Starbucks Coffee

1/21/19 Monday 11:00am-12:00pm

Barista called out mobile order. I checked the drink and it was not correct. I asked the barista to remake it. She looked at it and said “this is what you ordered.”

I firmly reassured her that she made a mistake and that she used Vanilla Bean Powder instead of Vanilla syrup. She again looked at the label and contents and was very irritated and said “the soy causes the syrup to clump up.”

I again calmly told her “please dump out the drink and you will notice the vanilla powder stick to the cup.” She then stated “I’ll just remake it” as I was seeing her create the drink correctly this time, it came out correctly no powdery chunks and I visually showed her the difference.

She rushed away and said “Can you make sure the drink is right before you leave?” I said it is right and walked back to my seat.

Moments later the Store Manager came out. I thought she was going to say that she spoke with the barista and created a teaching moment. She did not. Instead, she spoke to me in a demeaning manner, and said:

“Now, I know that at other Starbucks locations baristas can be rude, but our store is different and they will always happily remake your drink—no questions asked. So in the future can you please talk to the barista and show her the respect and care that she shows all our customers?” She then handed me her business card and a $4 gift card (which I rejected by leaving it on the table). She made no effort to apologize for the beverage that was made incorrectly; it was clear that she blamed me (the customer) and saw her barista as one who could do no wrong.

After collecting myself, I requested a copy of the “Share your thoughts” pamphlet so I could reach out to the district manager to discuss the manager’s commendable care for her employees, but also her own lack of customer service skills in attempting to resolve something that had already been handled. They did not have any pamphlets. They said that the “Share your thoughts” pamphlets were no longer used by the company, so they gave me a handwritten card with district manager cell and email.

Side note: Unsafe Food Handling Practices / Starbucks Policy
Milk and milk-like products. (soy, almond, etc) are being left out of fridge on counter for >30min. When my husband asked about this, she initially seemed surprised that he observed this and knew the policy, but quickly responded: “We keep it out because of peak hours and volume.” If we had video coverage of the event you could see that it was not peak hours or volume; there was no steady flow of customers, and most workers were performing other tasks completely unrelated to making beverages. So, even if “peak hours” was a valid excuse, Food Handling Practices / Starbucks Policy should always be followed. Period.

The manager’s perspective of this specific Starbucks establishment (that they can do no wrong and that it must be the customer’s fault), must be re-evaluated. I requested a service and the service was not carried out. I am dissatisfied with this experience, and I question this Starbucks teams’ ability to consistently and satisfactorily meet the needs of its community.

Thank you for your time,
Mr. Disgruntled Customer