Starbucks Drops T-Mobile For AT&T

stoolpigeon writes "Ars reports that Starbucks is replacing T-Mobile with AT&T as their Wi-Fi provider. AT&T broadband customers will be able to access the service for free. Starbucks card users will get 2 hours a day free. 2-hour, daily, and monthly rates will be lower than they were with T-Mobile. Starbucks says that their previously announced deal to tie in with iTunes will continue under AT&T. For now AT&T isn't offering free Wi-Fi to iPhone users, but says it expects to accommodate them soon. Quoting the article: 'The companies didn't specify exactly when the rollout would begin, only saying that it would take place this spring... [The company plans] to install all new equipment at Starbucks as part of this agreement, so the changeover won't be as simple as flipping a switch.'"

Re:Hooray?

[tirerim]

How do you get to that website when you don't have wireless access? Seriously, free wifi is great, but unless you plan carefully in advance, it's not always easy to find. Starbucks, on the other hand, is everywhere, so I'm glad that on the rare occasions that I'm willing to pay for wireless it will be cheaper. ($4 for two hours is about on the upper end of what I'm willing to pay; I still want to see a micropayments model, where I can buy 15 minutes for 50 cents. At that point, it would be worth it just to quickly check my email and look something up online.)

Re:Hooray?

[tony1343]

I agree, I go to a Panera. Actually, in the city I live in, the two closest Starbucks to me are both right next to a Panera. People sit in Starbucks and use Panera's WiFi. The one Starbucks is by a University. From within the Starbucks you can pick up multiple free WiFi signals. I do not understand how Starbucks can justify charging. Who actually pays for this? I will simply go somewhere where it is free (and there are multiple other coffee shops that have free WiFi in my city). I always thought this was because they were locked into a contract from before places started offering WiFi and they would eventually offer it for free. Turns out not; they're just idiots (at least in places where there are free signals available).

Re:Hooray?

[amRadioHed]

Why be a parasite? Panera has coffee too. I'm in total agreement with the OP, any coffee shop worth spending any time in already has free wifi. Who needs Starbucks?

it's all about the execution

[abes]

There was a cafe nearby my old school in NYC which I used for doing a large part of my thesis writing. They started off having free wi-fi, but I think got sick of the freeloading (lots of students in the area), and so switched to an hourly-ticket system. Unfortunately whoever implemented the system did a very bad job of it. The problems ranged from making the network really unstable to having to rely on a printer to get your ticket (it's on a frigg'n network .. make a renewal webpage!), to the amount of time allotted (1 hour is not nearly long enough -- especially if someone comes up and starts talking to you).

Which is not to say Starbucks will be doomed. Only that past experience with other systems (esp. counting every hotel and airport I've been to) has shown very few businesses know how to do these things right.

It is *really* nice they're doing away with the pay-system for already paying customers. The amount T-Mobile was charging for access was crazy, and in the end I suspect all Starbucks cares about is getting more people into their store over-paying for the coffee. I have the option of working in Cafes, only I require internet-access. Until now I've been to chea^H^H^H^H thrifty to pay the additional cost (especially since I'm already paying for it at home). I'm much more likely now to spend some quality time in their stores.

Re:Hooray?

[EggyToast]

Places like Baltimore, which have no good coffee shops. There's an area near my work that has 1 starbucks and 3 local shops. The 3 local shops serve bad coffee and have a horrible attitude, but offer free wireless. Unsurprisingly, no one there is ever using a laptop. At starbucks, where you have to pay to use it? Packed. Consistently packed, at that, with paying wireless users.

Maybe it's cos they make your coffee, however you like it, and still smile about it (no eye rolling or snooty remarks). Maybe it's a consistent cup of coffee (consistency is worth something to some people). I've been places where starbucks is low rung on the ladder (the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus is a great example), but in a lot of places they provide a service that no one else wants to provide (custom coffee with a smile). That's worth something to a lot of people.

As simple as flipping a switch

[joshv]

"[The company plans] to install all new equipment at Starbucks as part of this agreement, so the changeover won't be as simple as flipping a switch."

No, it will be as simple as shipping out a new wi-fi hub and walking a barista through plugging it in and registering it over the phone.

Bring on the freaking bums and bandwidth hogs

[Anonymous Coward]

As a paying T-Mobile customer, I don't see this as any kind of a positive change for Starbucks. I never even think about going to Starbucks anymore because there's never any place to sit, with all of the leechers and freeloaders plugging up their laptops into the free electrical outlets and taking up permanent residence. All I want is to buy a Frappuccino and relax for a few minutes. With my T-Mobile account I can get a good wi-fi signal anywhere I go, so I've never had any great need to park my ass inside a Starbucks so I could check my email.

Encouraging the loafers is going to make Starbucks even less appealing for those of us who actually want to sit down and drink coffee. And maybe I'm just getting old, but I've never drug my laptop out to Starbucks because I think it's just this side of insanity to whip out a machine I paid two grand for, show it off to the world, and then get back on the subway a couple of hours later, making me a perfect target for muggers and thieves.

Re:Hooray?

[gad_zuki!]

>Sure you can be a parasite at Panera without buying anything,

You might find the definition of parasite to be interesting when it comes to coffee shops.

I read a study (or perhaps a well written rant) about how places that offer unlimited wifi tend to do much, much worse than places that dont. Why? Because people will turn a table into their office and fill up all the seats, thus providing a big disincentive for people to actually go in there and drink coffee and buy a baked good.

I live in a major city and I can picture all the free-wifi places in my neighborhood and I absolutely hate them all. Theyre all packed with kids/students who are myspace addicts and your 9-5'er doing work. There are no free tables. And the best part is that these people are there ALL DAY and I'm sure barely spend 10 dollars, if that. In fact the big free wifi place here recently went out of business. I dont know how they stayed in business. You had 15 people there taking all the seats for hours and buying a 3 dollar product!

So it turns out that if you want to stay in business and sell coffee you need to not turn your shop into a laptop hangout. Even starbucks knows this. They can easily foot any bandwidth cost but they would know their shop would turn into a 'business center' in no time and that will hurt them badly in the end. Instead they want you to buy product and get the hell out. If you need wifi its there but you'll need to pay. Interesting that they are going with the starbucks card approach.

Interesting stuff. Panera suffers from this but your typical panera is much larger than your typical starbucks and all the noise doesnt make it conducive to getting things done like a coffeehouse does.

Re:'bout bloody time-Free reading material.

[netringer]

What B&N doesn't have is any power outlets. I needed a place to get a few hours work done on the road. I have AT&T WiFi with my home DSL. The B&N was about the only place in town. I checked the whole store to see if there was a place to let me work. Not an outlet to be seen. They must use battery powered vacuum cleaners.

Pathetic geek story: I had a battery/invertor box in the car so I dragged in and used that to get me an extra hour to work. It was kinda bad when the battery ran low and started beeping.

At least Panera has outlets. I dunno about Starbucks. I never went for the T_Mobile deal.

Re:Hooray?

[QuantumG]

It all began with the death of table service. Was a time when the waiter would kindly ask people if they wanted another coffee or a snack at regular intervals.. if the customer refused, say, 3 times, the waiter would ask them to either order something or leave - this isn't a library.

But hey, that was back when your coffee didn't come in a paper cup.

Re:Hooray?

[Jellybob]

You're right in saying that waiting staff over here are paid by the hour, but generally they still rely on tips to make a decent wage - most of them are working minimum wage, at least in the UK.

However, we also have the good sense not to pay a tip if the service was crap - although we do offset that by paying a good tip if the service was excellent. I never managed to understand the theory that people somehow "deserve" a tip just for doing their job.

Re:Hooray?

[geminidomino]

The 3 local shops serve bad coffee and have a horrible attitude, but offer free wireless.

As opposed to Starbucks, which serves expensive bad coffee, has a horrible attitude, then charges you for wireless?

They aren't at starbucks for the coffee. They're there for the oxymoronic "hipster cred".

Re:Hooray?

[aclarke]

There are two schools of thought for eating out. Let's call them the American way and the European way.

In the American way, you sit down, eat your meal, get your bill, and leave. The wait staff is there to get you what you want, and mostly to do it quickly. "Moving tables" is encouraged, and most Americans don't like or want to sit down and wait a long time for anything. They are there to eat, and to get out.

In the European way, you sit down, are brought what you want, and are not pressured for what you want to do next. Your next stage of the meal may not come for another half hour, but that's OK because you are there to enjoy your afternoon or evening, and enjoy your time with family and friends. You may sit down after the meal with a coffee or glass of port, and not be asked anything by the wait staff for maybe 45 minutes, unless it appears that you want more of something. You certainly will not be brought your bill before you ask for it, as the wait staff does not want you to feel that you are being rushed out the door. That would not be relaxing.

When I spend a bit of time in Europe and then come back to North America, I find the attitude in most restaurants, even "higher end" ones, to be rushed and not that relaxing. When my steak is arriving 5 seconds after I'm done my salad, it just doesn't feel right. On the other hand, if you are used to that, and you go to a "European" style restaurant, you may feel like it's too slow and people aren't attentive to your needs.

Your commentary was responding to poor service. When you ask for your bill and it takes 15 minutes to get it, that's poor service. The grandparent was referring to feeling rushed when they're in a restaurant in North America. That's not "good service", that's just being rushed. But it's what most Americans (including you, most likely, and that's just fine) want, so that's how most restaurants are. It's what I want too, when I'm in a rush :-)