Being a relatively stingy person (I say this because ever since I can remember, my peers who come from middle income families say I'm pretty thrifty to the point that I could be quite a miser. The miserly situation has improved though I still think I spend less than my peers.) I've always asked questions like, "why the fuck is this so expensive?" Yet still continue to patronise Starbucks even though I'd imagine their mark ups for drinks are like 10 times the cost price - I admit, this cup of milk, green tea powder, vanilla syrup, and blended ice is what makes me happeh. Don't judge.
But then if you think about it, what you're really buying from Starbucks is the ambience, the comfort of their cushiony chairs, air con, and the ongoing exhibition of office droids with their laptops/MacBooks/notebooks.
Adding on to that, with such people who make Starbucks their office desk for the next three hours, how much turnover can Starbucks get? With rental at an average of only 8 bucks per 2-4 hours, of course they'd have to mark up their prices to make up for their opportunity losses incurred by said seat-hoggers.
