Wrong name spelling is a marketing tool from Starfucks. Nobody would post pics of a correctly spelled name on the interwebs... While you can find a shitload of those gobelets with weird spelled names on any social media.
A) This wasn't Starbucks B) I had to repeat my name to the staffer three times before she made this attempt, I don't think Colin is a name used very often in the Philippines.
Well, that explains a lot. I wouldn't expect my name written properly by a native English speaker in the same situation (unless I was giving the anglicized equivalent of it for the staffer's convenience. But in the Polish form, not bloody likely).
This was actually in my home airport, so theoretically English speaking, but both staffers were Filipino.
I posted a pretty angry review of a truly disgusting Starbucks over here. I really should have known better but I was out of options. Here it is: "Starbucks, St Enoch Centre, Glasgow. I knew it wasn't going to be great (it was the closest place and I needed *something*) but holy shit... Black coffee and blueberry muffin. Never before, in the entire time I've been visiting coffee shops, have I ever considered putting the sugar on the fucking muffin. Really, it sucks - I've actually been checking the muffin to make sure those patches of blue are from the berries and aren't mold - it tastes that fucking bad. And as for the black coffee, I would have a better flavour if I sucked off a squid. All "Bucks", no fucking "Star". Rating out of 5: Fuck off. --- And if I ever actually meet that rancid mermaid, she's getting a dot on the nose." Suffice to say I couldn't actually finish it. I had about 1/3rd each of the muffin and the coffee.
When Starbucks were first looking at opening up a store in Sydney, they looked at the most famous "cafe strip" and thought "right, we'll have some of that, then." (Norton St, Leichhardt. Where a looooooooot of Italian migrants settled back in the 60s, setting up cafes and fresh produce vendors. and were promptly told "Not going to happen". None of the local patrons would pay that much for shite coffee. I've had their coffee once. I don't go to Starbucks for coffee for the same reason I don't think of America for "Beer".
I was highlighting that it's a common marketing technique now (widely used by Starbucks, but not only it seems). See, what did you just do? Post a pic on a forum - too bad for them it's a nerdy forum full of ugly fat guys that don't have time for outdoor life and coffee! We need to push those models on to the table and win the war. ;)
Starbucks' whole shtick is like apple's, they make a shitty product and just go off on brand recognition. Here in South Florida they have to get by on those coffee-flavored milkshakes of theirs, because why would anyone ever get that weak overpriced American crap when you can get a whole colada from one of these places for $2? That's enough coffee for 5 people!
There was a guy who used to follow me on Facespace though I'm not entirely sure why. I eventually removed him as we never communicated so it was pointless. Another deciding factor was when he started posting pictures of himself and partner on vacation across Europe, and they were so happy they found a branch of Starbucks in Prague. That's a bit like going hiking across the hills and being so happy you've found a pile of empty crisp packets and candy bar wrappers. Actually, while I think the above analogy is appropriate, it does bring to mind those (usually English, sorry) families I spot when on vacation who do their best to avoid anything local. Like, they'll go to a Trotter's Bar to get their full english fry-up every morning, eat chips the rest of the day, go to a specialist store to get their HP ketchup and tins of baked beans, and go to restaurants at night and order egg and chips. "Oh, no - we don't want none o' that foreign muck!" Should just buy a sun lamp for their living room - would be cheaper than a vacation but the same result.
When my brother in law got married he worked out that his wife had spent something like £3500 in Starbucks while she was doing her degree. 2 drinks a day, 5 days a week most weeks over 3 years or something. He was pretty miffed ha
Can't comment on the Starbucks, not being a coffee drinker, but while Apple does lean heavily on brand recognition, I would hardly call their products shitty. I only want to punch the screen half as often as when I am working with windows. Of course I never bought into the whole Apple brand, so maybe some of their peripheral products are shit, but the core is solid.
Even apple admits that the keyboards on their laptops are absolute bobbins. The phones aren't terrible, but lack a lot of features I've come to take for granted.
Or like the two guys i overheard in Kamakura, he was complaining with his GF about only ever eating ramen (lowest cost restaurant in japan). We where there just because it was one of the few late open kitchen...
Fair enough. I have worked with all the major systems, and they all cause me frustrations in one way or another. Mac seem to work pretty good if you use them for what they are designed for, and only for what they are designed for. Heaven help you if you try to get Mac to work outside its comfort zone. Linux is awesome, as long as you are extremely comfortable working in a CLI. Windows is great at Plug-n-play, and not to mention is the king of gaming software, but turns me into a gibbering-screaming-rage-filled-monkey far more often then most systems. For the casual / money is no object consumer, I would recommend Mac For the gamer or tinkerer I would recommend Windows For someone who knows computers well, and does not want their operating system to actively fight them, I would recommend a Linux flavor. So i guess I never considered Apple shitty, just another imperfect option among the others. But they are good at selling their image. Masters of marketing. I can understand why some people would loathe them. I think way too much about this stuff.
I'd comment that thanks mainly to Valve's efforts, Linux is growing steadily into a viable alternative for gaming. If you're a hardcore, AAA-games style gamer then yes, likely Windows, but otherwise it might not be a bad idea to check out Linux for this.
Buttwiper and 'Colorado Kool-Aid' and the rest of the cheapass 'Murrican macro-brews are a waste of good water. There are a decent number of good smaller makers (I won't call them microbrews), but there are a lot of idiots who think that 'hops' is the only flavor a 'beer' should have...
I'll never understand the American obsession with IPAs, can't stand that bitter stuff. At least darker beers have full flavor, but an IPA is basically taking all the good out of a beer and just leaving the bad
At the risk of sounding like a hipster douche, how do so many crap brands get to be so popular? You see it across all sorts of industries. The household names are often over-priced, bland and/or buggy products. Sometimes I just don't understand the human race.
