# McCafe's targetting traditional coffee shop clientele



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Recently, McDonald's in Washington (USA) have started a campaign to 'simplify' coffee with its new site unsnobbycoffee.com

There is no mention of this starting in the UK but if proven successful there would be no reason not to adopt these tactics here.

Would this help or hinder your business?

Do you feel you offer too many drink types due to clients increasingly asking for drinks like a triple grande skinny decaf mochaccino with extra whipped cream?


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## limeyrocker (Sep 17, 2010)

That looks interesting and while mentally working out how my own coffee shop will be when it's opened in the future, one thing t will be is simple!

Having said that most coffee shops round my area (northwest) do quite well at this.

Final thought though, this is a bit rich coming from a chain of restaurants that refuse to accept they serve small and large soft drinks, on the basis that they only serve medium and large!


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Love the simply menu they have on there, and the graphics showing the drink composition. Seems to be basically how good coffeeshops have been doing it all along, so well done to McCafe. What irks me is the whole unsnobby thing, and their 'intervention' ploy. It's a sneaky marketing trick to make customers ashamed of having higher coffee standards, and to just accept bad tasting coffee, otherwise their friends will browbeat them. Exactly what speciality coffee doesn't need. I think we should introduce an equivalent intervention when someone accepts bad coffee, whether it is a customer or an outlet.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

PS If you ask me for whipped cream with your coffee I shall squirt it in your eye


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

MikeHag said:


> PS If you ask me for whipped cream with your coffee I shall squirt it in your eye


What about a flavoured syrup...infact I wont ask lol


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Just out of interest, what will you say when people ask for a hazelnut latte or similar (which they inevitably will!)?

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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

Its good to offer a couple of those terrible concoctions, no matter how good your coffee is. Harlequin in York orders one "improper" coffee, a caramel macchiato. My girlfriend is..well she has a sweet tooth (hence she's with me








) and doesn't mind me regularly popping in for a coffee as she likes the environment and gets a drink she likes. I've tried weening her off the sugary stuff but she still ruins the flat whites i make for her...


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I was being a bit tongue in cheek









Yeah, there are a few quandries and it's tricky to know how far to bend to customer needs. Syrups, I think we have to do a few to be honest.

Just because you offer speciality teas and coffees, does it mean you're sending out a message to customers to stay away if they like instant coffee or builders' tea? Some high volume city locations may have that luxury. I've taken the decision to have some instant coffee and commodity tea bags in stock for those people (usually pensioners) who hate the thought of good quality coffee or tea. Shock horror? Yep. Real world? Also yep. It won't come between us and speciality coffee.


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

People actually request instant?









Fair enough about being tongue in cheek, i thought you were being serious lol


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

My own mother would rather drink coffee from a sachet with dried milk and sweetener included, than drink a freshly roasted, freshly brewed coffee. It's what she's always called coffee, and no amount of "try this and see what you think" will ever change her!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

In many circles ''proper coffee'' is Starphucks, and, specialty coffee (ie what most of us lot do as a hobbie) is ''weird posh coffee''.

I guess once upon a time ''proper food'' was Maccy D's and ''weird posh food'' was anything organic/free range/nice


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