Linus Van Pelt wrote:Also, if I vote Crap I could be the first in this thread (unless I missed it) to make a "Crappucino" joke. Despite both of these strong incentives, I don't really feel strongly enough about it...

thank you cornholio.

Coffee sucks.

as a parent I am very grateful for their plentiful and relatively clean bathrooms. about every 5th time I'll buy some cruelty-free water because of this service

PEPPER! wrote:about every 5th time I'll buy some cruelty-free water because of this service

We must stop water cruelty wherever and however we can.
I once saw some kids jumping into a puddle over and over, just kicking it around splashing each other with it. I couldn't believe the cruelty.
I have even heard of people filling a bowl with water and (gasp) urinating into it, if you can imagine something so barbaric.

hahaha, I love it


Starbucks Ordered to Pay Back Tips

SAN DIEGO - A Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered Starbucks Corp. to pay its California baristas more than $100 million in back tips and interest that the coffee chain paid to shift supervisors.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett also issued an injunction that prevents Starbucks' shift supervisors from sharing in future tips, saying state law prohibits managers and supervisors from sharing in employee gratuities.

Starbucks spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil said the company planned an immediate appeal of the ruling, calling it "fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason."

The lawsuit was filed in October 2004 by Jou Chou, a former Starbucks barista in La Jolla, who complained shift supervisors were sharing in employee tips.

The lawsuit gained ground in 2006 when it was granted class-action status, allowing the suit to go forward for as many as 100,000 former and current baristas in the coffee chain's California stores.

It was not immediately clear how many current and former employees are affected by the ruling.

"I feel vindicated," Chou said in a written statement released by attorneys. "Tips really help those receiving the lowest wages. I think Starbucks should pay shift supervisors higher wages instead of taking money from the tip pool."

California is Starbucks' largest U.S. market, with 2,460 stores as of Jan. 8, the latest count available. The Seattle-based company has more than 11,000 stores nationwide.

Starbucks employs more than 135,000 baristas in the U.S. The company did not immediately respond to a request for a head count in California.

The judgment comes as Starbucks is struggling to revive its U.S. business, where store traffic has slipped amid a sagging economy, rising energy and dairy costs, and growing competition from cheaper rivals.

The company's stock has slid more than 50 percent since late 2006, when it was trading close to $40 a share. Starbucks shares rose 3 cents to $17.53 Thursday.

Starbucks earned more than $672 million on revenue of $9.4 billion during its 2007 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

The judge ordered Starbucks to pay $87 million in back tips, plus interest of $19 million, bringing the total judgment to about $106 million.

The company said it planned to ask the court to stay the ruling while the appeal is pending.

"The decision today, in our view, represents an extreme example of an abuse of the class-action procedures in California's courts," O'Neil said.

The coffee company also took issue with the brevity of the judge's ruling, which was only four paragraphs, saying she failed to address the unfairness to shift supervisors.

"This case was filed by a single former barista and, despite Starbucks request, the interests of the shift supervisors were not represented in litigation," O'Neil said.

But attorney Laura Ho, who tried the baristas case, said the court's verdict follows state law.

"Starbucks illegally took a huge amount of money from the tip pool to pay shift supervisors, rather than paying them out of its own pocket. The court's verdict rightfully restores that money to the baristas," Ho said.

I've never been to one and I plan keeping that record.

John George Peppers wrote:I've never been to one and I plan keeping that record.

You are telling me not one of those horrible women you always having hanging around have ever made you go to a Starbucks and get them some bullshit 7 dollar foofy coffee milkshake? Ever?
I find that impossible to believe.
Those chicks are straight off a starbucks billboard.

Marsupialized wrote:

John George Peppers wrote:I've never been to one and I plan keeping that record.

You are telling me not one of those horrible women you always having hanging around have ever made you go to a Starbucks and get them some bullshit 7 dollar foofy coffee milkshake? Ever?
I find that impossible to believe.
Those chicks are straight off a starbucks billboard.

Oh, I wait outside, stay in the car, or go into a another shop along the street and carry about my business.

John George Peppers wrote:I've never been to one and I plan keeping that record.

stay the course, man, stay the course

Starbuck's changes their main brew, starting tomorrow. I think a lot of people who buy Starbuck's probably are used to that burned flavor- this new 'mild' coffee may not get them many new customers. If it tastes like McDonald's, why pay the extra?

In a bid to reinvigorate lackluster U.S. traffic, Starbucks Corp will introduce a new, everyday brew called Pike Place Roast on Tuesday and for 30 minutes will hand out free 8-ounce (240 ml) samples.

Free cups of the new coffee, which the company said has a smoother flavor and finish, will be available starting at 9 a.m. on the West Coast and noon on the East Coast at all its roughly 7,100 company-operated U.S. stores.

"It is the best coffee that we have created, maybe, in our history," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said on a call with reporters on Monday.

That's hilarious. The coffee that does a taste 180 from the coffee that they've been selling for 20 years is now their 'best coffee ever'?? If smooth was best, what took you?

And:

Linnemann declined to reveal the source of the beans used in Pike Place, named for the company's original outlet in Seattle and which will sell for $9.95 per pound (450 grams).

So they're buying their beans from the McDonald's supplier and they don't want to tell you?

Watch 98% of the local television newscasts run this 'news story' in the first ten minutes of their broadcasts, right before some triple murder.