Here’s my latest-and-greatest blog post for AdAge Global Idea Network, There Is Nothing ‘Mc’ About McCafe in Europe:
There Is Nothing ‘Mc’ About McCafe in Europe
The Fast Feeder Shows It Can Play the Coffee GameI approached the coffee bar, browsed the delectable baked goods in the case and stood in a short line. A barista took my order. She handed me a tray and a white ceramic saucer and asked me to go to the end of the bar to pick up my grande coffee. When I received my coffee in a tall white ceramic mug, it was topped with a rich crema. I took my tray and walked over to a coffee-toned leather easy chair, put down my coffee on a modern white cafe table and then took a sip. Delicious. No, I wasn’t feeding my caffeine addiction in a European cafe or even a Starbucks; I was enjoying a delicious cuppa in my local Berlin Hauptbahnhof McCafe.
According to CNN, the coffee war between Starbucks and McDonald’s is hitting the States, where McDonalds is saying things like, “Four bucks is dumb. Now serving espresso.” That may well be the case and I am sure the espresso is fantastic (it is amazing that machines can do today what it took a maestro barista to do in the past) but this isn’t really only about getting cheap espresso. It is about having a worthwhile, comforting experience. What I love about Starbucks is fully experiential and not solely based on the quality of coffee. In Berlin, fantastic coffee is everywhere, but rarely comfortably. Traditional European-style cafes are are just comfortable enough to drink and run. There is no incentive to stay for very long. This is what makes Starbucks different, and this is what European McCafes are doing right.
I would never have expected McDonald’s to offer silverware and ceramic mugs, would you? This little elegance is the difference between McDonald’s “now serving espresso,” and stirring in some cream and sugar into a nice coffee drink with a metal spoon and sipping it from a ceramic mug. If I have any advice for McDonald’s, it’s this: Please try to extend these fineries into your US and North American McCafe brand. While most of the guests may well order their lattes and machiatos “to go,” many more will take to the cafes if they’re treated to something akin to a Starbucks experience.
McDonald’s will be competitive in its war with Starbucks based not only on the price point of the espresso drinks but on the quality of the experience. If they buy that dishwasher, stock some nice flatware and ceramic mugs, offer free Wi-Fi, and make sure the cafe area is always clean and pleasant, then people will be willing to chose McCafe over Starbucks, especially when Starbucks is overflowing and cramped and McDonald’s is a welcome breath of fresh air.
McDonald’s just needs to be sure to honor their McCafe customers with a nice place to sit away from the fast-food clientele and give customers some space to enjoy their pastries and drinks. If you do this and make sure there are enough power plugs for hungry laptops, you will be well on your way to being competitive in the still-lucrative coffee cafe market. To be honest, the cost of a grande black coffee at my local Berlin McCafe isn’t much cheaper than it is at Starbucks or the other local European-style cafes — maybe 20 Euro cents. But I don’t care because my experience is safe and comfortable and available until 2 a.m. every night, well after everything else closes.
Here’s a video of my experience:
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
For a Catalan who lives in Berlin, 49 years, the Starbucks coffee is expensive and cold (always the same decoration, nothing personal).
For my age and my Mediterranean culture, I prefer places where the owner is the owner and not an employee of a franchise.
I do not like the “Take away”, cartons, plastic, .. For me Starbucks is a symbol of consumption and unbridled capitalism.
Another way of thinking and seeing things.
Greetings
Your response is totally common — and last century. In most European cities, this is still the way — moreso 10 and 20 years ago — but these franchises are becoming more and more convenient and are beginning to offer the same sort of “quality” with a lot less feeling of interfering with the clique that already exists — the regulars — in the cafe culture.
Sometimes local cafes and local bars are uncomfortable or too closed or too alien for people who are not locals or are just passing through.
Fast food and chain cafes and restaurants allow people who are on the move or for whom life is elsewhere.
fortunately for McDonald’s, it is more respectable to move from lower-end products to something more moderate (McCafe), as opposed to Starbucks, who is moving from high end to moderate/lower-end
Well, I guess people are rushing towards the middle. From what I understand, Starbucks is trying to class up the Instant Coffee using better coffee for the source. And, outside of the US (Australia, the US, New Zealand), people love instant coffee. But, you’re right — this might hurt their brand. We’ll see.