"Following Dell’s Ideastorm, Starbucks has no opened a forum — also powered by Salesforce.com — where customers can make suggestions then discuss and vote on them."
Americans will have to cope without blended Frappuccino and blueberry coffee cake for a few hours today as Starbucks shuts its 7,100 company-owned stores for a nationwide barista training session.
But the Schultz memo is interesting and useful nonetheless, because it shows that even an iconic company that serves a highly addictive product can water down the immense value of its brand by expanding too far and too fast and in too many directions at o