Wireless Charging at Starbucks

I was not a fan of Starbucks some years ago, but I have had a complete reversal in attitude. The change occurred a couple years ago when I started visiting the Starbucks on Harvard Square, Cambridge. Now I am a regular at the Starbucks on Cushing Square in Belmont, about nine miles west of downtown Boston.

Three reasons:

• very, very customer-oriented
• great coffee
• customer reward program

It seems Starbucks has the customer loyalty angle all figured out.

I remember the anxiety of some pundits a few years ago when Starbucks was the "first" to announce unlimited, free wireless in their cafes. Folks said non-paying customers would hang out all day, keeping paying customers away. To some extent that is true: some "non-paying" customers do hang out all day. But hey are not completely "non-paying." They will buy at least one cup of coffee and nurse it all day.

But interestingly enough, in the Starbucks I go to, there is a group of men that hang out almost as long, and they have no wireless gadgets. They are just doing what retired men have done for centuries: hang out, talking about politics and sports.

But I digress.

Over time the "non-paying" customers become "paying" customers, and they start showing up at Starbucks at times when not expected. Which includes me and that's how I know.

Now, not only is Starbucks offering unlimited, free wi-fi, Starbucks is now going to offer free wireless charging of smart phones. One of the challenges at a Starbucks is finding an electric outlet. In fact, that's become a game for some (including me): noting where outlets are in fast food restaurants that I visit.

Over at the Boston Globe:

Bostonians are getting a chance to be the first to try something new while sipping coffee at Starbucks: juicing up their phones with a wireless charging system made by Duracell Powermat.

The caffeine purveyor has chosen 17 Boston-area locations for a “limited time in-store trial for wireless charging,” in the words of chief digital officer Adam Brotman. “We’re building the Powermat technology into some of the tabletops, just to get a sense for how our customers will react, compared to having to plug their mobile devices into the wall.”

If you do not own an accessory for your ­iPhone or Samsung Galaxy that allows it to soak up electricity via inductive charging — the technology that may already be keeping your electric toothbrush powered up — Starbucks may have freebie and loaner connectors.

Talk about customer-friendly. Not only is the electricity free, but they will loan you the "stuff" you need to charge your phone. It should be noted that more and more folks are paying for their coffee at Starbucks using their smartphones, so it makes sense for Starbucks to make sure the phones are charged.

Oprah used to "do" her favorite things. Without question, I am now a fanboy of:

• Apple
• Starbucks
• the Bakken
• certain companies in the oil and gas industry
• North Dakota

Not necessarily in that order -- except for Apple which is always at the top of the list. 

For investors, there are two great articles in today's WSJ regarding both Apple and Starbucks.

First Apple: forecasting distant sales from the top of Apple's capital hill; 

For Starbuck fans: Arabica-coffee, near lowest price since June, could decline further;