McDonald's vs. Starbucks

First McDonald's, Southern California
(photo from interesting story
in the UK newspaper Daily Mail)

Fred Turner, a former chief executive at McDonald's, passed away recently. While I was reading his New York Times obit, I was struck by Turner's insistence on a simple success formula for fast-food restaurants: "quality, service and cleanliness." What was left out of his equation was "inexpensive." McDonald's and its fellow travelers tend to be the dining venue of choice for poor and working class people. Judging from McDonald's stock price, they seem to have struck a nerve.

The NPR/PBS crowd, generally speaking, doesn't like McDonald's. It's too low rent for their tastes. They're more inclined to visit Starbucks and linger over a made-to-order cup of coffee. I've even heard people argue that Starbucks is more "sophisticated" than McDonald's, although the evidence for that assertion seems to be based on a combination of expensive coffee, groovy music, and occasionally comfy seating.

What one pays for at Starbucks is brand perception. The message, similar to NPR's and PBS' "value proposition," is that it attracts a better class of citizens. How else does one explain an audience that rolls over and plays dead in exchange for no free wi-fi (something McDonald's does provide), dreadful pastries (far worse than anything McDonald's offers), and infrequent cleanliness (something Mickey D's plebians apparently are attentive to)?

First Starbuck's, Seattle
(photo: seattle.gov)

For the record, I happen to enjoy Starbucks and McDonald's. There's one Starbuck's style of flavored coffee I like sharing with my wife. I have a Starbucks app and, yes, I knowingly give my transaction data to the Seattle-based firm. Sometimes I meet the excellent writer Richard Torres in a Manhattan Starbucks. We talk for a long time, and we don't get hassled or thrown out.

I go to McDonald's every now and then. I have an unreasoned desire for their French fries, especially when I'm on the road. I like their Southern chicken sandwich and I trust their salads. (I profoundly mistrust salad bars.) McDonald's coffee is cheap and acceptable. The seating doesn't bother me. I also find it somewhat reassuring to be in a venue where children are welcomed, something Starbucks does not in its heart encourage.

I am fully aware of the "factory" nature of McDonald's food and atmosphere. However, I don't find Starbucks any different in those respects. Ironically, the adults who patronize Starbucks very likely grew up going to McDonald's. Sometimes, familiarity breeds contempt.