Testing the 'More Starbucks Less Waiting' Theory

Most of my readers know that I'm a frequent coffee drinker and that Starbucks has been one of my destinations for quite some time now. I go there every so often during the week just to sit down and have a freshly prepared cup of coffee while listening to XM radio that is often blaring in the room. In the DC area, it's next to impossible to go very far without running into another Starbucks and as I've written in the past, it's hard to understand the reasons why there would be a Starbucks across the street from another which is merely down the block from yet another. Well, according to the corporate theory, it's so that those looking for a cup of coffee won't have to wait very long to sit back and enjoy it. So I recently decided to put the theory to the test.

Sure everyone who is a relatively frequent visitor to Starbucks has a farvorite location of barista who makes the coffee. I'm not so much of a coffee junkie that I get frazzled if the person making my coffee isn't as good as the usual barista but I do like my coffee to be prepared in a timely fashion. If you visit some locations, the line can be out the door when you get there but within a few moments you'll have your coffee in your hand. Common sense tells us that. But Starbucks' philosophy is that if you just go down the street a ways (generally not very far) you can find another location where the line is probably shorter or maybe even non-existant. I went to Tysons Corner Mall the other day and given that I live so close to the mall, I visit frequently enough to know that there are two Starbucks locations within the mall itself. That too not far from one another.

The first is probably the original and that's the one next to Macy's on the ground floor. Being in the center of the mall it is frequently the target of coffee thirsty consumers who are looking for a quick boost before continuing on their shopping sprees. Most days, unless you are there during working hours in the middle of the week, you will find a line snaking out the door to both order coffee and to pick up. Though the baristas work at a freverent pace to get the coffee to you as quick as they can, the demand often outpaces the producers so it takes time. Seeing that was the case, the chain (and mall) allowed for the opening of a second location farther inside the mall near the newer extension that opened over a year ago. This location within the mall (closer to the Barnes & Noble end) is larger and has more seating yet is not always that full. I guess what they say about real estate is true, 'location, location, location' is everything.

Once when I had been on a shopping excursion with my mom I went into that one and ended up waiting in line for ten minutes to place my order and then another ten waiting to pick up my order. Granted it was a busy weekend that we found ourselves in the store but still, the total wait of twenty minutes left us hungering for our coffee. On a more recent visit to the mall, I passed by the same location and noticed a line again snaking out the door. Deciding to test the theory I walked a little farther along to the newer location and found a minimal line (of two people versus ten) and was out the door within ten minutes if even that long. So perhaps the theory that more Starbucks means less wait does mean something but my question still remains in the other regard about Starbucks and that is do we really need that many locations?

In the past I've written about how in some cities there can be multiple Starbucks locations located within a building let alone on a block and the theory behind that goes that someone looking for a quick fix of java while working on the 20th floor of a high rise shouldn't have to go all the way to the lobby to get a cup of coffee. The descent to the tenth floor is a long enough wait. That strikes me as being a little too extreme. If someone is that ravenous for some coffee all the time then they definitely have some sort of addiction and that needs to be examined rather than catered to. For the rest of us, coffee is like a break or a distration to help pass some time. In the office I have a cup of coffee not because I need a quick boost or crave the caffeine but because it helps my pass some of the time during the day when I go to get a cup of coffee or brew a fresh pot. By eliminating some of the time I would be waiting at a Starbucks means less time for my non-smoker's break.