I was reminded again today about the current integration of La Boulange into Starbucks. A few months ago I wrote about my first impressions of the new addition, and in all fairness many of the problems I encountered could be easily explained by the relative newness of folding in the new offering into the massively popular and widespread coffee chain. After all, when Starbucks first started offering hot food and flatbread sandwiches it went extremely poorly… long lines and confused baristas created many negative reviews. But after a few months the kinks were worked out and today the hot food offerings are surprisingly good and far better than most fast food offerings.
Another factor in my relative dislike can also be attributed to the Starbucks I frequent most often near my office, which seems destined to be staffed by an extremely poor assortment of people that trend far below other branches of the chain. A shame, because one of the longer term employees there is a good guy, but he’s surrounded by morons who respect neither the products nor the customers.
After a few months (and a lot of hits) I felt it was fair to revisit my general thoughts on the integration of La Boulange into Starbucks, and see if things have improved from the original negative impression. It’s also worth mentioning that I’ve been to La Boulange prior to the acquisition of Starbucks, and generally liked what they had to offer… my original issues (listed here) had a lot to do with how they were being integrated and some stumbling that seemed to be prevalent.
First, the good:
1. The branding, which was extremely jarring and out of place, has been adjusted and now fits a lot better in the store. Pastry and food labels are better, fit the general scheme of the store, and have been adjusted to look like “part of the family” rather than a separate new arrival.
2. The offerings seem to have been expanded and are no longer as sparse as the original launch. There’s also some new types of croissants that fill out the offering from simple sweets.
3. The staff is better educated on what’s there and no longer bashes or insults the offerings like they did when it first launched. Unfortunately it’s not all good news though, as the staff still complains about having to heat everything and often vocally pines for the old pastries from before La Boulange. (not just in the one store either, but in nearly every store I’ve been in where La Boulange has been integrated)
4. The pastries are much more consistent. A loaf or Danish seemed to vary in quality more before, and now the offerings are remarkably consistent from store to store. You’re fairly confident that what you’re getting is what you expect.
Now the bad:
1. There’s just no denying it; sizes of the pastries have gotten smaller while prices have stayed the same (or in some cases gone significantly up). Customers used to bigger helpings will find themselves having to buy 2 or even three pastries to get the same food volume they got before. You might say that Americans are too fat and they should be eating less, but it’s not that great that Starbucks is making that decision for you, and charging you more in the process.
2. A times the flavor is just… odd. There’s just no denying it, the food tastes less fresh and there’s a plastic, preservative flavor that is off-putting. This effect diminishes if the pastry is heated, but if you aren’t thrilled about having a hot pastry in summer then you’re SOL, and in many cases the baristas will heat your pastry regardless if you want it that way or not.
3. Related to the above, your order now takes longer. No problem if you’re planning to hang out in Starbucks or just don’t want to go back to work quickly, but a bummer if you want a relatively fast experience. Lines are longer and staff is more irritable and scrambling.
4. If you’re foolish enough to look at an ingredient list you’re in for a shock. The health value of this food is pretty terrible. Granted, I doubt the old pastries were any better, but to go through a major shift and not bring healthier food in the process when so much of the country is focused on it feels like a mistake.
So… in general not much better. Certainly given the most important factor is taste and price, it’s still a bad move. After reading a few other reviews that were overwhelmingly positive (but were from members of the press) I became concerned that perhaps I was the only one who wasn’t fond of the changes. I went looking for a non-press or professional blogger option and found this page, which reaffirmed my opinion that I wasn’t crazy. I’ll be curious if Starbucks sticks with the change; it feels like a misstep, although there certainly isn’t any other serious competition in the coffee business.
