While it's of little use to the 700 Australian Starbucks employees who are looking for new jobs today, you'd think any coffee franchise would undertake some reasonably comprehensive market research before opening 84 cafes, some in fairly close proximity to each other, and in very quick succession, particularly in a country that enjoys an established coffee culture. Associate Professor Nick Wailes, a strategic management expert at the University of ... Read full entry

Miles Burke writes a handy guide to getting the best out of working away from your home or office base, especially at places like cafes. Choose a coffee establishment which isn't too busy at the time of day you are heading in, and not somewhere all your friends frequent, unless you feel that you need the social interaction. Somewhere with free parking and a view is good too. ... Read full entry

I guess we all have a "rude waiter" story, but of course we only know the half of it. A book due for publication soon, written by a waiter who blogs under the non de plume The Waiter, will doubtless have a number of "rude customer" tales to tell. According to The Waiter, eighty percent of customers are nice people just looking for something to eat. The remaining ... Read full entry

Workin' at the Internet Cafe: Laptop Dilemma Even in paradise there is trouble lurking around the next corner, or around the time the next toilet (ok, bathroom) break beckons. I love internet cafes. Given that my job requires hours of sitting and typing, sitting and drawing, or sitting and procrastinating, a change of scenery is welcome, allowing me to be around people without actually having to interact with them, listen to ... Read full entry

Coffee's not-so-evil empire. If Starbucks coffee shops located across the street from each other, can compete with each other, then anyone, supplying a quality product can as well. After all, if Starbucks can make a profit by putting its stores right across the street from each other, as it so often does, why couldn't a unique, well-run mum and dad do even better next-door? And given America's continuing thirst for exorbitantly ... Read full entry

Being a loyal coffee consumer has become ever more difficult in Randwick. Since my first report on the coffee shop saturation situation locally, a couple more coffee shops have become visible to the disassociated radar. A couple have closed in the last 18 months, but there's three or four I still haven't been able to get near to date. Last time I thought ... Read full entry