Ok, a new day has dawned on IHateStarbucks.com.
I no longer want to keep hacking the old, tired php on the site, so this is what I propose. These messages will remain up for all eternity. In addition, there is a new Guest book. So if you want to share your opinons, i.e. post to the site, go here. As always, if wish to rant or rave, send me an email:
| Name: | Siren 02860 |
| Date: | Jul 07 2004 12:22 PM |
| Kristen: I am very sorry that you had such a bad experience. I have been in "L's" position many times, and I have to say that at times, it is VERY difficult not to get frustrated. Sometimes that one drink can back up a growing line of drinks and throw your whole flow off balance. Regardless, the way you were treated is UNACCEPTABLE. It sounds to me like she charged you for the new drink? No way. At my store, if a drink is made incorrectly, regardless of who's fault it was, we remake it free of charge. Secondly, you mentioned a grocery store manager? If you are frequenting a grocery store Starbucks, please bear in mind that they are NOT Starbucks employees. They are payed by whichever grocery store they work at, and that is NOT an actual Starbucks you are at. It is lisenced concept, which means that the grocery chain is paying Starbucks to use theri name and product. I sincerely hope you are able to find a place that will make your drink as you like it, whether it is at Starbucks or not. I promise you, we may all slip everynow and then, I know I am VERY guilty of losing it with customers on occassion, but we are not all as evil as "L". Clearly she had something in her bonnet that day. 7 MORE DAYS! :) |
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| Name: | Siren 02859 |
| Date: | Jul 07 2004 12:22 PM |
| Alright, alright, this is getting way out of hand! Paying customer: I'm glad you have found what you consider good coffee,and I'm not saying that you DO NOT deserve friendly service at EVERY service establishment you set foot in. Perhaps I was too wordy, or frustrated from the shift that I had just come off of when I wrote my last posting. I was merely trying to articulate what Tamugirl so eloquently stated. There are some rude partners, and who knows what their problem is, and yes, they should be expected to take ownership of their behavior and change it. BUT there are also RUDE CUSTOMERS. They should be held just as accountable for their behavior as we are, I'm sorry, but the customer is NOT ALWAYS RIGHT! All of us our human beings, some of us more educated or intelleigent, some of are more sensitve some of us have thicker skins. It is all part of the balance that is mankind. Just as Tamugirl said, just as we have a choice to work at Starbucks or not, you have a choice to be a "paying customer" or not. It appears that you have made your choice- Good for you. Some of us that work at Starbucks have made the choice and simply find our barista positions a temporary resting place as we forge ahead to bigger and BETTER things. I ersonally consider the person who invented this site a savior. Paying Customer: If we did not have this venue as an outlet, I guarantee you, the bad service you may have received at ONE location out of nearly 7000 would have been exponentially more crappy. At least here we can vent to people who understand our situation. Cheers everyone. |
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| Name: | Bellinghamster 02858 |
| Date: | Jul 07 2004 12:21 PM |
| To ShiftKing: I have to disagree with your caution to Kristen about filing the complaint against "L" and the behavior that was exhibited in the store, in front of peers, and other customers. By telling someone not to complain or say anything is condoning and enabling "L" to think her behavior is Okay.............and it's not! Kristen isn't going after this employee's job, the employee did that all on their own. Why do you think "L" behaves in this fashion? Because no one calls "L" on the behavior, so it must be Okay! Kristen did not pay to be humiliated or to be made an example; she paid for a beverage, made a human error when ordering, and took ownership of that error. Asking for someone, who's job it is to make the beverage, to correct it is not uncommon nor illegal. I say, "KUDO'S" to Kristen for standing up for herself and the other customers who may have experienced the wrath of "L" in the past, present and future! No one deserves to be treated like this.....no one! |
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| Name: | Bellinghamster 02857 |
| Date: | Jul 07 2004 09:23 AM |
| Kristen: I find it appalling that a service oriented business would allow an employee to behave in such a manner. Everyone has a bad day, personal issues, etc., but the fact still remains that these issues are to be kept out of the work place. If you can't do that, then you are in the wrong business! I worked for a SB and there is an employee at this location who also "throws" incorrect drinks into the sink and grumbles to the customer about the mistake. Once he threw a drink so hard it splatterd all over the place, all over me (I was covered from head to foot in frappucino), and he was allowed to get away with it -- no explanation or apology. What really chapped my hide was that I cleaned up the mess!! Who cares who made the mistake? Correct it and move on from there. How hard is it to accept that everyone makes an error, but when someone takes ownership of that error and requests that it be corrected give up the attitude and do your job. I applaud your action to complain -- there aren't enough coupons for free drinks to make up for a rude employee who is obviously unhappy about where they are in life.
Happy Customer: No, you are not incorrect in the expectation that you be greeted with a smile (even if it is forced), a thank you, etc. I, like you, tip very well for the service I receive at a SB -- actually, 50% sometimes. Having been an employee of SB I understand how much tips help when it comes to buying gas for the car, groceries, day care, books, tuition, etc. But, throw my drink one time! I don't necessarily expect a smile, thank you, or go to heck, but please remember that I am not the one who burned your toast at breakfast--okay?! In the words of Mohandas Gandhi, "Be the change that you want to see in the world" -- no truer words have been spoken.
By the way, after the employee I worked with (who is a SS by the way) threw the frapp all over the place I QUIT!!! You don't have enough money to make me stay and endure such abuse as an employee, let alone a paying customer. I have a job now making $35.00/hr., thank you very much (plus my degree), so don't give up you college students working at SB until you graduate. There is a light at the end of that deep, dark, chocolate laden tunnel!!! |
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| Name: | jimmy 02856 |
| Date: | Jul 07 2004 09:22 AM |
| it's everywhere in my town, and it sets example to the rest of the espresso bars to follow. result? i can't get a good coffee outside of my house. |
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| Name: | Nicole 02855 |
| Date: | Jul 07 2004 12:39 AM |
| poor Kristen :( My heart goes out to you...but I can see this from the other side of the counter, too. I'm not saying it's your fault, but I'm sure that "L" has had many other customers who often forget to tell her which syrup they want, whether they want it iced, customers giving her a hard time, etc. and maybe she'd had enough. Maybe she thought that you were another one of the bad apples. Or she was just having a rough morning, etc. There really is no good excuse, but I wouldn't go so far as to take her job and livelihood away. I'm sure you've had your bad days at work, too. I'm sure she's just stressed and going the wrong way about it.
But anyway, I felt bad about what happened to you; you sound like a sweet customer :) If you were at my job and you asked me nicely the way you did with "L" I gladly would have made your drink over, no questions asked. |
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| Name: | ShiftKing 02854 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 11:38 PM |
| ShiftKing here, checking in on today's topics: PayingCustomer - Sounds like you've got a bad store there. Just the same as you wouldn't judge all wal-marts by the experience you had at one of them, or all independent shops by the experience you had at one, I would urge you not to do the same with Starbucks. Sure, we all know the Siren has her problems, but it just sounds to me like that's a sour-store. My only suggestion would be to find another to frequent where they appreciate you, or else by all means, do frequent the place that gives you the best service. There's no real excuse for bad service.
Kristen Difatta - Speaking as someone who's had that happen, it can be frustrating, but there isn't really an excuse for "L" to get snappy with you. And if you do in fact go in there all the time, I would think they'd all know you, and they'd normally be really nice to you. Especially with this new "name game" thing. So I find that whole situation weird. I can't really hope to make excuses for "L" but maybe she was having a really bad day? Maybe she got dumped that morning or something, or lost someone in her family? I don't know. I think you have a legitimate gripe, but I would urge you to be careful about being too vindictive, as a bunch of other employees doubtless witnessed the event. And I know something like this happened in our store, where an angry customer basically got a girl fired...a girl that none of us really liked. And to this day, all of the partners still know that this women gets decaf from us, until the day she dies. Just a...cautious warning. Remember this is someone's job you're setting out to take. |
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| Name: | tamugirl 02853 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 10:52 PM |
| Paying Customer: as an employee who hates my job, I would just like to say it IS unfortunate that you have to deal with rude employees. There really is NO excuse that a customer has to deal with "our hardships" of the daily grind. However, we ARE human, we do make mistakes and we DO show our emotions sometimes. I find it very fortunate to work with the group that I do because over all, our biggest clients are made up of customers who return PRIMARILY because of our customer service SKILLS. We all have our bad days, but it sounds like the particular store you patron seems to have bad days every day. As a starbucks employee I can really appreciate a customer such as yourself who greets US just like we would greet them instead of throwing an order at us. And tipping IS NOT mandatory...tipping as a customer is gratitude that you are showing US..that we went above and beyond, so WE ALL can appreciate your tips. It helps pay for my gas and groceries some weeks. But, this site primarily is a venue that helps ALOT of us to have a place to vent, because MANY of us ARE kissing the butts of our customers and making sure that their every need is taken care of and many of us DONT get ANY appreciation for bending over backwards for it, so yes, it helps to vent. Yes, I CHOSE to have this job, and I am currently working on getting a REAL career that I can use my degree in and I understand FULLY that i will have to endure this crap until then, BUT there are those customers who consistantly run my patience thin and make me feel like a second class citizen when I'm college educated and KNOW I amount to much more than what they treat me. Just like I made a decision to work at Starbucks, you make a decision to patron it, if you dont like the service I would urge you to send in the comment cards that are usually found at the condiment bar. I dont know about the store you go to, but MY manager definately pays attention to what customers are saying. I hope that the service improves for you. |
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| Name: | Paying Customer 02852 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 10:14 PM |
| LMAO.
Anon: You're absolutely right. I don't deserve a smile and thank you for tipping. I deserve a greeting, a smile, a full explanation of any and all questions I have about the menu, and a thank you for stopping in the store and buying your coffee, whether I tip or not.
Siren: After paying gourmet prices for convenience store coffee and service at Starbuck's, I rode that Flying Saucer latte straight to coffee heaven. I'm not asking for anyone to kiss my butt. I'm just asking that the service at Starbuck's at least be on par with, say, McDonald's.
By the way, where I live, several independent shops and stands have opened, but where I work, the Contorted Mermaid is the only game in town..... |
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| Name: | Paying Customer 02851 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 09:56 PM |
| LMAO @ some of these "baristas". I'm not one of the rude customers you whine about. My standard tip is usually a buck, or maybe a buck and change. That's 30%. This, for worse service than I usually get for no tip at McDonald's.
I don't talk on my cell when ordering, and I don't stare over the barista's shoulder when she's making my coffee.
For their money alone, each customer deserves a greeting, a full explanation of any questions they have about the menu, and a thank you. This should be obvious, regardless of any poor training Starbuck's gives you.
I work in the service industry, and I used to work for tips. I know all about the rude customers, but not all customers are flaming idiots just because they haven't memorized the Starbuck's menu.
The civil customers should be treated civilly,and that's not what happens at the particular store I'm talking about.
Customers should get more than convenience store service for the gourmet price they pay at Starbuck's.
And BTW siren, after poor service and mediocre coffee at Starbuck's, I rode that Flying Saucer latte straight to coffee Heaven! |
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| Name: | DriveThruEspresso 02845 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 09:54 PM |
| Anon- that was a bit rude what you wrote about Paying Customer. I go to Starbucks right around the corner from my house, and these jerks ar rude to me all the time. I say please and thank you with a smile because im just a friendly people person, and they are so stuck up their own a$$e$. They look at lots of people rude and treat the customers crappy. I dont tip anymore. Oh, Paying Customer didnt say he tips a nickel, he says he pays $3.00 for a nickel cup of coffee. That would be rude to put a nickel in a tip jar.
Paying Customer, im right there with ya. |
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| Name: | Kristen Difatta 02844 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 09:54 PM |
| So, I spend about $25/wk on coffee at this place purely because they're right by my house. And I mean RIGHT BY MY HOUSE. They're about a block and a half away. So, this morning, the head barista, "L", was there and I gave her my order. The order goes something like this: a Venti size "real" caramel latte w/ an extra shot of espresso, ICED. Well, since I was trying to prepare for my work day, I forgot to tell "L" ICED. Right as I peeked my head around the machine and asked her, she was capping the HOT drink. I asked her nicely if she could ICE it for me. She got so pissed off, threw, YES THREW, the drink into one of the stainless sinks and said VERY HAUGHTILY to me, "It would have been better if you had let me know that BEFORE I made the drink!!!" Then she says, "You're going to have to wait a minute!" I kindly reply, "that's fine, I'm not in that big of a hurry." She goes back to her old sweet self to the couple that stood in line behind me, takes care of them, and then comes back to me, asks me for my money (WITH SERIOUS ATTITUDE), and begins to make my drink. Then when it comes time to put the milk in, she says, again as HAUGHTILY as she could, "Do you have a milk preference!!??!!??" I reply softly, "well, since you're asking, skim would be nice." She says, YET AGAIN HAUGHTILY, "you know when you're ordering you should probably say which milk you prefer!!!!" I was SO OFFENDED at this point. All I was trying to do was order my coffee and mentally prepare myself for my day at work and this B@!%$, who might I add WORKS IN A COFFEE SHOP, gets mad at me for forgetting to tell her about the ice. So, needless to say, I LEFT STARBUCKS IN TEARS. Actually, if you really want to know, I was crying hysterically. Yes, it was that bad. When I finally pulled it together, with a little help from a call I made to my boyfriend, I called the store manager. And then later this afternoon, I called the starbucks customer relations center. We'll see what happens from there. At this point, I'm getting an apology letter, a free drink from the grocery store manager, and I've left a message with the liason, for both stores, on her voicemail.
Wish me luck!
Fry "L" fry!!!
Kristen |
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| Name: | no whip 02850 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 09:51 PM |
| electra, you're my hero! They really shouldn't be able to officially discipline you for something you did when you weren't working. At the time, you were a customer, and any other fair-minded customer may have done the same thing. (there was once a customer who was getting a little impatient waiting 2 minutes for me to make their latte, and the customer next to them said, "you want quick coffee? go home and make some instant." that customer was officially my Customer of the Week). My point is that this is your strongest arguement against nasty fascist starbucks management. You have a right to an opinion, do not let them silence you. And with this whole paying customer thing: some partners are rude, some are not. Some customers are rude, some are not. Depending totally on personality, mood, etc because we're all human. Some stores have a high rate of polite partners, some stores have a high rate of polite customers (though I'd like to know where these mythical stores are, haha). Maybe if SB stopped treating their employees like s***, they'd have something to smile about. |
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| Name: | Nicole 02849 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 08:55 PM |
| Paying Customer, I did get another job months ago, and I'll thank myself till the day I die :) And I'm glad you support your fellow local vendors :) Keep it up! |
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| Name: | DriveThruEspresso 02848 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 08:55 PM |
| Dont come off so hard on Paying Customer people. He sounds very nice, but like I said the Starbucks employee's at the store around the corner are just rude and look at people crazy. And I say " Please, and Thank You" and by the way, I did talk ot the manager about it because they were rude to me for no reason. Why should I spend my money ANYWHERE where the employee's are rude to me. I dont think so. |
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| Name: | DriveThruEspresso 02847 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 07:18 PM |
| Anon- Paying Customer has a good point. You shouldnt have come off so strong. The Starbucks around the corner are rude. Their employee's dont treat the customers with respect, and Im always nice and friendly. Paying Customer didnt say that he tips them a nickel, he said that he pays $3 for a cup of coffee that costs a nickel. Tipping a nickel is rude.
Paying Customer- I know what youre saying about the employee's. |
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| Name: | Siren 02846 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 06:51 PM |
| Only 7 more days to go and I feel I am long over due to put 2 more cents in to this pot! Paying Customer: Take that "Flying Saucer" you are raving about and ride it right in to the outer stratosphere!Perhaps some of our employees could use a little more training, but some of you customers could use some training too! Sometimes you guys treat us like Pavlov's friggin' dogs and expect us to be EXTRA nice to you, or speed your drink to the front of the line just beacause you threw the pennies from your glove box in our tip jar-NO WAY! Try treating us like human beings, try getting of your GD cell phones or taking your faux Gucci sunglasses off when you place your order. Try saying, "I'd Like a...". or , "May I please have a...', instead of, "Gimme a...", or, "I need a ..." We are not friggin robots clothed in green aprons; you get what you give Paying Customer. Try smiling at US first or using less demanding phrases when you order, try knowing what the F you want when you get up to the register, try not to leer over me and ask if that's decaf, or tell me you don't want whipped cream when it is not even your drink I'm making(because I guarantee your arrogant ass that you are not the only moron who likes a venti white mocha) and maybe, just maybe you will get that please or thank you that clearly you seem to crave. I'm not aaying that the Bucks is the best place to work, it has its ups and its downs, but try to remember, most of us that work there still do bleed when we get hurt. |
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| Name: | Anon 02843 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 05:13 PM |
| Electra: Also, just to let you know, they cannot write you up for anything if you were not being paid or on their time during the little incident. If they try to, you definitely have legal rights to a throwdown, and believe me, though you are important, Starbucks doesn't care enough about one measley little employee (out of the thousands) to take it to court.
To Paying Customer: Just to let you know, tipping us isn't what gets you a smile and a thank you, so don't think you are so special for dropping a whole freaking nickel into the tip jar. |
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| Name: | Paying Customer 02842 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 04:30 PM |
| Seems that this is mostly a place where Starbucks employees whine about their job. Hint: get another one.
The Starbuck's next door to where I work has really rude employees. I've never been a rude customer and I always tip. Is it too much to expect a "Hello," a smile and a "Thank you" when I plop down $3.00 for a 5 cent cup of coffee?
Complain to the manager, you say? Forget it. They're the rudest ones. They act like they're doing me a favor to overcharge me for coffee. Now, I just bring a thermos of Folgers. Hey, I get three months worth of coffee for the price of one Starbuck's latte. And the service is better.
Also, I found a couple of indie places with better coffee, and actual humans for employees. Drink one latte at a place called "Flying Saucer" and you'll swear off Starbuck's forever.
I don't necessarily have a problem with the whole "Starbuck's is taking over the world" thing, but they should hire and train employees that know how to serve customers and make coffee. There's more to being a barista than looking good for a Playboy spread. |
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| Name: | Lawman 02841 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 04:06 PM |
| Electra, if you are in California there are many better things you can do to over throw the evil empire than put visine in coffee. For starters do not sign anything they give you. Laws and regulations to protection of free speach are very strong in CA. Any dicipline imposed may be a violation of your civil rights. If I have intrigued you, I may be able to point you in the right direction if you are intersted. |
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| Name: | electra 02840 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 02:25 PM |
| I've had it up to my ears with this company! I've been an employee for about 3 years (I pretty much felt like I sold my soul when I got hired, but hey, the man was gonna give me health insurance and stock options...) and I am losing my starbucks cool. I've worked for 'real' cafes in the past, so at least I know what a macchiato REALLY is, but the newbies that are being 'trained' don't even really know how to steam milk.
so here's my real gripe: I was a customer in my own store one day, and I saw this incredibly b*@?%y woman relentlessly abusing my sometime coworkers (this really happens everyday, but usually I just smile and wish I had some Visine to drop in the coffee.) So when she left I simply said, "you should be nicer to those people, they work really hard." SO this woman follows me back inside and starts yelling at me at the top of her lungs. I didn't really care- abuse me, but do not abuse my friends. SO the manager comes out near the end of this woman's tirade, and asks what's going on as the ex-customer storms off. I tell how rude she was, and the partners back me up. I am everybody's friggin hero. This woman calls the district manager who calls my manager who promptly rats me out. So now I'm getting the cold shoulder from management (but all the baristas love me) and I suspect they'll try to write me up today or tomorrow. I'll refuse to sign a write up. But what's really ridiculous is the fact that I was just a customer when this all happened and not representing the evil empire in any way. I am so trading in my vested stock options and making havoc for two weeks until I can leave somewhat gracefully. Somebody post great ideas for semi-subtle chaos I can create for my last two weeks... |
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| Name: | Nobody girl 02839 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 02:25 PM |
| I hate working for Starbucks its pretty shit. I never want to make another Frappacino for as long as I live. They are evil and should never have been invented |
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| Name: | Kimmy 02838 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 02:24 PM |
| Hello guys!
I have been a shift supervisor at starbucks for 3 months and then quit the company due to my store manager's hassling timetable. She changes it nearly every day and doesnt ask me but put it there as a given fact that I MUST do as told. I really used to like working for starbucks but the last 2 months showed me, starbucks exploits you wherever possible and the work mates are not really supportive.
Thank God I have found another job :-)
Take care of yourselves,
Kimmy |
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| Name: | tamugirl 02835 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 09:34 AM |
| matt: it goes back to my question of technique then...i'm serious, i would like to know your secret... |
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| Name: | smartened up fast! 02837 |
| Date: | Jul 06 2004 09:33 AM |
| To: Slickone and all the others---go elsewhere to get your coffee and pastries...there are BETTER and cheaper places to go! Stop feeding Starbucks or they will continue to grow and prosper from us complaining consumers. I used to work at Starbucks and won't ever go back to one now. BOYCOTT STARBUCKS!!!!BOYCOTT STARBUCKS!!!!BOYCOTT STARBUCKS!!!!BOYCOTT STARBUCKS!!!! |
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