Starbucks takes a shot

It was announced today that Starbucks took their first quarterly loss ever as a business.   Obviously the economy has something to do with it, but what about those die hard caffeine addicts needing the morning fix?   Are they buying cheaper McDonalds coffeee?   Bringing their own in the thermos?   As for me, I purchased an automatic expresso machine a couple of months ago to satisfy my cravings instead of paying 4 bucks at Starbucks.   But I think the problem for Starbucks goes deeper than just the coffee.   I recently went to a downtown coffee shop in the U street area and it was everything that Starbucks is not.   Instead of that antiseptic chain store environment, it was full of eclectic furniture and comfy places to sit.  Full of people enjoying themselves and talking to one another and a calendar full of local music appearances.  Starbucks is not the place I would like to hang out in -  on one of their hard chairs and tables overlooking shelves of merchandise instead of tasteful decorations and artwork.    They really need to recreate that comfortable environment to have more business.   After all, part of enjoying coffee out of the house is about the scene, not just the taste of the brew.