Starbucks vs Tim Hortons, Version 2.0

I have mentioned in previous posts that I would be doing another post on Starbucks versus Tim Horton's. Well as I was getting my second coffee of the morning before I got to work I found out that not only has Tim Horton's raised their price of coffee but also Starbucks as well. Last time the price of a cup of coffee went up, it did not bother me at all. However this time it did; it was a little different this time.

This time I found out about a 5 cent increase to the price of coffee at Starbucks, no real big deal there, earlier this week Tim Horton's raised their prices by 7 cents to keep up with competition. This is what was different; not only was my morning coffee higher than yesterday, but also my coffee at lunch was an additional 4 cents higher than my morning coffee from the same coffee shop! That just really bothered me, last time I checked it was coffee and not the stock market.

The part that bothers me the most is that at least if you go to Timmie's and get a large double double they will put the cream and sugar in the coffee for you. Tim Horton's has far superior service compared to the treatment you get at Starbucks. Not only is Starbucks over priced but you also have to put the cream and sugar in your coffee yourself. Some people like that but to me it just shows a lack of service and for the new price of Grande Bold, you shouldn't have to carry a lidless cup of hot coffee over to a cluttered counter top to make your coffee.

I know that Starbucks mostly gives black coffee to different patrons, the whole atmosphere is different including the retro music playing throughout the shop. Whereas Tim Horton's offers you much better value for your money, except maybe in the choice of coffee blends they offer. On most days going through a busy drive through at Tim Horton's will take 15 minutes at most, over at Starbucks you have to wait about 15 minutes in the drive through when there is only one car in front of you. Makes me ask the question: "What are they growing the coffee first?" Maybe I'm just a little impatient but come on, it does not take 15 minutes to pour three or four coffees and put cream and sugar in them.

In any case I am just blowing off some steam because seeing two price increases in one day really got me angry. We get gouged everywhere else, why not at the coffee shop too, right? Anyway I am sure every one has their own opinions on these two coffee franchises, this is just my opinion anyway. How about sharing your opinion?

Image: 2 coffee cups photographed with a Samsung m300 cell phone.

Disclaimer: Logos shown in picture are trademarks of their respective companies.

Price Gouging

Price Gouging, if I remember correctly, there are some laws that are supposed to protect us against price gouging. So if these laws do exist, then why are Canadians suffering from price gouging? I know as the owner of a car that we are being gouged at the pumps every time we put gasoline in our fuel tanks, but with inflation on the rise, and our dollar on the rise, how are we going to compete with the American dollar?

I found an article on the CBC website entitled Hotter inflation report sends Canadian dollar to 33-year high above $1.03 US that mentions that the soaring dollar should force prices down as most of our goods are imports from the United States. In this article it mentions that it was inflation that pushed our dollar to a 33 year high, but how are we actually going to compete while we our prices are way too high? If Canada wishes to continue enjoying having our dollar at or near par with the American dollar, prices are going to have to deflate a little.

If you reduce the cost of an item, the consumer is going to have more disposable income afterwards, which in turn can be spent on other goods and services. Even a small change like bringing our cost per litre of gasoline down by say ten cents per litre, on average, you will have anywhere between 2 and 10 dollars extra after you fill up your gas tank. What would you do with that little bit of savings? I know that making the cost of a product more affordable, consumers are more likely to purchase the item as well as purchase more items. I'm not an economist, or a financial wizard, but I am tired of seeing inflation on the rise as our dollar becomes more and more competitive in today's markets.

In closing, if you are a Canadian that's just as fed up as I am about high prices, speak out, don't stay quite like a good little Canadian. Every body needs to hear you stand up for yourself, stop corporations from taking advantage of the cash in your wallet, after all, didn't you work hard for that money?

Addition: After a comment on this post I felt the need to mention that a lot of companies have blamed inflation on the cost of oil. Since Canada imports a large portion of oil from the U.S., with a stronger dollar, shouldn't us consumers see the same benefits the refineries are seeing?