Starbucks tests $1 cup of coffee

Free refills are also on tap as the Seattle coffee giant responds to increased competition and braces for an economic slowdown that could blunt consumer spending. (The Wall Street Journal)

Three cheers for Starbucks! Hip, hip, hoo…what? Surely they can’t be serious! Are they really selling their delicious white chocolate mochas and caramel frappuccinos for a mere 100 pennies (51 pence)? Before you get all excited, let me elaborate. Only the regular old coffee will be one dollar. Everything else will still cost one day of college tuition for your children.

I ask you, how many people really drive to Starbuck’s and wait in the mile long lines for a regular old cup of coffee? Personally, I’d rather brew my own regular old cup of joe for 10 cents. I realize that this strategic maneuver is an effort to compete with chains like Mc Donalds, who are offering a new line of gourmet brews, but it is going to take a whole lot more than just lower priced regular coffee. Here are my suggestions for attracting more Starbucks consumers:

1. Breakfast offerings that do not taste so nasty. Have you tried their line of wraps and sandwiches…blech! Most of the pastries are stale tasting and don’t even get me started on their fresh fruit bowls.

2. A staff supervised play area for kids! Hello? How many moms groups would meet and eat at Starbucks if they offered even a half an hour of respite from their kiddos? I’m willing to bet in the hundreds of thousands.

3. Theme nights. School and group fundraising opportunities. Poetry nights. Featured musicians. Something besides just expensive coffee and and pricey internet connections.

Maybe some of the current locations offer something in the way of entertainment, but I’ve never seen it. If I owned a Starbucks, it would be the highest grossing coffee franchise in the country because I know what people want. Well, at least what parents want. Being that there are so many moms (and dads) who would gladly pay money to sit and enjoy some coffee and fresh baked streusel with their cronies, while their little angels are entertained, I’d be the most popular coffee house around. Who knows, I might even add a parent nap room and attach a shower area for SAH parents like me, who are forced to consider those things occasional luxuries!

What would you like to see Starbucks implement as a means of attracting more parents?