Starbucks steams up with price hike, now costlier than Thailand’s minimum wage

[JensenZ]

3 hours ago, retarius said:

I didn't say I always bought coffee in there. They do sell things that I like, for example chicken and mushroom pies, sausage rolls, and water. And sometimes it is just a place to meet people, so even though I don't like the coffee much, I am tolerant enough to allow my guest, partner or client to choose the coffee shop we go in.

It is drinkable coffee with the extra shot but very poor value. And if you are a traveller as I am sometimes Starbucks is the only option. But I started going to Starbucks in 1985 so nearly 40 years ago....so perhaps I have wasted 750 baht a year according to you. Mea culpa, what a big silly I am. Luckily, I don't really care about the 750 baht each year going missing, I can afford to take that sort of loss without going hungry or shoeless.  

Thanks for clearing that up. I had no idea that your "100s of times" were over 40 years and included food items.

 

I find Starbucks coffee more than drinkable - I buy it because I enjoy it. I would not pay that much for coffee I don't enjoy. I usually buy a latte or cappuccino. These days I drink too much coffee at home so I stay out of coffee shops if I can help it. 

[JensenZ]

11 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Starbucks is dishwater masquerading as coffee.

 

Maybe drinking all that dishwater ruined your tastebuds.

[Lacessit]

38 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

And the reason the business venture failed..... comes to light !

It does baffle me why so many posters seem to enjoy jumping to conclusions about another poster they have never met, on the minimum of data.

The order I placed for Kopi Luwak was about 3000 baht, not really Tiny Rowland territory.

When the deal fell through, my money was refunded to me.

 

 

[ozimoron]

3 hours ago, Almer said:

A new coffee shop opens and it is a selfie bonanza, why are thai girls so vain.

 

If you were as poor as most of those girls you'd be taking a selfie with a starbucks coffee as well.

[freeworld]

59 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

That's a dumb comparison. We're discussing coffee at coffee shops, not the price of milk. I can buy 5000ml of milk for 205 baht and drink coffee at home too.

Please mention to starbucks to stop overfilling their coffee with milk and diluting the taste of the coffee, thats the problem I've always had with them.

[Ralf001]

36 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

It does baffle me why so many posters seem to enjoy jumping to conclusions about another poster they have never met, on the minimum of data.

The order I placed for Kopi Luwak was about 3000 baht, not really Tiny Rowland territory.

When the deal fell through, my money was refunded to me.

 

 

 

Bt.3000 is like $130.00 AUD.

 

Big spender setting up an export deal !

 

FWIW its easily found here, Its Bt.1000 for 50gm.

[aussienam]

"The coffee shop is seen as targeting customers with high purchasing power, as a cup of coffee offered by the shop is well above the minimum wage of 302 to 316 baht."

As another poster has revealed, the coffees sit around 150 baht.  So, a bit of poor reporting here from The Thaiger.  Proof reading and fact checking needed from the editor. 

Nonetheless, 150 baht for a coffee is what is charged in a cafe in Oz these days and one reason why I am in Thailand, to avoid hefty prices. 

My local Cafe does barista quality coffee with a very decent coffee bean for 50 baht for a cappucino in a mug.  Iced coffees 55 baht.  Very decent price and IMO better than Starbucks. Sure, there are die-hard Starbucks fans who swear by it, but not for me.  Amazon is an alternative that is half decent and much cheaper than Starbucks.  

[The Theory]

12 hours ago, KhunLA said:

2-3X the size of some other shops. 

Perhaps you can explain that why people have no choice of smaller size ?!!!🤔🙁 A large size coffee makes StarBucks 3x money at low cost, but I drink half the large size and leave the rest. Why should I pay for a large size coffee and drink only half ? 
 

[The Theory]

In the US I always preferred to drink Yuban 7-11 coffee with variety of flavor and having choice of decaf or regular. 

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, freeworld said:

Please mention to starbucks to stop overfilling their coffee with milk and diluting the taste of the coffee, thats the problem I've always had with them.

Order black. Sorted.

[EVENKEEL]

4 hours ago, rct99q said:

Place like Starbucks is so popular is because not everyone in Thailand is poor! Believe it or not there are people making more than 350baht a day. I do not buy Starbucks, not because of the cost, but because I am not keen on their Coffee. But paying 100 to 150baht on a decently made coffee does not offend me. 

Me personally the only time I might buy coffee is on a road trip or Airports in which case I don't care about cost. I make drip coffee at home. Your comment begs the question, What's the salary line between poor and not poor. Is 25K/month poor? And I know ladies who are in that income bracket who frequent these coffee places daily in the morning, which is roughly 10% of a daily wage.

 

That's like me when making good wages and I spend $50.00 on a cup of coffee, well that would be nuts by any standard.

[Jingthing]

It could be that Starbucks is hurting due to the trendy "Free Palestine" based international boycott based on nothing Starbucks actually did.

I'm into coffee, not sugar and milk, and I think Starbucks black coffee is decent when travelling. 

But yeah similar is available for cheaper but not everyone buys based on price alone.

 

 

[BigStar]

14 minutes ago, The Theory said:

 I drink half the large size and leave the rest. Why should I pay for a large size coffee and drink only half ? 
 

 

Why indeed? Order to go, drink half in the store, take the rest home. Sorted.

[Yellowtail]

It amazes me the number of people who come out of the woodwork to hate Starbucks. It's like McDonald's. One might not like Starbucks or McDonald's, but claiming they're the absolute worst and whatnot seems a bit odd.

 

 

[Yellowtail]

3 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

Why indeed? Order to go, drink half in the store, take the rest home. Sorted.

Or just buy a small....

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, Yellowtail said:

It amazes me the number of people who come out of the woodwork to hate Starbucks. It's like McDonald's. One might not like Starbucks or McDonald's, but claiming they're the absolute worst and whatnot seems a bit odd.

 

 

Yeah I hear you.

It's like they base their identity on things like that. 

[kickstart]

13 hours ago, Denim said:

 

That's what I think when I visit a gas station and sit outside 7/11 drinking my coffee and watch people across the forecourt drinking coffee in Amazon for twice the price. Muppets.

 

But how much is a Starbucks coffee anyway ?

Never tried one.

I might be old fashioned, but I do like my tea/coffee in a chine cup and saucer, sitting at a table reading my book for half an hour, not in a plastic cup (non- recyclable),

perched on something, my cappuccino is only 45 baht from Amazon. 

[Yellowtail]

4 minutes ago, kickstart said:

I might be old fashioned, but I do like my tea/coffee in a chine cup and saucer, sitting at a table reading my book for half an hour, not in a plastic cup (non- recyclable),

perched on something, my cappuccino is only 45 baht from Amazon. 

 

I like both Amazon and Starbucks cappuccino and latte. Amazon is cheaper, but Starbucks is bigger, and the seating is typically nicer. 

 

Menu – Starbucks Thailand

[BigStar]

12 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Or just buy a small....

 

Right. Issue was the price/quantity ratio.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Bt.3000 is like $130.00 AUD.

 

Big spender setting up an export deal !

 

FWIW its easily found here, Its Bt.1000 for 50gm.

Found it on Lazada, thanks.

The Indonesian stuff is 2300 baht for 200 gm, I guess I won't know the quality until I have tried it.

I remember the Vietnamese kopi was very good.

[kickstart]

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

I like both Amazon and Starbucks cappuccino and latte. Amazon is cheaper, but Starbucks is bigger, and the seating is typically nicer. 

 

Menu – Starbucks Thailand

Funny you should say that, I had the first Amazon coffee for while 2 weeks ago, and I am sure that the cup I had was small than before, working out price versus amount, is there anything in it.

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, kickstart said:

Funny you should say that, I had the first Amazon coffee for while 2 weeks ago, and I am sure that the cup I had was small than before, working out price versus amount, is there anything in it.

Amazon has two sizes for hot latte, and they are both pretty small. Not as small as 7/11 though. 

[BigStar]

29 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

It amazes me the number of people who come out of the woodwork to hate Starbucks. It's like McDonald's. One might not like Starbucks or McDonald's, but claiming they're the absolute worst and whatnot seems a bit odd.

 

 

 

It's always been thus for decades, the rabid foaming at the mouth, the knickers soiling, the imagined demons for page after page as the members of the Commonwealth rally and do battle against an existential threat. Nothing new is ever said, of course. Good for business.

 

 

[Adumbration]

Do people still drink coffee?

[Keeps]

I buy all my coffee at this particular 7/11 and I don't even drink coffee!

 

[Jingthing]

44 minutes ago, Adumbration said:

Do people still drink coffee?

Mornings, a big mug of strong black coffee keeps things moving along. 

[spidermike007]

We all have choices in life we can volunteer to pay for the most expensive brand out there, or we can choose something that is just as good if not better that's half the price. I've always considered Starbucks to be in an inferior product and I've always considered it to be very, very overpriced so we have choices, and we can choose with our feet. We go in there we look at the price and we say hold on a minute, that doesn't make sense, that's just ridiculous, okay see you I'm going somewhere else. 

[geisha]

15 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm always amazed at how hard working folks spend their money on crap. Especially the wages Thais work for. All my years in US punching a time clock, I brought food and coffee from home, hardly ever, ever did I eat out. So, here in Thailand a guy making 500 baht a day spends 50 baht on lunch, that's 10%, to me that's stupid. The mentality of living life day to day is why so many Thais have nothing when they're old. Much the same as US I want to add.

 

Which is why it boggles my mind when a place like Starbucks is so popular. 

 

 

It’s very popular all over the world. Don’t knock what you don’t like. Personally, I like the comfortable armchairs, a newspaper if I want one, spotless restrooms in or near by. Nice snacks. Wifi .   Air con .    Watery ?  There’s all sorts of coffee , express, decaf, latte , Americano , lots. You don’t like it, don’t go. Too expensive , go elsewhere. Great ones in Bangkok ! My go to is in Gaysorn plaza, barista and all the luxury, same price as other Starbucks.
Each to his own. Whatever, it’s a huge success around the world. 

[Yellowtail]

Starbucks it not the "most expensive brand" if you compare apples to apples. 

 

Has anyone mentioned PunThai Coffee? They are pretty good and are at many/most PT pumps, and sometimes have drive-thrus.

[quake]

Drink beer, much better waste of money.

if driving,  get the wife to drive, that's one of the reasons they are there.