east village idiot

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The Plight of The Fake Starbucks

My boss gave me a Starbucks card for Christmas, and I couldn’t help but break it in on a day that was so boring that I might fall asleep on my keyboard without caffeine. I decided to go to the Starbucks on my block - the one I go to at least once every couple of weeks. It’s no closer than about four other Starbucks, but I don’t have to cross the street and become a walking target for delivery trucks and New York City cabs.

starbucks1.JPGThis particular Starbucks is like most other Starbucks. In fact, I couldn’t tell a difference between this one and the five others that are a couple blocks away in any direction. The signs out front proclaim that it’s a Starbucks, and the store appears to be completely self-contained, except that you must enter through a vestibule that abuts a hotel lobby. The menu is the same as any Starbucks. The drinks are served in the same holiday-inspired red cups with the Starbucks logo.

Little did I know that this is not a Starbucks. I ordered my drink and handed the barista my gift card.

“Sorry, we don’t accept those here,” he said, apologetically.

I was puzzled. “Why not?”

“We’re not on the same system as Starbucks,” he explained. “We don’t sell or accept gift cards.”

“So, you’re not a Starbucks?”

“Technically? No.”

I wasn’t about to argue, but after ordering my drink and paying for it in cash, I thought about this and wondered how many times it happens each day. I think I had a right to be a little pissed that I could have walked almost the same distance in any other direction from my office to reach a Starbucks where I could’ve used this gift card.

So, watch out for those imposter Starbucks… with 171 locations in Manhattan, there are bound to be others who fake it, too.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2007 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Life in NYC. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 Responses to “The Plight of The Fake Starbucks”

  1. December 27th, 2007 at 3:04 pm

    Ha Ha Sound says:

    Of all the things to imitate, why a place that serves mediocre, overpriced bitter coffee? Then again, maybe they just couldn’t afford to keep up with their franchise fee payments.

  2. December 27th, 2007 at 5:29 pm

    brooklyn gal says:

    I would have peaced out and gone to a different one. Save money AND kill more time!

  3. December 27th, 2007 at 8:32 pm

    *$ says:

    If you want to see who they really are, put the coffee on the credit card and see what the charge comes through as. Btw some non starbucks starbucks do take the cards, so they just suck.

  4. December 27th, 2007 at 9:18 pm

    Todd says:

    The Starbucks inside the Progressive complex in Mayfield Hts., Ohio is also not a Starbucks. Just in case you were wondering.

  5. December 27th, 2007 at 10:13 pm

    Josh says:

    The starbucks on NYU’s campus at west 4th and washington square, actually the most lucrative franchise in the country, is technically not a starbucks either.

  6. December 28th, 2007 at 2:45 am

    steven says:

    it’s a common occurence that you will also notice in any barnes and noble.

    Instead of giving up the cafe profits, they forge an agreement with Starbucks to simply use them as a supplier. Starbucks gets the market saturation and bulk coffee sale, yet does not have to staff and manage the cafe. Since Barnes and noble have to buy coffee from somewhere and they probably get favorable numbers from Starbucks, everyone wins.

    I would bet that it is a similar situation in this case.

  7. December 28th, 2007 at 8:53 am

    WestSider says:

    Does anyone know anything about the fake Stabrucks inside the Manhattan Auto Company on Eleventh Ave and 55th St? Do they actually serve coffee there? Or it it just for show?

  8. December 28th, 2007 at 9:50 am

    Ed says:

    In the Eddie Murphy movie “Coming to America”, there is a whole bit about a businessman who runs a fake McDonald’s. He is constantly dodging lawsuits from McDonalds Corp.

  9. December 28th, 2007 at 10:02 am

    Driggser says:

    McDowell’s

  10. December 28th, 2007 at 11:43 am

    Jenny says:

    The NYU Starbucks isn’t technically a Starbucks, true, but at least they accept Starbucks Cards. If that place doesn’t they should at least have visible signage telling you that before you order!

  11. December 28th, 2007 at 12:10 pm

    Ryan says:

    I think that commenter Ed just got here from Africa if he thinks that his comment is news to anyone.

  12. December 30th, 2007 at 2:18 pm

    E_in_NYC says:

    The NYU one accepts campus cash, and also a whole host of undergrads who don’t seem to understand that buying a bottle of water on their mastercard really means someone should beat them.

    God I hate that place, yet have to entertain going there far too often (the place may be hell, but other hell’s are far away)

  13. January 2nd, 2008 at 8:16 pm

    Jill says:

    Wow this happened to me at almost EXACTLY the same time it happened to you. I was in a Barnes & Noble and after ordering, and then finding out they wouldn’t take my gift card (also given to me by my boss) I walked out and found a “real” Starbucks a block away. And then today I met an actual psycho in a different Starbucks. It must be fate that brings me to your blog.

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