They’ll keep it up as long as business is good. If people will pay 12$ for a latte and lines are out the door, and there are no regulations to stop price gouging and predatory behavior, why wouldn’t they?
Oh there are definitely laws to stop price gauging but that’s for small businesses and individuals who aren’t rich.
Isn’t a café the very definition of a small business?
Yeah Starbucks sure is tiny.
I wouldn’t really call them a café, just a chain where you can buy drinks made from burnt-to-shit coffee beans.
That’s okay. The coffee beans to chocolate, whip cream , soy milk, and extra caffeine ratio is like 1:99.
You forgot the ten tablespoons of sugar that eats your insides to hide the taste of shit beans.
why wouldn’t they?
It’s not even a matter of “why wouldn’t they,” do much as a matter of they must.
Absent of regulations, any company that doesn’t abandon every conceivable human moral in pursuit of more profit will find itself hopelessly out-competed by the ones that do. If your every competitor is charging $12 for a latte and paying their employees starvation wages, and you charge a reasonable amount and pay your employees a decent wage, then every hour you’re in business your competitors will be making more money than you, and you will always fall behind, unless something comes along to close that gap.
Libertarians might try to say that eventually the free market will close the gap, but adults know otherwise. The free market doesn’t give a shit about human decency, the environment, the value of mom and pop businesses, or any of that. The free market can only ever want to make more money, every year, at a faster rate of increase, every year. Forever.
Government is the only thing that can reasonably account for how things should be. Regulations are the only reason we don’t have 80 hour work weeks and children in the mines.
Is $12 for a latte even price gouging?
Like, $12 for milk and eggs? $12 for a pound of veggies or a gallon of gas or a jug of water during a hurricane? Sure.
But I can buy a bag of beans for $12 and make ten cups easy. I just don’t know if I’d call it price gouging because you’re willing to pay out the nose for foamed milk.
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to be fair a setup that can make espresso drinks in the same quality league as coffee shops will cost in the range of 1000-3000€ but if you drink one cup per day then you can save that amount in a year by making coffee at home
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If you can afford a 1-3K espresso setup you probably don’t think about saving money on coffee
well if you got savings but low income you can afford one time costs such as that. i got a 1k espresso setup mainly so i dont have to spend 20-40% of my disposable income on coffee from cafes
Bambino is 600, if you do the math it pays itself off in like two or three months of owning one vs going to a coffee shop.
Bambino won’t pull the same shots that a great independent coffee shop’s equipment will.
It is if you learn how to set the temp settings and use the right bean, grind size and milk. A decent cup of coffee is the sum of parts. And if the customer who does all this is just as satisfied, that’s all that matters.
That’s just not correct. Yes, a drink is the sum of the parts, but if all 4 parts are 9.9/10, and your Bambino can’t get to 9.9/10 level, the drink will come out inferior.
Although I do agree with your last statement, the Bambino cannot pull a shot like a high-grade industrial machine can.
I’m going out on a limb and argue that a great cup of coffee can probably be made with some rather simple and cheap lab equipment.
And so easy just grow your own beans on your acres of land, toil it, roast those beans and voila. Same with brewing your own beer, grow your hops…etc. or wine, grow your own grapes…
You could say that about any food really.
But if you say that oh, the frazzled parents and people who live in mere apartments without land to grow this stuff or people with two jobs and can’t pick their own farm land will come down on you so hard. So spoilt.
I think you know that your analogy is false
Lattes aren’t essential. Charging $12 for one is neither predatory nor price gouging. It’s arguably exploitatative but I don’t feel it’s our job to tell people they’re not allowed to waste their own money.
Acting on “what the market will bear” instead of what at cost as well as labour is predatory in that it is opportunistic in the basic definition of what makes predatory behaviour predatory. It is also gouging as it is setting a price range that can be considered exclusionary. And then to also attack a customer who feels this and speaks it can be considered victim blaming as you’re enabling these behaviours by dismissing the feedback of the victim, which again is being exclusionary by enforcing their money to be taken but not allowing they can be part of the feedback or setting boundaries of what is happening to them.
When you call someone choosing to buy a $12 latte a victim it makes everything else you say impossible to take seriously.
If these people have been raised by exploitative pricing all their life, I honestly am not sure who to blame anymore.
you use ‘choice’ like $3 latte is an option. You’re bent on manipulating people so it’s hard to take you seriously.
You can get a latte at Dunkin donuts for $2.69 or McDonald’s for $1. Or, and this is going to blow your mind, you can live without lattes. We’re not talking about insulin ffs. How fucking entitled are you talking about a luxury item like it’s a necessity lmao
I have a hard time arguing for price controls for lattes. We aren’t talking water or housing or basic staples of food here.
It is like people who continue to feed ticketmaster and the resale markets with their predatory fees and prices. Why shouldn’t they keep doing it if people will keep paying their insane prices for nonessentials?
Legit not arguing but other than going to the physical box office, what alternatives are there to Ticketmaster? I would love to know so I can stop giving them money.
Absolutely. There is no real alternative for most people but at least it isn’t a necessity. They have a nice monopoly going.
Just go to venues where you buy direct.
I try when possible but time and distance, and some lack box offices, don’t always make this an option. I can’t afford the overpriced shows anyway.
Go to venues that you deal with them direct. Is it really important that you see the most popular musician at the best venue or is it more important that you heard some fun music with your friends? Make a decision and live with the decision
The barista is a tablet
At my local independent coffee shop the practice is that the baristas pay no attention and start working on your order as soon as you get to the tip screen so there’s no pressure to assign a gigantic tip. They also have much better beans than Starbucks, to the point that the founder of this shop spun off the coffee bean sourcing/roasting into a separate business that he continues to manage and now is the supplier of beans for every independent coffee shop for a 50 mile radius
There’s a new coffee shop in Seattle that’s literally 4 robot arms making coffee at 4 different machines. There’s one guy in the store to keep things tidy, but that’s it.
Pay screen still asked for a tip.
so you actually tip the owner and just pay him extra while he’s doing coke and jerking off at home
Pay screen still asked for a tip.
Mother fuckers
The barista is an AI- generated composite of the employees that it replaced displayed on a tablet.
Baristas and coffee connoisseurs exist in a perpetual state of disapproval, so you might as well save some money.
The baristas at the cafe my daughter and I usually go to (which is so good that even though it is half an hour away and one town over, we still go) are great. And really friendly. It’s not especially cheaper than anywhere else, but they have a decent selection of non-coffee drinks like smoothies and bubble tea for my daughter, a drink called a dirty chai which I really like for me (chai with a shot of espresso), and a lot of surprisingly good gluten-free pastries and cookies. We aren’t gluten-free and gluten-free baked goods that I’ve tried generally haven’t impressed me, but these aren’t bad. They also have gelato. Plus, a chill atmosphere and a lot of comfortable places to sit.
If you’re ever going down I-70 through Illinois and pass by Marshall near the Indiana border, the Gypsy Queen Cafe is worth a stop, if for no other reason than to see a surprisingly upscale cafe for a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.
Edit: The menu on the website is incomplete. So is the menu on their sign. It’s sort of distributed throughout the store. That’s the one thing I don’t like about it, but I’m used to it now.
Sounds like a nice place! It’s cool that you have that near you. The 3rd wave places near me seem to think that coffee is the lifeblood from which all things sprout, and their attitudes generally suck. Their coffee is good though.
I think because they’re young and it’s a small town and there isn’t much there in terms of employment, they’re pretty happy to have one of the relatively few jobs there that don’t require an advanced education and also don’t suck ass.
Just about anywhere that sells coffee in the states can make you a dirty chai, it’s my go-to coffee order. Even places where everything is just poured out of pre-prepared cartons, the chai is almost always killer.
And the company probably made a net profit of 5 billion — a 25% rise from the previous year.
And people complain that they are broke yet they continue to spend $$$ on things like cafe coffee
The barista is making 13$ per hour
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I go out for coffee occasionally because it is my excuse for getting out of the house.
I agree on the tipping. If I’m serving myself I’m not tipping. I don’t feel guilty and I don’t care if they are looking. I sometimes tip if it is a holiday and I feel they should get a little extra for that.
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We don’t really have this whole tipping thing here.
I’ve had coffee in two places recently. One was in a hypermarket. I don’t remember what the coffee costs there, because it came free with the meal. If the restaurant staff feel they don’t get paid enough, I don’t care if they get inspiration from France and torch every car in the parking lot. You see, I go to the hypermarket by foot. It’s not that far away.
The other place I had coffee recently was in the train. 2.80€. I certainly hope the restaurant car staff gets paid well. They’re technically railroad employees, after all. You don’t fuck with railroad workers.
I’ve never heard the term “hypermarket” before today, but according to Google that’s what these type of stores have been called since 1968 lol!
I’ve legit gone back to cash for petty transactions. If I feel like throwing the change in the tip jar, I will. But there are no stupid prompts for a tip to deal with. Unfortunately, a lot of places are going cash free. Professional sports games is one example. Hey beer man, thanks for handling me my $12 beer. No, I’m not tipping for that.
So I understand why so many places like stadiums and airplanes are going cash free, but then I wonder if that’s even technically legal as cash literally says legal tender for all debts public and private.
The only place I ever use cash anymore is to fuel my sporadic video poker habit.
I damn near feel like a criminal using it anywhere else.
And the day you can go throw your debit card into a video poker machine is the day I stop gambling. As ferociously disciplined of a gambler as I am (and I am ferociously disciplined with my budgets) I cannot in any way see that eventuality as ending well for any customer.
Anywho, rambling tangents complete, I wonder if cash will remain viable over the forthcoming years.
if that’s even technically legal as cash literally says legal tender for all debts public and private.
I’m guessing one could argue the right to refuse service to those not using their preferred kind of payment.
That’s correct. Legal tender can be used to settle all debts. In a retail transaction there’s no debt until a purchase agreement is made, so they can refuse cash before the agrrement.
Yeah, u definitely can’t budget gambling if they have a card with all your money on it. Maybe they’ll have what arcades have now where you buy a card, and load it with money or something. I also wouldn’t gamble in a cashless society. As it stands right now, you win a few bucks, you just get cash. If it’s all traceable, uncle Sam is going to want a cut of your winnings every time.
I haven’t seen a $12 late where I’m from, they’re usually about $4-5
Lately where I’m from, things that go on display for $4-5 tend to come with a $12 receipt
Remember to tip the machine that spits out your coffee.
My favorite thing is being charged extra for soy milk despite it being way less resource intensive and having a similar nutritional profile.
The US government heavily subsidizes dairy. They also subsidize soy, but it’s $20B for dairy and $4B for soybeans. The price of milk is below production costs.
Ahh that makes a lot of sense. I also wonder if the soy subsidy directly affects soymilk/human products or if it’s mostly for animal feed?
I tried to figure that out, but the answer proved elusive. Soybeans grown in the US are mostly used as feedstock though (about 70%).
Appreciate the effort! I didn’t realize it would be as high as 70%!
I would imagine it might be due to a combination of low demand and having to continually restock due to FDA standards. Or it could just be taking advantage of people wanting an alternative.
Yeah and I’ll tip a dollar when they clearly know what they’re doing.
The prediction was a bust, because I haven’t walked into any local coffee shops in 2024. I didn’t in 2023 either.
I don’t know what the lattes cost because I don’t buy them. My coffee at home is great every day.
Oh I’m sorry, I thought America was all about turning the bull loose and protecting our beloved economy in its current form at all costs.
Actions have consequences. An economy designed for infinite growth/metastasis on a very finite world has consequences. We’ve only just begun to feel the consequences of our not merely tolerance, but encouragement of insatiable, unaccountable greed.
Buckle up. The price of lattes will be the least of our worries. Another 10 years and Chocolate and Coffee will probably be priced out for us capital batteries. Don’t worry though, they’ll make some cancer causing substitute that’s a third as satisfying for half the price. Be sure to CONSUME it.
Make sure you have your “I got cancer from sugar substitute” insurance paid up! That won’t be covered any other way! Easy and convenient payment plans start at just $195 paid every alternate 9 days! At that price you can’t afford not to get it!!!
I treated myself to a latte today and it was a bit over 5 dollars. There was no tip option on the pad. This was at Dunkin
Don’t visit their bathroom’s tho. You might get covered with human feces.
you can do that in any bathroom
Except in this case, its WAAAAAAY worse. https://www.businessinsider.com/man-sues-dunkin-toilet-explosion-trauma-florida-2024
I know men’s rooms have never been clean clean, but lately when I go in it’s like someone tries to piss all around the seat in the stall.
The urinal isn’t much better as there are clearly a lot of dudes who need a doctor to check up on their lack of water pressure so they dribble all over the floor.
I normally point myself in the general direction, close my eyes, and release, along with my hopes and prayers /s
But maybe it’s because people can’t tear their eyes away from their phones for even the time required to urinate, and so they really have no idea what happened, but the video they’re watching was hilarious.
It was a video of some jackwagon pissing on the seat.
Jesus
Today a 16oz caffè latte from Starbucks was $4.95 with no modifications.
You didn’t even get avocado toast? What don’t you care about the economy at all?
Headline: Gen z Can’t Afford Houses Because They Buy Avocado Toast
Gen z: [stops buying avocado toast]
Headline: Gen z is Killing the Avocado Toast Industry
Illegal immigrants should put avocados in every pocket they have before they cross. Then when they get here, they can buy a house.
Christians should tithe in avocados so the Lord will always have a house when he has his followers eat him.
I don’t think they had that. I did see avacado cups, but no gluten involved.
Americanos used to be quite a bit cheaper than lattes. Which makes sense considering there’s no milk in them, save for any small bit of cream you put in. But sometime in the last two years they raised the price on americanos to be in line with lattes. I don’t go often, but when I do it stings to pay $6 for my drink.
I couldn’t tell you, I stopped going to coffee bars when the coffee became more than half my hourly wage, I’ll make my own coffee thank you very much.
Can’t even go to a McDonald’s anymore without spending at least $16, I’ve stopped going to McDonald’s and started ordering Applebee’s because if I’m spending $20 on a meal anyway I might as well spent $4 more on there two for 24 deal and get like three times the amount of food
I bought 4 double cheese burgers last night for less than 5 pounds. I’m in the UK though.
And have socialized healthcare (although poorly implemented).
Most of the shops got it got $8 but I van imagine some of the “fancy” shop could sell it for $12
Let me guess, that’s 8 dollaridoos witbout taxes.
A latte here in NL is still € 4 with no tip required
Yes but US lattes can be close to a liter.
What the fuck
Most of our coffee is drip. Sometimes cold brew. Espesso, cappuccino, Turkish, press, etc…we don’t do that much. Fancy coffee, sure, but not our “it’s Monday and I can’t even” coffee. Or our “it’s Tuesday and I can’t even” coffee, or so on.
Fast service shops and such will have “cappuccino” or “espresso” but I think it’s either concentrate or it’s just not the same.
We do have a serious unspoken caffeine addiction though. It comes from our Protestant work ethic while having our wallets bled dry. We end up with hustle culture and a stimulant addiction. Hooray!
Never buy coffee in the states if you’re from nz/aus or Europe. You WILL be disappointed.
We do have different types of coffee, but you might have to go to a specialty shop to get it like you do at home. If you’re talking about regular restaurants it’s probably good advice.
I’ve seen your different types of coffee. I spent 6 months in the states, all over. I had ONE good coffee in all that time. Went to thank the Barista - and she was Australian.
Wouldn’t you know it, I’ve been all over Europe and they don’t make it quite like I do at home either.
So what’s this Australian secret coffee? If you don’t tell me I know another Australian I can press.
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So are americans fat and lazy, or always busy and hyper work oriented? I’m losing track of the stereotypes here.
Interestingly, both. Americans are hyper work oriented because, you know, we’ve been trained since birth that if you don’t work, you’re going to suffer and die (and that’s partially true, yay barely affording apartments and food), but when we get off of work, we’re not going to work out, invest time in anything but watching the latest Hupeaflix show, and maybe brush our teeth before bed. Food comes out of a bag or box in the freezer, or maybe delivered with the expectation of a tip or your food gets there late, bitch.
And that’s definitely just for specialty drinks, usually an up charge for additions and substitutes.
Black coffee vs a triple shot frappe with protein powder, oat milk, lavender mint syrup, on a raft, four-by-four animal-style, extra shingles with a shimmy and a squeeze, light axle grease, make it cry, burn it, and let it swim.
… you forgot the PICKLES!
Now we just need a living wage for the customers
At least we’ve been always be allowed to strike by boycotting bad shops. What is the actual cost price of a latte over there?
The barista can ask their manager. If I have to come to you, that tip option doesn’t mean shit. Then I leave a 1 star review
The only exception is bartenders.
