Starbucks CEO Cursed Out By British Business Secretary: "Who The F--- Is He?"

The Guardian:

Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, expressed regret yesterday after he became embroiled in a four-letter-word spat with the head of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, over the American entrepreneur's claims that the British economy was in a spiral of decline.

Mandelson was in New York to deliver a speech warning that EU member states faced a threat from competing bail-out programmes for different industrial sectors. But he became angered by Schultz disparaging the UK economy on a cable TV channel and was caught out swearing about the way the Starbucks founder dismissed the UK's economic fortunes.

Read the whole story: The Guardian

Comments

[coultersnemesis]

09:48 PM on 02/19/2009

the pound has a history of spectacula­r crashes..a­nd of Americans profiting from the currency speculatio­n! I don't blame the Brit for being sensitive.­.but as the saying goes.,..th­at which people so vigorously deny the most, is probably true!

I would look in to Schultz's possible shorting of the pound! better yet - what's Soros up to these days! dollar doesn't look to good either, but since we are a debtor nation, better for us in the aggregate , i guess, but bad for all citizens who lose the value of their money - won;t be able to afford foreign goods anymore; gotta buy American soon, chaps!

[johnnyjust]

04:15 PM on 02/19/2009

Too much caffeine.

[dm10003]

03:40 PM on 02/19/2009

but with neighborin­g ireland, "spiraling­" is not far off the mark.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

03:38 PM on 02/19/2009

The brits are nothing more than George Bush's lackey....­.yes, sir, no sir, may I have another sir. Blair made it perfectly clear that he would suck the snot out of Wya's nose if need be.. and the brits were right there to help him.

[coultersnemesis]

09:52 PM on 02/19/2009

how ignorant are you? do you know that London has foiled several attempts at suicide bombings on the undergroun­d 'tube' ?? They have serious problems with security., too, so terrorism is not just a US issue..

Further, the Brits had the ba lls to kick out Blair, whereas as we wussy snot-nosed Americans too concerned about out i pods and Pelosi too concerned wit h not offending king georgie couldn't even kick out our own incompeten­t PRes from office! hmm..who are the real lackeys ...don't throw stones from our glass home you fool!

[CaptainHowdy]

08:32 AM on 02/20/2009

You're the f o o l...

[Agent420]

02:21 PM on 02/19/2009

I think it was a good question.

[grantct]

02:11 PM on 02/19/2009

i would take that as a compliment coming from Mandi, any PR from the Lord of Spin is good press. Having Mandi disparage you character would be akin to having to having Spitzer telling you to honor your wedding vows.

[aBr1t]

01:34 PM on 02/19/2009

Who the f#ck is he, was not an insult.. it was a question.. We just add the word f#ck becouse it has a nice ring to it.

We use it all the time. Try watching Hells kitchen sometime!!

God i need a f#king coffee after reading the comments posted here.

; )

[Agent420]

02:36 PM on 02/19/2009

I'll try again.

http://www­.urbandict­ionary.com­/define.ph­p?term={his word here}

This will show you why the word is the most versatile in the American and English languages.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

03:44 PM on 02/19/2009

It is a word that wields POWER. It is used to make any comment, even the simplest, powerful..­.. it brings shock and attention.­... needlessly­.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

03:36 PM on 02/19/2009

Why the F$%& would i waste my time watching some @$$hole loser yelling at a bunch of people trying to cook? What kind of a F#(King loser does that? Oh, a british one?

[Rule Of Law]

12:18 PM on 02/19/2009

"Who The F--- Is He?"

He's not a member of the British aristocrac­y, a peer, or part of the world wide banking cartel. So I think I'll take his word over yours, if you don't mind.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

03:36 PM on 02/19/2009

Same here!

[coultersnemesis]

10:03 PM on 02/19/2009

umm..he is only CEO of one of the world's largest and most ubiquitous companies.­...neverth­eless, Starbucks has a store on every corner in London, Schultz stands to lose big time if the British economy sinks; that said, he actually has incentive to say 'all is okay' so i tend to believe him if he is telling us he's concerned about the UK economy..

[tmike78]

11:15 AM on 02/19/2009

Mandelson has a great point. People don't need to hear how much it sucks. They know how much it sucks. They live it everyday. I think he is absolutely justified in saying what he said. It's true who the F@#$ is this guy from star bucks? I respect politician­s who speak there mind and defend there people when others put them down. Good for you Lord Mandelson. Cheers! Maybe if the freaken press would start saying that we are still Americans and that's still pretty awesome. We would be a bit more confident in our government­. Worked during WWII.

[coultersnemesis]

10:14 PM on 02/19/2009

um..it worked because they fed the people a steady diet of propaganda­..why again are you invoking memories of WWII? a war fueled by irrational hate on all sides?

[AContrario]

11:04 AM on 02/19/2009

Well I have been living and working in London for the past 8 years - and yes I agree
wit the Starbuck ceo, UK's economy has been slowly falling in decreptiud­e since the
governemen­t UK has decided to heavily sponsor the financial industry and the City as
UK economy flagship,t­he f o o l s ....

There is no manufactur­ing industry or ,worst,ski­llset left in the UK . They don't build
or make things, they just import everything­. That is why life is so expensive and
property price high up. The value of the property market in London is overvalued for
what it really is. Shortsight­ed economic and political decisions and lack of planning
skills or the ability to deliver any project that span over more than one year is the trademark
of british business and political elite. London was thriving(a­t least if you were part of
one of the leading industries i.e. IT ,banking,m­edia,fashi­on) because it has become
a trading place but economy cannot be solely built on trade.

Still, I m optimistic because in the whole process has been overall beneficial to England.
Now UK has to re-invent itself..ag­ain but they know how to do that now.

[coultersnemesis]

10:07 PM on 02/19/2009

Your comment seems to contradict itself...y­ou say because of these policies of supporitng the services and 'white collar' trades, London and UK have fallen behind; yet at the end you say this overall process has been beneficial­?!

the sad truth is managerial­, financial, marketing, media, all these sorts of things are high income producing jobs because of the use of technology and high mark ups..if developed economies go back to bread and butter production­; wages will fall. yet; prices will also fall? is this what you're getting at?

[inorbit]

10:35 AM on 02/19/2009

Hey, Starbucks, in the US, is an American business that employs Americans, pays their workers fairly and gives them benefits. That means we need to support it.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

03:40 PM on 02/19/2009

Thank you for bringing that very important point to light. They DO treat their employees well... and that's a lot more than I can say for the greedy P I G S who took our country down the sewer.

[coultersnemesis]

10:10 PM on 02/19/2009

Correction­: the are an AMERICAN GLOBAL business, that also employs many Brits, too (i know, i worked there while studying abroad in London)

Why does this turn in to an 'Us v. Them' thread. very scary. The Brit Secretary would hav said the same thing about domestic opposition saying the same thing - they don't want people trashing the pound (long history) no matter who it is...this us v. them things is sooo dumb!

[medici]

10:27 AM on 02/19/2009

Some blokes can't handle the truth.

[coultersnemesis]

10:11 PM on 02/19/2009

other blokes like McCain and Gramm come to mind, too.

[jdw1981]

10:21 AM on 02/19/2009

This guy shouldn't be talking with all the Starbucks franchises that have folded. In fact, they were one of the first businesses to take a hit from the US economic meltdown. And their coffee sucks.

[coultersnemesis]

10:17 PM on 02/19/2009

it has nothing to do with Starbucks coffee sucking ( l love it) coffee is what people buy with disposable income; Schultz knows better than anyone when consumers get poorer and the economy begins to turn sour - the coffee business is the first to feel the pinch!

Alas, i'm down to starbucks during the weekdays only..and no more parfaits :/

[vippy]

10:13 AM on 02/19/2009

Coffee tastes good in Munich because of their water. I have never been able to get the same taste
with filtered water, etc. Does not matter what coffee one grinds, it is the quality of the water and,
therefore, I won't buy that expensive Starbuck's coffee.

[Babysnake]

10:04 AM on 02/19/2009

Boycott Starbucks!

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

03:41 PM on 02/19/2009

Why? Hate medical benefits? Good working atmosphere­? Paid tuition? Yeah, I thought so. Then YOU boycott them.