Starbucks Seller Takes Via Discontent to PostSecret

(MoneyWatch)  PostSecret is one of my favorite non-work-related blogs. People express their secrets in post card form and mail them anonymously to be posted on the site. Usually the secrets have nothing whatsoever to do with the food industry, but this week I was thrilled to see a secret about Starbucks (SBUX) Via instant coffee, which recently launched nationwide.

The gist of the secret is that some anonymous coffee seller is disgusted with him or herself for having to lie to customers and say he or she loves "this instant coffee $#%t" (I used Photoshop to blur the swear word in the image posted here; it's clearly legible in the original at PostSecret).

When Starbucks was doing its taste test challenge, betting customers that Via was so phenomenal they'd be unable to tell it apart from regular coffee, I stopped in and had a free sample*. The employee started rattling off so many facts about the new product that I had to ask him how many hours of training he'd been given. He confirmed that, in addition to launching an unprecedented advertising campaign to support Via's roll-out, Starbucks also gave its employees an intensive crash-course in all things Via.

Starbucks also pushed hard for retailers to put Via on the same shelves as Starbucks' regular coffee, rather than in the instant coffee next to Nescafe and similar products.

But apparently at least one Via seller out there is significantly, if secretly, unimpressed.

* Note: I use way too much cream and sugar to offer any useful opinions on coffee quality. I'm just in it for the caffeine.