Frankly, I think it's a great idea. This way, all employees are hearing the same exact instructions with the same demo's. No one can say they learned how to do it differently. I have to say lately, they seem a little out of sorts and my coffee temp's have varied greatly, sometimes the drink is way stronger on Tues than it was on Mon, etc. I actually switched to Starbuck's when my local Dunkin Donuts simply couldn't get it together. I'd order cream only and walk away with sugar in my coffee, the flavor was burnt, etc...I am willing to pay a little more if the coffee is truly better. Here's to hoping this works!

It's almost like Howard Schultz is a high school principal and he's giving his entire work force detention for doing something bad. (or not meeting growth forecasts?!)

I don't think it's a desperate marketing ploy because he seems to be a pretty successful manager who is trying to get Starbucks back to their roots. But I also don't think it's a smart marketing idea either because they're probably going to lose quite a bit of money by closing all those stores. And as you mentioned, it's not going to bring their prices down or make me want to visit any of their stores anytime soon. IMHO, that lost revenue would have been better spent on a really cool advertising campaign. They could have produced a Super Bowl ad that would have blown away that famous 1984 McIntosh commercial. People would have instantly thought of Starbucks as hip and cool for years to come. They've always been more about the "experience" than the coffee anyway.

Well, the three hour closing does make a certain amount of sense; they didn't do it during the morning. If they did, the U.S. would probably be suffering the worlds largest collective headache from caffiene withdrawal!

To tell you the truth, I think McDonalds is the one making the mistake here ... in Fast Food Nation, the author describes all the work they've done to pare down preparation of their food to as simple a process as possible --- allowing the food to come out to customers as quickly as possible. These coffee orders, each loaded with varying levels of adjectives (half-caf, skim, no foam) will slow the whole process down.

DD: Liz, I agree with you. While the move to better coffee might win someone like me over (it only takes a few seconds to pour me a strong cup of coffee), it will definitely slow down their process when the next customer orders a mocha-frappa-latte-with-skim-something-or-other. Can you imagine the drive-through lines?! Eeeesh!

The coffee that Dunkin Donuts sells as whole bean is very good. Their prepared coffee is little more than undrinkable, scotching hot brown water. I live very near a Dunkin so I do choke down a cup about once a week but I am never too pleased with the product. Starbucks, Daily Grind, Donnas, and Panera all make a decent cup o' joe. Starbucks needn't worry too much; I don't see myself ever going to McDonalds for a "coffee experience." Something about the smell of the fryer and their industrial meat pulp burgers just doesn't make me think "Juan Valdez."

I am a Starbucks fan, and a Starbucks customer. The three hour closing didn't affect me (I only drink their coffee at night if my boyfriend visits). I hope the closing and training achieved what they hoped it would (everyone of the barista's at my Starbucks are upbeat and friendly already). I did catch Dunkin' Donuts cappuccino offer on the commute home only because it was a cheap price. Normally, I do not like Dunkin' Donuts or McDonalds coffee. It's either burnt or what I call weenie coffee (weak). Starbucks is strong and delicious.

I have to admit, I'm not a coffee drinker --- at some point I realized that if I only liked coffee with a lot of milk and sugar and flavorings to cover up the coffee taste, I should just drink milk and sugar and flavorings and skip the beans. Now I drink tea.

With that caveat, however, I always preferred Dunkin' Donuts and thought Starbucks was the one that tasted burnt. So, I was surprised to see that McDonalds came out on top in a Consumer Reports taste test. Who knew?

DD: Being a coffee addict, I'm convinced that coffee tastes differently depending on who is brewing it. Whether its McDs, Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, I've found that coffee can taste bitter or burnt one day and smooth and strong the next at the same store. I usually perk mine at home. It tastes good and it doesn't cost me a bunch of money.

It’s my hope that this training establishes some consistency in Starbuck's employees responses in regards to thier fair-trade policy.

Starbuck’s official policy claims that if you request CFT but none of the day’s ready-brewed coffees happens to be certified, then the barista should always offer to make you a french-press of their CFT blend at the cost of a regular cup. However, this very rarely happens. I admit I have found one location with a very nice manager who will consistently do this without missing a beat. However, at the majority of locations, the employees have no idea what I am talking about. (And no, I never harass them, I just say thank you and don't buy the coffee.)

Of course, since Starbucks claims that all of their coffees are fair trade, they could easily solve this problem by having all of their coffees independently certified as such – but right now only one of their blends passes the independent certification. But I suppose that's another issue.

I love Starbucks coffee and WANT to shop there. It is my hope that the training of the staff will establish Starbuck’s commitment to their own policy so that I can do so while remaining true to my own ethical standards.