"capital one cafes" are some of the most orwellian sh!t I've ever seen

As opposed to normal cafes that are not trying to sell you anything?

trollism wrote:

As opposed to normal cafes that are not trying to sell you anything?

Hell, even internet cafes have to sell you something (internet access)

Definitely creepy.

Also creepy is their rebranding of their tellers as 'Ambassadors'

{quote]"Ambassadors

Other banks have Tellers. We have Ambassadors. They’re here to answer your questions about Capital One accounts, Café events, or last night’s big game." [/quote]

I need a loan, not a high five from megabank practicing predatory capitalism.

They have a 1.2 rating on consumersaffairs.com.......they are not my friend.

It reminds me of Wal-Mart calling their wage slaves "Associates".........

".No we, the largest retailer in the world, can't afford to pay you a living wage....but we CAN give you a cheesy insulting moniker that makes you feel special. 'Associate'.......one day you might make partner, have your name on the door. Heck you have real potential, you might have your name on the building! 'DumbAzz-Mart'.......how does that sound?"

trollism wrote:

As opposed to normal cafes that are not trying to sell you anything?

Well that's exactly my point - it's called a coffee shop. You know they're trying to sell you coffee. There's no trickery or obfuscation involved.

"Capital One Cafes" ---> what are they trying to sell you, exactly? Financial services? Scones? A chill neighborhood hangout? It's nefarious because it's deceptive and forces big business into an activity that should be organic, wholesome and local.

Definitely a strange business model. But what is Orwellian about it? Do you even know what that means?

My wife loves Peets coffee but they recently closed the few locations they had in our city. Fortunately the Capital One Cafe serves Peets and they opened up a location right where she gets on the subway in the morning. Sometimes they screw up and give her the discounted price for Capital One customers. As far as I know they aren't tracking her or giving her the hard sell when she buys coffee.

Anyway I don't see what's so deceptive about it. They're running cafes at a break-even point or a loss to try to drum up banking accounts. Is it that hard to figure out? It's a weird concept but so is giving away electronics for opening up a savings account.

nagoya wrote:

trollism wrote:

As opposed to normal cafes that are not trying to sell you anything?

Well that's exactly my point - it's called a coffee shop. You know they're trying to sell you coffee. There's no trickery or obfuscation involved.

"Capital One Cafes" ---> what are they trying to sell you, exactly? Financial services? Scones? A chill neighborhood hangout? It's nefarious because it's deceptive and forces big business into an activity that should be organic, wholesome and local.

Do you think there are people going in for a Latte and coming out with a mortgage?

you don't have to go there wrote:

Definitely a strange business model. But what is Orwellian about it? Do you even know what that means?

Clearly he does not.

Can you go in there to use the bathroom and take a big dump?

DeBron Lames wrote:

Can you go in there to use the bathroom and take a big dump?

Where are you gonna 'take' it to? I like to leave mine. :)

you don't have to go there wrote:

Definitely a strange business model. But what is Orwellian about it? Do you even know what that means?

Of or relating to the works of George Orwell, specifically 1984. Maybe a better adjective would have been "dystopian"

I guess it's something you immediately "get" as unseemly or creepy, or you don't.

Call me crazy but millions of people worshipping the police and military empire while being spied on by their own government is more Orwellian than coffee in a bank.

Larrysellers wrote:

Call me crazy but millions of people worshipping the police and military empire while being spied on by their own government is more Orwellian than coffee in a bank.

OK, and...?

Not sure what's more annoying, banks pushing credit cards on millennials, or the 10 identical coffee shops on my block that all pretend to be uniquely branded. Capitol One managed to combine the two

Hardloper wrote:

Not sure what's more annoying, banks pushing credit cards on millennials, or the 10 identical coffee shops on my block that all pretend to be uniquely branded. Capitol One managed to combine the two

Yeah, exactly.

To put it in very simple terms - it's deceptive marketing. First off, it isn't immediately clear what the cafe really is, or who's behind it until you're actually in it. Secondly, by making you sit in their branded cafe, the company is using you as free advertising. Third, it perverts a wholesome activity (getting a coffee and a local coffee house) and turns into some perverse cross-marketing live action role play, in which you're an unwilling actor.

trollism wrote:

nagoya wrote:

Well that's exactly my point - it's called a coffee shop. You know they're trying to sell you coffee. There's no trickery or obfuscation involved.

"Capital One Cafes" ---> what are they trying to sell you, exactly? Financial services? Scones? A chill neighborhood hangout? It's nefarious because it's deceptive and forces big business into an activity that should be organic, wholesome and local.

Do you think there are people going in for a Latte and coming out with a mortgage?

You can either take out a fixed term or variable rate loan to buy your latte. They may sell burn insurance and hedging against spills.

I do what I can wrote:

DeBron Lames wrote:

Can you go in there to use the bathroom and take a big dump?

Where are you gonna 'take' it to? I like to leave mine. :)

Very good sir. He must be accessing the double deckers.

thats the collateral for the loan

nagoya wrote:

Hardloper wrote:

Not sure what's more annoying, banks pushing credit cards on millennials, or the 10 identical coffee shops on my block that all pretend to be uniquely branded. Capitol One managed to combine the two

Yeah, exactly.

To put it in very simple terms - it's deceptive marketing. First off, it isn't immediately clear what the cafe really is, or who's behind it until you're actually in it. Secondly, by making you sit in their branded cafe, the company is using you as free advertising. Third, it perverts a wholesome activity (getting a coffee and a local coffee house) and turns into some perverse cross-marketing live action role play, in which you're an unwilling actor.

well if it's role play then I'm going to sh!t on the counter.

Larrysellers wrote:

Call me crazy but millions of people worshipping the police and military empire while being spied on by their own government is more Orwellian than coffee in a bank.

hahhahaha that cracked me up. seriously, I agree, I wouldn't call this Orwellian. its definitely odd, but Orwellian is the last thing I would have thought. In fact, seems the opposite of Orwellian.

the thing that bothers me about the bank coffee shop is it is sells Peets, when it should obviously sell StarBUCKS.