Coffee Shop Pawn

I paused one day and asked, why do they offer refills?

I work a lot in coffee shops and I occasionally spend time thinking about it. I hate to say it but my favourite coffee shop is Starbucks.

To be honest, I don’t even think their coffee is particularly interesting. I don’t even get fraps or lattes.

I’m simple. I get a short sized brew and pay using the Starbucks app. Why? If you pay for a brewed coffee using their app and “dine in”, you get free unlimited refills!

I’m incredibly productive sitting in a coffee shop, there is something about the ambience that feels so right.

I manage my ADHD unmedicated, but my ADHD disappears when I am at Starbucks; high off the ambience… and obviously caffeine. For a daily subscription of $2.65, I enter the realm of productivity nirvana.

How I feel at Starbucks https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67706c0000da840ec4135062d85ceac34404cf

I paused one day and asked, why do they offer refills? They potentially lose at least $2 on each short size cup (margins are high).

Because workhorse patrons like me are the best forms of marketing. A busy shop means it’s a good shop. Although I spend much less than a typical patron, the “marketing” from my presence is their real product. The Starbucks creator famously said Starbucks should be someone’s “third place”, not work or home but something in the middle.

Photo by Hassan Pasha on Unsplash

So while I selfishly work towards my goals at a Starbucks, I’m also a corporate pawn in their marketing strategy for their hegemony over coffee.

Damn you, Starbucks. Damn you.

Fuck it. Another refill please.

Word count: 249
Twitter: @bhavprajapati

Fiftytwo250, a collection of random, recurring, ruminations written with patience for depth and brevity. Each post is written over the course of a week in 250 words or less as a personal exercise of freedom and focus in a time of placid tumult and despair.