
Could McDonald's Really Beat Starbucks? - robg
http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/06/could_mcdonalds_really_beat_starbucks.php
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frossie
A pox on both their houses.

Seriously, I wonder how much of this is just simply due to the fact that
McDonalds are much more likely to have a drive-through than Starbucks (at
least that is the case in my state). I presume a lot of the profits come from
the morning coffee-rush where time is at a premium, so I can see people
stopping at McD so that they don't have to mess about with parking etc.

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tokenadult
This is one submission where the reader comments are better than the original
article.

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ddemchuk
I go to starbucks to get away from my normal work environment to work on
projects or with a friend to sit and just talk about stuff. I can't see myself
doing either of those things at a mickey d's

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azanar
Interesting.

From my experience, a McD's is just about as noisy as a Starbucks on an
average day. If I want to work on projects, I generally aim more for the
local, less-commercialized coffee houses.

Is there an ambiance factor to this, or is it more of a psychological
distinction between fast food places and coffee houses in general? Or is there
something else?

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ddemchuk
Honestly, I like local coffee places much more than all of the above as well.
But the thing I appreciate about Starbucks is that 1) they are all at the same
level of cleanliness and relative comfort no matter which Bucks you end up at
and 2) the crowd in them is usually there for the same reasons.

I tend to always work with headphones in so the noise isn't an issue.

I guess if I found a comfortable McD's with wifi I might have to try it out
for a session :-)

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gregking
I don't know about you, but I personally think McDonald's mocha tastes like
ass.

