I will not pretend . I love my venti, non-fat, sugar-free, vanilla soy, double shot, decaf, extra hot, no foam, White Chocolate Mocha with light whipped cream and extra syrup. Save your judgment. I know I’m not alone. And sure, I’ve known for a while that the founders of Starbucks were left-of-center. But I convinced myself that, so long as they stayed out of public policy, I could remain a customer. Sadly, this is no longer the case.
The drama began on Wednesday, at the annual Starbucks shareholders’ meeting. OneNewsNow.com reports that shareholder Tom Strohbar chastised the company for endorsing a same-sex “marriage” bill. Strohbar, who is also the founder of The Corporate Morality Action Center, reportedly told officials, “What concerns me is possible economic boycotts, shareholder resolutions, things that might affect the sales of our company, the earnings.” He continued, “Is it prudent to risk the economic interests of all the shareholders for something that might affect the private lives of a very small percentage of our employees?”
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz responded, “We believe it’s defensible – but we’re not reaching that decision to in any way offend you or anyone else. And I would say candidly, since we made that decision there has not been any dilution whatsoever in our business.”
What is most frustrating about Starbucks’ liberal support is that it totally disregards the traditional views of many customers and staff members. Considering that there are twice as many conservatives as there are liberals, Starbucks should heed Mr. Strohbar’s warnings.
Ponder the impact of lost business from loyal customers. In this economy, I was willing to spend more on a cup of coffee than a gallon of gas! Big Oil vs. Big Coffee; I’m not sure which would win. Coffee-loving, traditional values voters deserve more respect.
I guess it’s time to bite the bullet and drink the overly strong office coffee.