It's a small, small world? Starbucks and local culture

On the occasion of a Starbucks franchise opening in Tijuana, Jim Bening for WorldHum asks "Does the spread of Starbucks really suck?" The post includes photos of Starbucks around the world, rounded up on Flickr. Anti-globalization folk argue that a Starbucks in every city erases local differences and does in the mom-and-pop coffee industry. (God, what a dead horse. Mom and Pop need to get a lawyer and copyright their name so they can start collecting royalties to help with the loss of business). Starbucks in Tokyo does anything but threaten the "authentic colorfulness of the world’s tapestry." They might be serving the same latte I can get in NY, Paris, and Tijuana, but the process of getting it is very place-specific.  Compare if you will:

NY: I place my order and hope they don't give it away to someone else.

Paris: I place my order, they write my name on the cup, and if they give it away to someone else they'll blame it on me for not answering when they called my name.

Tokyo: I place my order, the cashier repeats it to the person standing next to him, who tells the person standing next to him, who follows suit, and soon all six of the people working behind the counter are singsonging my order. "Grrrande cappuccinooooh! Grande cappuccinohhhhh!" "Grande cappuccinoh gozai masseh," the last one finally announces as she hands it to me with a head nod. "Gozai masssss," I nod back and accept the drink as if it were a precious gift.

Riyadh:  Religious police arrest woman for sitting with a man.

Comments

[Jim Benning]

Terrific post. I didn't have time in my slide show to get into the differences among baristas in different cities, but you're absolutely right. Love your description of the Tokyo Starbucks. You do feel like you're receiving a precious gift when you're handed a latte -- or a Fliet o' Fish at McDonald's, for that matter -- in Japan.

[tony aka i sweat butter]

awesome observation and well written! i also read jim's piece on world hum and have to agree with most of the comments there as well. i believe starbucks as well as other corporate chains are 'necessary evils.' although i support mom and pop places when i can, sometimes i am reluctant, especially in the coffee house catergory, because often you are overcharged for a less than stellar product. i guess it comes down to the fact that i don't mind paying $6.00 for a coffe from starbucks, because i know it'll be good.