So how exactly does Starbucks make its bucks?

Let's start where a customer service blog should by praising the folks who work there. They are invariably polite. They go out of their way to be helpful. Service at Starbucks is excellent.

However, any drink order in any one of their many shops and you'll have a minimum 10-minute wait time.
This is true when they are very busy, or when you are the sole person at the counter. Doesn't matter if it's a simple drink like iced tea that is ready to pour from a pitcher, or one as complex as a latte.

Therein lies the reason for my titular query: If each $5 drink takes 10 minutes to prepare, Starbucks is selling 6 drinks per hour per barista. That would come to gross income of $30/hour.

Rent? Payroll? Materials? Product? What could be left? Yes, I know they are a profitable company.

It's just puzzling that so much staff time can be vested in cooking up our drinks and Starbucks can still make money.