(this post was written while I was flying and will be posted once I get online later- actual written time, 8:33 AM, Dec 11)
(And yes, this is a safe-for-work story even though it may not seem like it as it progresses)
After the last car-magical-starting experience, I thought I should drive the car around for a bit just to rebuild the battery up since I had probably drained the battery a bit by trying to start and stop it so much.
So driving up Highway 99, I made my way up to Shoreline, where I turned around, and decided to grab a latte before heading home.
I pull over into one of those drive-through stands, where you have the person in the booth serving you coffee.
As I pullup, but before I could place my order, I hear the barista-lady say to me: “Oh sorry!” as she pulls off her sweater, and leaves herself wearing a see-through white T-shirt and a flowery bra. I say: “No problem”, but am not really sure what the apology is for yet.
The next comment from her is one that I will remember forever: “Sorry - normally I am not wearing much of anything, but I’ve worked 6 straight days and was just tired today.” I’ll be honest - that’s not something I’ve ever had a coffee barista apologize to me for.
Highly confused, I look around the rest of the booth, and notice pictures of scantilly clad women on the roof of the booth, and all of their specials have suggestive names. I order a generic latte, which Kate, as she informs me her name is, decorates with a sticker of lips on the opening in the cup, along with a sticker advertising the coffee shop on the side. I drive away, highly confused, but determined to lookup the store when I get home.
Turns out the http://www.thesweetspotcafe.com is part of a growing trend in Seattle of barista-babe coffee shops where they use sexual suggestion to sell coffee. Apparently, it does very well in repeat business (i.e. men coming by every morning), and pulling people away from Starbucks, getting press recognition from USA Today, Northwest Cable News, MSNBC, and Fox News. They also get a ton of inquisitive (men, I assume) people stopping by “just to check it out.”
Fascinating (albeit strange) branding strategy - I wonder what the long term success rate will be. That said, the brand is highly, highly confusing when you are just an accidental drive-by customer. I somehow suspect I won’t get too many waitresses apologizing for wearing too much clothing elsewhere in the future!
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