In the Shadow of Starbucks

Our neighbors to the West are a little coffee shop named Starbucks. The people who work there are wonderful! And despite the trend to bash any and all corporations I have little but kind observations of them. I even love their coffee.

But it is a somewhat unique window that I have, being a small business that shares a deck with a Fortune 500 corporation. Once in a while I will interject my observations on what I have learned from this contrast in business styles.

One of the nice things for my business is that almost daily someone will accidentally step into my shop thinking they are going into Starbucks. Yes, I know, the pink door, the oval signs, the sparkly jewelry in the window. But keep in mind that these are people who have not yet had their coffee. So give them some slack. I don't think the people who are in charge of branding at Starbucks would believe how little people pay attention to their logo-- or absence of it-- on the door.

And the reason this accidental tourist is so nice for The Crown Jewel, is that having someone in my door, for whatever reason, usually creates a customer. Maybe not before their first latte, but sometime around when they realize that the buzz of a frappacinno wears off much sooner than the thrill of that ring on their finger. I have sometimes thought our logo would be something like that of Saab: "people who test drive a Saab usually buy one."

People who stumble upon The Crown Jewel usually make it a habit.