See Change Happen

Truth in Advertising

As a firm believer in simple messaging, I think this Brooklyn church really nailed it.

Starbucks vs McDonalds Rd 2

There are certainly people who don't think Starbucks and McDonalds are competing, but I do. And I found it very interesting that Starbucks closed yesterday to train 135,000 baristas on how to make better, more premium coffee. Now, Starbucks has a new sign posted in its stores: "Your drink should be perfect, every time. If not, let us know and we'll make it right."

They intend to achieve this goal by implementing three new tactics: (from valleywag, http://valleywag.com/361607/
whats-new-at-starbucks-3-changes )

• 1. Richer espresso mix. Starbucks espresso machines have been recalibrated to mix a stronger dose. It's not as powerful as Peet's, but it's more in that direction. My daily triple-shot tastes a lot thicker.
• 2. Shot glasses. Instead of pouring directly into your cup, all shots are now dispensed into clear glass shot glasses. The barista must visually approve the shot before pouring it into a cup. This not only checks the mix, it prevents stale, crema-free shots from being served after lying around too long.
• 3. Smaller steamer pitchers.  No more giant tub-o-foam, but rather smaller batches of steamed milk and foam more tailored and fresh to each order.

What I wonder is how many people are dissatisfied with the quality of Starbucks' coffee? I thought there were many more complaints around the service not the product. (Of course, I am writing this just after calling to cancel the credit card that apparently wasn't handed back to me yesterday at New Haven Starbucks - so I may be a little biased.)

Starbucks is differentiating itself by becoming more premium and catering to the "refined" coffee palette while McDonald's, as usual, remains more mainstream. This is going to be interesting.

I'd like to meet the Lincoln Towncar designer

What is this exactly? It was a button right behind the backseat of a Lincoln Towncar. First of all, it was in a car, making the anchor image seem somewhat inappropriate unless perhaps we launched into the water, in which case I think a life raft would have been more suitable.

GOOD Magazine Thinks

You see a lot of the same "big thinkers" mentioned in the "doing good for the world space" but what is interesting is how some of these thinkers keep coming up with new and and different ideas. Good Magazine did a feature recently on the A-Z of big ideas and some of them are worth checking out. http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Features/big_ideas. Ideas that are incredibly simple and easy to do always intrigue me. Compost heaps? Probably not in my future, but changethemargins.com gives a simple suggestion: increase the margins on your documents before you print and you will save paper. That seems like sometime I can get into. According to the website,  and a "study done by the Penn State Green Destiny Council, reducing margins to .75” on all sides results in a total reduction of paper by 4.75%. This means that using these Efficient Margins on a ton of paper saves 19 reams of paper, which saves 1.14 trees." I'm not totally sure what that means on an individual level but I'm willing to give it a try.

Shouldn't the boarding pass should be reinvented?

Invariably, while traveling, there is a moment just after security before boarding the plane when I think I've lost my boarding pass. Prior to the TSA requiring me to undress and partition my personal items across 4 different plastic bins, I didn't have this problem. But now, I simply can't find a good place to keep my boarding pass.  So, I loved this guy's solution: put the boarding pass in your shoe. It's plain view, readily available, and allows the guy to relax pre-flight.

I was wearing high heels so his system didn't work for me but it made me think there's been innovation around how to obtain a boarding pass (print it from home, airport kisoks etc.) but no innovation around the boarding pass itself. We are still required to carry a piece of paper up to the gate. Digital technology should be able to fix this, right?