You all know how much I love my daily Bux run. Right?
Living here in the Pacific Northwest, there are so many freakin' places to get a quick java fix. Starbucks. Cutters Point. Batdorf & Bronson. And the ever growing number of drive-up coffee huts adorning every parking lot. Safeway and Barnes & Noble have Starbucks in them so you can shop and get your fix at the same time. Borders has their coffee bar too. Even Lowes has a stand just outside their front door. They are literally all within walking distance of each other. And this is down here - in the sticks - where I live. Go up to Seattle. You can stand on a street corner and turn a 360 and guess what you'll see? Coffee places. At least 3 or 4 in one city block. They're proliferating like bunnies!
How do they do it? How is it financially feasible to have so many coffee places so close to each other and still make a profit? And it's not just the competitors that are near to each other. It's the same company.
Example: Walk into Safeway or Fred Meyer and the Starbucks stand is just inside the front door. Or, walk two stores down in the same stripmall and you can go to a Starbucks store. There's at least three of these set-ups I know about just here in Lacey.
And it's not just Starbucks either. Look at Subway and Jiffy Lube. Not necessarily in walking distance of the next one, but certainly within a mile or two. Why? Can you honestly tell me that they are all profitable? I mean really. It's crazy.
Speaking of Subway, why don't they have a drive-thru? Now before you start giving me flak, I am not one of those lazy ass people who expects to get into the warmth and comfort of my car and not have to get out to take care of all my stops for the day. But sometimes it'd just be so much easier to be able to just drive-thru and pick up what ya need.
Example: Stacie and Liss went to Subway today. They had Piper with them. Sleeping. Now they have a choice. One stays in the car with the sleeping Princess (no, Liss... not you!) while the other goes in to get food. OR Both go in taking the littlest peanut with them, hence waking her.
If there'd been a drive-thru, no decision required. See what I mean?
On that note, I think it's time for my Bux run.
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1 comment:
now that's a ramble if i ever heard one. I can't tell you how they are all successful, but it's kind of like 711 and Sheets and Exxon. there can be several in close proximity but they all seem to thrive...i think it's supply and demand.
we went to starbucks to today by the way...it was delicious!
Subway was wonderful too, and it would've been nice for a drive through, but some of us have to see all the additional toppings before deciding what we want.
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