What if Starbucks was like a church?

I saw a reference to this video on Twitter.  It's quite funny but the further you get into the video the more you realise there's actually quite a point there.  What if Starbucks was marketed like a church, using the methods shown in the video?  I can't imagine anyone coming back to the coffee shop in the video for a second visit!  They'd probably have a coffee phobia for life!

It struck me that the coffee shop in the video had got things round the wrong way.  Instead of being greeted as they came in the door the customers were ignored, or got funny looks from other coffee drinkers.  Once they were inside, instead of being allowed to just enjoy what they'd come for (coffee in this case, a service if it's a church) they were pressured into giving contact information and into things they're not comfortable with.  Unfortunately that can be all too common in churches- where people can be so determined to make sure people come back that in fact their efforts backfire, they can seem 'intense' without actually being interested.  Making people feel comfortable and welcomed with interest (but not pressure) is surely the best way to make people feel they can return.  Unfortunately some Christians don't seem to be able to judge when people are feeling uncomfortable.

And the way the coffee hosts talked about 'conversion' and money was probably enough in itself to scare away any potential customers!  Language is another minefield for visitors to church- jargon can sometimes seem like another language (and sometimes it is...when you get into the more charismatic churches no wonder some people feel like they're with a bunch of very weird people!).

How to get long-term church goers to understand that what seems perfectly normal to them can seem odd and pushy to non-church goers is something I've long wondered about.  If you've always been to church it's hard to see that other people could very easily be put off by some of the language used, or might just not know what to do at certain points in the service.

I think this video could help a few people get their heads round this problem.  Whether it can help them do anything to make visiting a church less 'odd' for people who don't regularly go, I don't know.  I hope so!