* They used to have bold rich coffee, now we have Pikes Place everyday after 11ish.
* They used to have espresso made by manual espresso machines where the shot could be observed, now we have automatic espresso machines where the shot is drawn into paper cup.
* Starbucks used to be a coffee house, now it tries to be all things to all people. Reminds me of Dell a bit.

The net result…. I used to go almost everyday. Now I can’t tell you the last time I order something at Starbucks.

I fondly remember when Starbucks never even served Tea. It was great watching someone ask for Tea, and the Barista would reply: “We don’t do Tea”. Classic Starbucks.

Employees also could not wear perfume or cologne as is would interfere with the coffee aroma. Then they took away grinding the bean at the store all together.

Then they progressively over the years lightened their roasts.

Then they started the food and breakfast fiasco.

My favorite though is when they replaced the Marzoccos with push button automatics. I wrote a article on this move found here: http://www.undergroundartproject.com/blog/2007/03/22/espresso-the-romance-factor/

I own a carpet cleaning company and see my competition in panic mode weakening their brand by offering every service under the sun. They are turning themselves into full home service companies but do not understand the dynamics and fierce competition in that arena. Cleaning everything including the kitchen sink is the not the way reinforce your brand. I have approached this trend with humor on the front page of my website: http://www.getfreshcarpetcleaning.ca and have been getting great comments from my customers. If you have a service company try it, it will help you to specialize and build your brand.