Starbucks in the time of Corona
Hey Starbucks! I don’t miss the coffee as much as I miss my friends, the vibe, and your baristas. Sorry.
The special blend (not just the coffee)
In your core values, you promise us to
Create a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.
It’s working for me. Thank you for that and for the black coffee that I regularly get. I’m still analyzing your unique blend. A blend that creates a neighborhood meeting place for people like me, and a culture of pride for the people who run the stores. I’ve been to Starbucks stores in dozens of cities. The formula works. You know what I mean.
Today more than ever, I feel that a Starbucks store is a place for the misfits of this original Apple ad. It’s somewhere between Cheers (where everybody knows your name) and the coffee shop in Friends. Fast forward a few decades!
Reid Hoffman wrote about Starbucks and how they scale impact. It’s worth checking out.
My writing journey
Tuesdays at Starbucks launched on Jan 30, 2020. I had the privilege to tell the stories of 7 individuals. Thank you, Tatiana, Ralph, Corinne, Ziad, Tina, Gus, and princess Lynn.
Among the many pearls of wisdom,
they shared:
Respect others and yourself.
Focus, Persist, Win.
Immerse yourself. It’s exhilarating. It will still cost you.
Seek God. It’s a joyful journey in and by itself.
Go ahead. Change your mind.
You’ll boomerang to your roots, no matter how far away you go.
Don’t upset mom.
Commercial break
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What’s coming
I was lucky to have had 11 more exciting interviews before the outbreak of Covid-19 and the closing of stores in Lebanon. Do you think we’d be back into sipping coffee, shaking hands, and hugging before I run out of stories? 11 weeks? I sure hope so.
Who would have thought that I’d have 11 beautiful gifts to unwrap while in lockdown? My purpose is to share with you every week a 6–7 minute trip into someone’s life story.
Behind the scenes
Starbucks does not sponsor me, nor do I invest in SBUX stock. I do, however, put my articles behind Medium’s paywall. Seven weeks into this project, and I have yet to gain enough pennies to buy my first cup of coffee ☕ :-).
Covid-19?
That too shall pass, despite the price. We will meet again. We will hug each other again. We will kiss again. And yes, we will always wash our hands. Mother is still right.