Raleys to partner with Starbucks

[SamSpade]

Safeway (and Albertsons) in this region do not charge higher prices.
I had noticed the register changes at Fred Meyer (if they even have a Starbucks anymore, some here have left the coffee kiosk biz). Perhaps it is a quiet waiting window for the Albertsons Cos. due to the pending merger.

The Safeway by me is the only nearby Starbucks. It seems to have its regulars, but every time I go I am frustrated with one employee on duty and disappointing standard of service. Then again, corporate Starbucks has disappointed as well.

[storewanderer]

Safeway (and Albertsons) in this region do not charge higher prices.
I had noticed the register changes at Fred Meyer (if they even have a Starbucks anymore, some here have left the coffee kiosk biz). Perhaps it is a quiet waiting window for the Albertsons Cos. due to the pending merger.

The Safeway by me is the only nearby Starbucks. It seems to have its regulars, but every time I go I am frustrated with one employee on duty and disappointing standard of service. Then again, corporate Starbucks has disappointed as well.

That is interesting, the Elko Albertsons also has the same prices as a freestanding Starbucks (intermountain division). I guess NorCal Safeway is the one screwing around with these +.20 per drink above a corporate Starbucks prices. So typical for NorCal Safeway.

What did Fred Meyer do to the space where they pulled Starbucks out? Just more displays? Some Fred Meyers had Peet's before.

Kroger added a Starbucks Kiosk to one Reno Store (Lemmon) last year, I don't think it is doing all that great. They added one in Sparks a few years sooner and I thought that one would do really well but I think it is doing just okay.

Safeway has some very productive kiosks in the area. Starbucks closed freestanding stores near Safeway locations over the years (Fallon, Sparks-Vista, Truckee) and handed the Starbucks business in those areas to Safeway. Safeway also has some very unproductive kiosks that look to not even get 100 customers per day, so it really varies by location.

[babs]

Safeway (and Albertsons) in this region do not charge higher prices.
I had noticed the register changes at Fred Meyer (if they even have a Starbucks anymore, some here have left the coffee kiosk biz). Perhaps it is a quiet waiting window for the Albertsons Cos. due to the pending merger.

The Safeway by me is the only nearby Starbucks. It seems to have its regulars, but every time I go I am frustrated with one employee on duty and disappointing standard of service. Then again, corporate Starbucks has disappointed as well.

That is interesting, the Elko Albertsons also has the same prices as a freestanding Starbucks (intermountain division). I guess NorCal Safeway is the one screwing around with these +.20 per drink above a corporate Starbucks prices. So typical for NorCal Safeway.

What did Fred Meyer do to the space where they pulled Starbucks out? Just more displays? Some Fred Meyers had Peet's before.

Kroger added a Starbucks Kiosk to one Reno Store (Lemmon) last year, I don't think it is doing all that great. They added one in Sparks a few years sooner and I thought that one would do really well but I think it is doing just okay.

Safeway has some very productive kiosks in the area. Starbucks closed freestanding stores near Safeway locations over the years (Fallon, Sparks-Vista, Truckee) and handed the Starbucks business in those areas to Safeway. Safeway also has some very unproductive kiosks that look to not even get 100 customers per day, so it really varies by location.

I haven't seen any Fred Meyer Starbucks close, only Peets when that licensing arrangement ran out. I've only seen one closed Peets turn into a Starbucks (Tualatin, OR), the others are just blocked off with soda displays or are being used as an additional employee break area. I have been surprised that they didn't just convert all the Peets to Starbucks but perhaps the coffee stand economics aren't as great in some locations. Peets never seemed to do well, Starbucks far outsold them. Branding does matter.

[rwsandiego]

Safeway (and Albertsons) in this region do not charge higher prices...

The Safeway by me is the only nearby Starbucks. It seems to have its regulars, but every time I go I am frustrated with one employee on duty and disappointing standard of service. Then again, corporate Starbucks has disappointed as well.

The Safeway/Albertsons Starbucks kiosks charge the same as corporate Starbucks in Phoenix as do the VONS kiosks in San Diego.

The Safeway Starbucks near me is more convenient than the Starbucks that is closer to me, mainly because of the parking situation. Most of the employees are very nice, but there is one employee who is just awful. I can tell when she is working without seeing who is behind the counter because there is no line. Customers avoid the place when she is working.

[storewanderer]

Safeway (and Albertsons) in this region do not charge higher prices...

The Safeway by me is the only nearby Starbucks. It seems to have its regulars, but every time I go I am frustrated with one employee on duty and disappointing standard of service. Then again, corporate Starbucks has disappointed as well.

The Safeway/Albertsons Starbucks kiosks charge the same as corporate Starbucks in Phoenix as do the VONS kiosks in San Diego.

The Safeway Starbucks near me is more convenient than the Starbucks that is closer to me, mainly because of the parking situation. Most of the employees are very nice, but there is one employee who is just awful. I can tell when she is working without seeing who is behind the counter because there is no line. Customers avoid the place when she is working.

Sounds like Albertsons changed that in the areas with both banners because from the mid 2000's, Safeway always had a higher price in its kiosks. Albertsons kiosks always priced the same as whatever the corporate Starbucks in the area priced. When they initially got into having the kiosks at Safeway, they used Starbucks corporate pricing. Then as Safeway decided to go crazy on pricing, on the Starbucks, it started off .05 higher, then .10 higher. Not sure how it got to .20 higher than it is now in NorCal.