Minor Addictions, Major Profits

I have been embittered by reality.

Not long ago I met with a friend from high school. We hadn't seen each other for quite some time, so there was a good deal of life to catch up on. I enjoyed meeting her husband who is a pretty cool guy. Good time with us all together.

An interesting factoid came up during our conversation that has been bugging me ever since. He has ruined my enjoyment of gourmet coffee drinks. He used to work as a barrista at Starbucks, and he let me in on a little secret.

I'm not much for coffee, but I am minorly addicted to caffeine. (Maybe it's major?) Since I don't like coffee for the most part I have to use other vehicles for getting that drug into my system. But - the one drink I actually do like (quite a bit I'm afraid) at Starbucks is their Fappuccino.

I mentioned the above facts to my new friend, which prompted him to spring the secret on me. "Hey - take a guess what a medium Frappuccino costs Starbucks"

Here we enter into a pre-existing point of bitterness for me. I already resent paying what I considered to be a ridiculous price for something I see them putting mostly ice into! But I'm dumb enough to pay it.

My best jaded guess was around a buck. I thought "Hey, they charge around 3 or 4 bucks, and that seemed like a pretty hefty profit margin."

Apparently I am insufficiently crass. I guessed way too high. According to my friend, the medium Frapp costs this exorbitant bean company just 25 cents. This includes the cup, the straw and the works. 25 cents! Do the math. If I buy a $0.25 drink and pay $4. That means, for frapps, that for every $1 they put out, they will get $16 back. A profit of 15 times the cost! Wow.

Now, I'm even more bitter when the Starbucks urge strikes. In fact, I find it hard to justify giving them that much of my money and have stopped to get a drink less frequently. (I have NEVER bought food there. Cookies are like, $20 each) Now it feels like I'm making a corporate donation when I but something there.

There are at least 3 things that this drives me to conclude.

1. I have a greater appreciation for the bartering system in other countries. Perhaps in China I could go to a starbucks, have them tell me the total, laugh, then start trying to work the price down. I bet that I could get them down to a reasonable level - perhaps getting 2 Frapps for the price I normally pay for one. I could try this here, but I think they would be the ones laughing.
(I guess they're already laughing now...all the way to the bank!)

2. Caffeine is an addictive substance. This I already knew, but the reality that millions of Americans will go out of their way on a daily basis to shell out an extraordinary amount of cash for an inexpensive beverage points to some kind of addictive substance. Who, unmedicated and sober, would knowingly cough that much moolah up for a cup of chocolate, bean water and ice? Chemical dependence is no joke.

subpoint 2.5 - this is why caffeine-free coke sucks.

3. I have grown in assertiveness. I am normally pretty understating and relaxed about other people's mistakes - perhaps a little too much empathy, not enough antipathy. The one good thing about this new eye-opening knowledge is that when the Starbucks barristas and barristos and barristoids mess something up, you better believe that I'm going to make them replace it, or make it right. I better get their best stuff when I make my $3.75 donation.