Why I Don't Frequent Starbucks

It's been five years since I last visited home. Back in 2007, we still had Krispy Kreme and Wisata 21. Now, I've seen the proliferation of so many chain restaurants and retail outlets, including Starbucks, J.Co, McD, etc., etc. That definitely signifies progress, and I believe they've been exceptionally successful because Indonesians love to experience new things. It also helps that we have domestic demand that is stronger than ever, coupled with the desire and ability to spend.

There's one big problem (at least from my limited pocket's point of view) with these "nice" eateries and cafes: they're expensive. I mean, they are not prohibitively expensive, but they are substantially pricey enough to make you think about the purchase. Perhaps once or twice is fine, especially when you need a place to hang out and reconnect with old friends. So, you'd spend IDR 35,000 or 4 bucks on a cup of coffee. It's expensive, but it's not THAT bad. I think the trouble comes from making a habit out of it.

I agree with Dan Ariely. In Predictably Irrational, Ariely (an economist) talks about lagged demand and the justification of spending over $4 for a cup of coffee. It goes something like this: The first time you stand in line (that's American for queue  by the way), you wanted to try it out to see what it's all about. You're thinking, sure I can splurge a little bit. The next time around, let's say the next week, you are standing in line behind last week you. You're now thinking that since you already justified spending the $4 last time, you're justifying your current demand based on your last experience. Pretty soon, you may not even think about the price as you find "your coffee". Eventually, your demand for expensive Starbucks coffee comes not only from your desire for coffee at each particular point of time, but also from the previous demands that you justified.

The thing is, we are a creature of habit. Once you justify spending that much for coffee, you would tend to accept it as your new norm (i.e., that a $4 cup of coffee is perfectly acceptable). You become a coffee aficionado, which is awesome, but when you think in bigger picture $4 can get you a full meal (or two) in Bali.

So, my two cents is that you should think of the big picture. Over time, how much money would you be spending at Starbucks? Then, what's the opportunity cost. Let's say you go often enough to where you spend $50 a month, think of what can you use that money for. You could, for instance, use that money to pay your health insurance premium.

But I digress. The bottom line is that I don't frequent expensive places like Starbucks because I don't want to justify spending that much for something that's not absolutely necessary or incredibly remarkable. Plus, I don't want to make a habit out of it. I'd go once and a while, but not often enough. I think you frequent a place often enough when you don't even think twice about the price. So, if you want to save money and you find yourself not thinking twice about the price you pay for coffee, perhaps you should slow down and start trying cheaper coffee instead. You liked it once, you might like it again.