Lately, when I've strolled into Starbucks in West Hollywood, the experience has been a real bummer.
Maybe the night staff are just burnt out, who knows.
Customers have not only been encountering glum faces, but tend to be left waiting in line 'til self-absorbed disorganized staff get their butts in gear.
Normally, Starbucks employs pleasant out-going personnel, who provide service with a smile.
Now-a-days, their baristas are of the low-energy kind that man the counters at a handful of those other mediocre cafe outlets 'round town.
Notwithstanding, there is little holiday cheer inside the doors to write home about.
The only X-mas decorations I spied were those sprucing up products sprinkled about here and there in unimaginative displays on lacklustre shelves.
Yes, some things never change.
The Seattle-based coffee giant continues in their efforts to foist a myriad of goods on consumers (that they don't want or need) when they stride through the sterile doors.
No X-Mas tree. No twinkling lights.
And, nary a strain of a Christmas Carol overhead, aimed at lulling patrons into the warmth and joy of a pervasive holiday spirit which is evident elsewhere around the thriving metropolis.
Starbucks is being relegated to a lower status among coffee-lovers as a result.
Today, many patrons just slip in to check e-mail on the laptop, snap up a quick coffee on-the-go, then head off to cheerier climbs where the meaning of cozy hospitality is alive and well.
Uh-huh.
Starbucks is no longer a destination place to hook up with friends and while away an hour or two of good-natured fun.
If you ask me, Scrooge has hit Starbucks big time.
Bah Humbug!
Christmas Shopping ideas
