[wideawake]

That was actually a conscious strategy: they found that once the line in one Starbucks got to a certain length, people would decide to buy coffee someplace else.

However, if there were two Starbucks in easy walking distance, people would check the line in the other Starbucks and join if it was shorter - this actually increased average yield per store.

However, now people are deciding not to get Starbucks based more on price concerns than on speed, so their strategy has to change.

[vikk]

There’s three within a four minute walk of my office, but there’s also two independent shops which opened recently, and do much better business (and have better coffee) IMHO. I think there’s a backlash against the ubiquity of Starbucks and the monoculture they promote.
I love strong coffee more than life itself, but Starbucks coffee is one step below crystal meth in my book. It gives me the shakes.