, this is pay-per-use: when I need a place to sit down for a bit, whether in my own city or some other city, or when I need a table to sit and chat with someone that's not in either of our homes, I buy the right to take a seat for $4. They even give me a cup of coffee to go along with it. Making it a subscription would completely change the way I related to such a business. I mean yeah, I wouldn't have to drink coffee just to sit down. But I'd be thinking each month -- am I getting a good value out of this subscription? I'd be sitting a lot more in the shop than I normally would; which would mean more regular income for the owner, but less space for random people in a strange town who want to have a nice place to sit for an hour. $4 for a one-off, no commitment, pay-as-you-go service with instant gratification (buy the coffee, take a seat) seems like a pretty nice deal to me; and it makes cities nicer places to be than if you had to have a subscription.
- WalterBright 7y ago
  > I disagree with the posters above who say there's a 90% markup on the coffee. That's how accounting works. The 90% markup is on the coffee, and if you sell enough coffee you can cover the overhead of the cafe. I.e. there's margin and there's net income.
- WWLink 7y ago
  Out here Starbucks has been building/opening a ton of new places lately, some of which are replacing old ones. The new ones are strictly outdoor seating.
  - frosted-flakes 7y ago
    How does that work in winter?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

3 ms·

That's a good "problem" to have if you price and market it correctly

by moolcool 7y ago

That's a good "problem" to have if you price and market it correctly

gwd 7y ago
Right, but then you don't really have a coffee shop anymore. I disagree with the posters above who say there's a 90% markup on the coffee. What you're buying at Starbucks isn't a coffee, but a coffee plus the right to sit at a table and use the wifi for an hour or two. And as OP points out, at the moment, this is pay-per-use: when I need a place to sit down for a bit, whether in my own city or some other city, or when I need a table to sit and chat with someone that's not in either of our homes, I buy the right to take a seat for $4. They even give me a cup of coffee to go along with it. Making it a subscription would completely change the way I related to such a business. I mean yeah, I wouldn't have to drink coffee just to sit down. But I'd be thinking each month -- am I getting a good value out of this subscription? I'd be sitting a lot more in the shop than I normally would; which would mean more regular income for the owner, but less space for random people in a strange town who want to have a nice place to sit for an hour. $4 for a one-off, no commitment, pay-as-you-go service with instant gratification (buy the coffee, take a seat) seems like a pretty nice deal to me; and it makes cities nicer places to be than if you had to have a subscription.
- WalterBright 7y ago
  > I disagree with the posters above who say there's a 90% markup on the coffee. That's how accounting works. The 90% markup is on the coffee, and if you sell enough coffee you can cover the overhead of the cafe. I.e. there's margin and there's net income.
- WWLink 7y ago
  Out here Starbucks has been building/opening a ton of new places lately, some of which are replacing old ones. The new ones are strictly outdoor seating.
  - frosted-flakes 7y ago
    How does that work in winter?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]