1. They’re crammed and over-congested. Whoever designed the layout of Starbucks Ireland's outlets has strayed hugely from its relaxed US design. Whereas American Starbucks stores are all about space, sofas and a feeling of comfort, its Irish venues are overpacked with small wooden tables and thin window counters (I have a call in to its Irish operation to ask about this). People have to excuse themselves to fellow patrons as they make their way through because of the general seating logjam. It’s disruptive and claustrophobic. The message seems less one of ‘hey, stick around for a while’ (appropriate to wifi-users) and more one of ‘just drink your coffee up and get out’.
2. They’re loud. In the US, the chain’s outlets have calming music and hushed tones, thanks to the design and atmosphere. In Dublin, it’s a tinny chattering cacophony, punctuated by the scraping of chairs on hard floors. And in the Harcourt Street outlet, the whole café shudders and reverberates every time a Luas passes by. Which is about once every six or seven minutes.
3. The whole thing is very expensive. First, there’s the coffee. Granted, it’s at least as good as Insomnia, Coffee Society or Café Sol. But €3.75 for a large coffee? You’d pay it if it was a passport to an hour’s happy laptop browsing. But, thanks to points 1 and 2 (above), that’s unlikely. Bear in mind that you also need either a €5-per-hour scratchcard to access the wifi or a subscription to Eircom’s wifi service (an incredible €80 per month if one isn't already an Eircom subscriber).
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