How about this: after working at an associate Starbucks for almost a year, I can say that the standalone Starbucks don’t really care about the associate Starbucks (i.e., the ones inside grocery stores). I’ve called the associate stores the red-headed stepchild, and I don’t think I’m far off. We were told that we weren’t any different than the standalone Starbucks, but we totally were. From dress code to tips policy to benefits and perks, there was very little correlation between the stores. Also, an empty Starbucks is a boring Starbucks (at least for the barista). There’s only so much coffee you can drink (even though we weren’t supposed to). :D