Up until a couple of weeks ago, LIFE WAS GOOD at Hallmarkland. We live in a strip mall and have survived many changes with our anchor stores (Ernst, Albertson's, G.I. Joes) coming & going. We were always strong in the middle of the strip. And we had the perfect business "marriage" in the whole neighborhood-- Hallmark and Starbucks Coffee. We went together like peas & carrots, ice cream & cake, cards & coffee. We were soooo happy together!
I knew all of the baristas and they knew me. Just like "Cheers"-- instead of going to a bar where everyone knows your name, it was a coffee bar and everyone knew my name!
And they knew my beverage of choice: a tall, pepppermint hot chocolate (I don't do coffee) with extra peppermint (usually 6 pumps) and extra hot:
We both weathered it out during this rough economic year. We kept selling cards and coffee with smiles. And then the inevitable happened... Starbucks left us!
This is our happy Hallmark storefront window (with Jackpot Teriyaki next door) and a now empty Starbucks space. (sigh!) WHY???? Because they were tempted by the lure of a (gasp!) drive-thru window:
We have not signed official divorce documents, but the separation is clear. Our customers are confused.... WHY? They ask. I just shrug my shoulders and say it hurts too much to talk about it. Our Starbucks has moved a block away to the corner of a very busy intersection. I drive by it almost every day but find myself silently refusing to support that #$@^$^^%@! drive-thru window. They claim to have a bigger lobby but they only have five parking slots, so why bother?
I am trying to move on. I visited another Starbucks this week, in my neighborhood.
The baristas were friendly enough. They took my order. But my tall, peppermint hot chocolate (extra peppermint, extra hot) was just not the same. It did not taste like my drink. The next day I told the barista to add 6 pumps of peppermint and it was still .... flat. Oh no. Where was the Starbucks love??This divorce transition period is going to take awhile... I can tell.
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