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this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2026
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I can tell you exactly why people aren't going to Starbucks anymore: the quality has declined from lack of training, it's now overpriced coffee for what it is, and their shops aren't even good "3rd places" anymore - their furniture isn't comfortable and the space design implies "give us money, then gtfo". Starbucks as just turned into an overpriced fast-food coffee company
I used to frequently go to a Starbucks in the town I went to uni in; To the point where the baristas knew me by name. I went a lot because it was that 3rd place I could go and study / get work done, with readily available snacks and beverages. However, they ended up closing that shop, even though it was one of the highest rated shops in either the town/province because: they couldn't put a drive-through in at that location 🤦
It's ironic how at that old location, they used to write / draw stuff on the cups for their loyal customers because there was an actual friendship between the employees and the regular customers. Now they write generic stuff on the cups as "corporate mandated fun"
The coffee has always been bad.
The coffee is burnt, the milk is thin and overcooked, and this has just been a constant part of the experience forever.
What's really changed is there's other places to compare with, and it's now obvious what coffee can taste like and where to go if you want one that's half way decent.
There are two mom and pop food trucks with pretty good coffee (bean grinding, not Folgers) within reasonable walking distance of my house. There are a bunch of both food trucks and sit down joints with coffee, breakfast pastries/sandwiches, and good branding within reasonable driving distance. Even my shitty hometown has a coffee shop now and that place is garbage.
Starbucks showed that there was an appetite for coffee that isn't just white label drip diner coffee that will strip the paint off the walls. It normalized it so that it wasn't as pretentious looking. They normalized coffee shops. But you're absolutely right, it's just terrible until they add 1000 calories of dessert to it.
The local shops in my area are making a huge comeback. Starbucks killed most of the local little independents around 15 years ago. They did it by providing consistent quality and reasonable pay to their employees.
Recently local chains/independents have made a resurgence. Their secret, heavily recruiting the experienced trained Starbucks employees full-time at better pay and benefits.
Starbucks traffic is plummetting while local companies are expanding rapidly.
This morning I went to the bank and gas station right next to a Starbucks that has been there for 20 years and a 4 month old local chain. Starbucks had one person in the drive-through and maybe half a dozen people in the store. The local chain had a 10 car line and a full parking lot.