Renton, WA

The much hyped big, er Venti, surprise at Starbucks for yesterday, April 8th, turned out to be free samples of coffee. I was unimpressed with this event, and I was unimpressed with the coffee. This does not stop me from buying overpriced coffee drinks, but it wasn’t the great marketing maneuver I was expecting. Starbucks has recently announced a focus on the basics, even closing their stores for training, purchased new improved equipment, and announced $1 coffee, presumably to retain those Dollar Menu customers.

McDonalds, however, is fighting the good fight. I just got an email for a free espresso drink from them, and their marketing plan appears to be mocking “snobbish” coffee. I think that is a good tact for them to take. They also included in the email a coupon for two hours of free wireless access from their restaurants which have a hotspot, to go along with the coffee. If you did not receive such an email, just leave me a comment or use the email link, and I can forward you a copy of my email.

Certainly, hanging out in Starbucks is a world away from hanging out in McDonalds. You do those things on completely different occasions. However, McDonalds has the advantage of a playland in some locations. For example, the Maple Valley location has both a playland and wireless hot spot. I’ve never tested this plan, but theoretically I could have coffee and free wireless Internet access for 2 hours while my kids play, all at no charge. I’ll have to add this to my mental list of free kids’ activities for spring break.