“New York is not representative of the country. Your problem was a result of a unique situation particular to a large city.”
I never claimed that my argument holds true for the rest of the country nor for the rest of the world. In fact, I have specifically stated that it pertains to New York. You are misreading my arguments and concocting contradictions that serve your own purpose. Your argument is irrelevant to what I was trying to convey. My argument, as I said before, was simply to give an example of how big business *can be* good. Unless you are trying to counter this argument, and prove that big businesses can never be good, whatever you are saying is irrelevant.
“I’m put off by the Starbucks blueprint of the generic coffee shop that they replicate at each and every location.”
This is what I was referring to when I criticized you for bringing up your own personal taste. I never assumed that you hated the taste of their coffee. If you don’t like the generic-ness of Starbucks, don’t go in there. Your statement above is still your personal taste. It is irrelevant and inappropriate to this argument.
“It is typical of you to propose personal theories as documented evidence. In reality, you didn’t live here in the supposed dark ages of coffee, so where do you get your evidence?”
I moved here in 1987. Starbucks did not exist then. The vast majority of my friends at school were native New Yorkers, and none of them drunk Cappuccino or Espresso. I personally had never heard of them then.
“Your assertion that gourmet coffee shops didn’t exist before Starbucks and that nobody knew what a cappuccino was is ridiculous.”
I never said “nobody”. Here is what I said:
“Before Starbucks, most people had never even heard of Cappuccino or Espresso.”
If you think my assertion here is wrong, go out there on the street and ask a few dozen random people if they knew what Cappuccino or Espresso was in the 80s.
As for your last paragraph, it’s quite interesting how you think. I would love to delve into it, but I don’t have time at the moment, so I’ll respond later.
A Random Comment from December 2, 2003
“New York is not representative of the country. Your problem was a result of a unique situation particular to a large city.”
I never claimed that my argument holds true for the rest of the country nor for the rest of the world. In fact, I have specifically stated that it pertains to New York. You are misreading my arguments and concocting contradictions that serve your own purpose. Your argument is irrelevant to what I was trying to convey. My argument, as I said before, was simply to give an example of how big business *can be* good. Unless you are trying to counter this argument, and prove that big businesses can never be good, whatever you are saying is irrelevant.
“I’m put off by the Starbucks blueprint of the generic coffee shop that they replicate at each and every location.”
This is what I was referring to when I criticized you for bringing up your own personal taste. I never assumed that you hated the taste of their coffee. If you don’t like the generic-ness of Starbucks, don’t go in there. Your statement above is still your personal taste. It is irrelevant and inappropriate to this argument.
“It is typical of you to propose personal theories as documented evidence. In reality, you didn’t live here in the supposed dark ages of coffee, so where do you get your evidence?”
I moved here in 1987. Starbucks did not exist then. The vast majority of my friends at school were native New Yorkers, and none of them drunk Cappuccino or Espresso. I personally had never heard of them then.
“Your assertion that gourmet coffee shops didn’t exist before Starbucks and that nobody knew what a cappuccino was is ridiculous.”
I never said “nobody”. Here is what I said:
“Before Starbucks, most people had never even heard of Cappuccino or Espresso.”
If you think my assertion here is wrong, go out there on the street and ask a few dozen random people if they knew what Cappuccino or Espresso was in the 80s.
As for your last paragraph, it’s quite interesting how you think. I would love to delve into it, but I don’t have time at the moment, so I’ll respond later.