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: | angie 01971 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:24 PM |
| I just hate the place. They have, or are, opened a store in France. Whatever! I refuse to spend one dollar, or 2.25, on a cup of Juan's best from that place. How many of them are in New York alone? Corporate America be damned. That is all. Hey, you people who work there and hate it so much, quit. It is a dime a dozen type job anyway. I am sure you could make more, or the same, somewhere else. People in France, don't buy their stuff. Don't even go in to use the loo. That is the only way. |
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| Name: | Alex in Greece 01970 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:24 PM |
| Well, in another wave of expansion, Starbucks is multiplying like crazy over here in Athens, Greece (about 15 stores at last count), and the funny thing is that although I never wanted to step foot in one when I was living in Toronto, Canada, now I go regularly. Why? Well, for one, their "smoke-free environment" is a blessing in a country where just about everyone smokes like a chimney (and considers it their God-given right to blow their smoke down your throat)... and as for prices, well the great local cafes on almost every corner selling (in my opinion) tastier Illy cappucinoes charge more, or at lesat charge the same for a much tinier quantity of coffee. But at least it TASTES like coffee. Starbucks doesn't sell coffee, it sells "beverages" as far as I'm concerned, which can sometimes be nice in a country where they have no idea why someone would put vanilla, or raspberry or coconut in their coffee...
On the other hand, the whole "globalization" and "homogenization" of coffee places is a bit disturbing... kind of makes me wonder how far it'll go...
So do I hate Starbucks? I'm on the fence with this one... |
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| Name: | Michelle 01969 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:22 PM |
| It pisses me off that every Starbucks I go to the drink I like is made different by each person that makes it..why is there no consistency???? I mean I pay 4 bucks at a time only hoping to be impressed not pissed...should I complain if it is made wrong???? I mean should I...or just suck it up????? If I complain...the workers give me a nasty look...even when trying to be as polite as possible....I only resorted to Starbucks cause...my Coffee Beanery here...stinks at making the drink I loved in FL...oh well...I got my own machine so I am going to start my own experimentation at home.....that will solve the problemmmmmmo........... |
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| Name: | MSMAY 01968 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:22 PM |
| i'm doing a analysis on Starbucks and i stumble on here, i didn't know there was so much complaints about them. is it really a pian to work there and are all the store like that or just particular ones? i'm a major on management and all this is stunning to me. |
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| Name: | ShiftForLife 01967 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:21 PM |
| Holy crap, literally! Keeping your store open does not only go against every health law known to man but also against starbucks *so called* guiding principles. How does cleaning up toilet waste respect your dignity? It doesnt. Its disgusting and it could be a hepatitus risk as well. you should seriously call OSHA about that. In fact, ask someone (shift or asm or something) for a couple of incident reports and have yourself and whom ever else was working at the time fill them out. Just so you have some witnesses and whatnot. Blah. It works.
My store is in San Diego and was open during the October wildfires which actually came within 6 miles of my store. However, our stupid stupid stupid DM decided it was okay for us to be open- eventhough we all had to breath ash and soot and drive to work under the worst conditions ever. Well, all of us were sick while we were there. I was the SSupervisor working and had to run the store with only myself and one other person because everyone was too sick/too concerned about their families catching on fire to be there. So we were slammed all day (such morons! who the heck wants coffee during a crisis? and has the audacity to complain that we dont have pastries! of COURSE we dont have pastries, theyre delivered from LA! LA is on fire...gah!) and had a couple service complaints. So you know what the DM does? He writes us both up. So you know what I do? I call OSHA. You know what happens? The write up was reversed and both myself and the barista were given crappy MUG awards. |
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| Name: | Make it YOUR Drink 01966 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:20 PM |
| I have been with Starbucks for roughly one year now - and I'm quite sure that I was fired today. Allow me to introduce you into my delightful livingspace:
I pretty much held drive-through as my own - everyone else at the store didn't like drive-through register, and I really did like it - I got to talk to people, got to joke around, got to at least feel like I was doing something -other- than making low wages and pushing coffee on people. Various people called on several occasions to compliment the drive-through person, and that made me happy. Not to say that I was looking for a long-term stay in the world of coffee and stale scones - I was just looking for something to bide the time in between the chaos of college classes.
As the first few months passed, those higher up on the totem pole decided that the current manager was inept - thusly, they fir... no.. scratch that - he "went to seek other employment ventures". For the span of 4ish months thereafter, one manager was forced to run two stores - the manager became very stressed because of this, and though I had a few disputes with the dual-store manager, I still understand that times were quite insane.
Enter new manager. New manager is an outside hire (those who have worked at The House That Frapp'chino built understand the grave nature of the words "outside hire". The new manager had spent around 15 years at a desk job, and one day decides - through no understood logic - that the world of lattes is for him. So, with atrophied wits, he drops everything and takes control of a Starbucks.
There is still no problem at this point... the people working are still in a rather stable state of stasis, and things aren't great - but they still aren't bad.
When the new manager was finally placed in charge of things, weened from the books, the already offset stability of the store was set into a free fall. Suddenly, we find ourselves with amazingly excessive stocks of unrequired things - yet very needed items were nowhere to be seen. Mountains of decaf. espresso beans - no sleeves; piles of coffee base, no Frapp'chino base; a stock of cold cups that could reconstruct the Tower of Babel - no dome lids. Things that followed basic logic in the chain of mental command for placing the corperate order - bereft, lacking, and not to be found within the confines of our climate-controlled, researched lighting, 8-hour habitat.
This was still a stage where it was funny to me. I really didn't care one way or another if we were out of things, as the people could deal with it - we're out, you wanted it, I'm sorry, here - have a drink for free.
Class started up again, and I posted that I was going to be unable to work on M/W/F - Saturday was also taboo due to musical interests. I post this up for him to see two days before he puts up the next week's schedule. On another side note, when I "posted" my schedule - I intend to say that I handed it to him - face to face - explaining it to him while doing so. I work no more that week, and I'll call sometime on Monday to see when I work on Tuesday - this was my logic. I didn't want to bog down the already understaffed barristas with the insanely tedious "Hey... what's my schedule for next week?" phone call.
Thus, one can imagine my curiosity when I get a call on Monday from the shift that night wondering where I was - as I was scheduled. Further probing later showed that I was scheduled for 3 out of 4 unavailable days. I jot down my schedule again, and get things worked out.
The next week, the same thing. I'm still scheduled for days when I'm in class. So, Monday, I get a call from the manager asking where I am - to which I explain that I am at my classes. He asks if I've found anyone to cover my shift - and, understandably, I remark that I'm unaware that it's my responsibility to find someone to cover a shift that I shouldn't have been scheduled for in the first place.
He becomes somewhat irritated, saying that we need to have a meeting - having someone warn me prior that he was talking for several days to pretty much everyone about his desire to fire me - I ask if this meeting is in reguards to my job, and/or termination. This makes him stutter - something that I've come to learn that he does when flustered or caught by supprise.
I agree to meet with him, saying that we'll have to pick a day when I'm not in class. I go in for my closing shift last night, look at next week's schedule - and amazingly: I'm scheduled for 2 unavailable days out of the 3 days he has me working. I get a call from him today (Monday) at around 11a, saying that we were supposed to meet today, and that - since I have not showed up - he has removed me from the schedule entirely.
I have to question - does this person understand the concept behind 'unavailable'? Is there a lack of vocabulary? Is it just pure spite that he must have clicked 'Ignore' every time the computer informed him "...unavailable to work this day/time." as he went about creating the schedule?
It's not even that I am fond of my job - I had just become somewhat comfortable and acclimated to the enviroment and people. I knew people by face/car/voice what they wanted to drink - people talked to me - I made people laugh. I'm sure that doing a pirate voice isn't in the Star Skills book - but it was non-offensive, and made people crack up. I tried to be the nice guy, and yet - I find myself without a job.
And that, is my story. |
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| Name: | D-Mac 01982 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:19 PM |
| While I have enjoyed most of the year that I've been working at Starbucks, a few things have also come to my attention that just don't seem right. Many on this site have pointed out that Starbucks doesn't pay it's employees very well, and I have to agree full-heartedly. I work my butt off, and when I finally got my review, all I got to show for it was an 11 cent raise. 11 cents? I almost felt like writing a letter to the corporate offices and saying "Thanks, but no thanks, assholes!" 11 cents? All the insane amount of money that Starbucks makes, and they won't give me more than an 11 cent raise? The irony of it is, I got really high marks on my review, too. I actually talked to my Store Manager about this, and she says she gets about the same raises as Baristas do. Apparently, that's just how 'Bucks does business with their employees. 11 cents? Hell, I never worked there before, but I'd imagine that even McDonalds would give you at least a 25 cent raise...
Okay, that was one long ass paragraph, but I'm not done ranting yet. They insist on having me know the different taste of all of our coffees, but dammit, all of it tastes the same. I used to think it was just me, as Starbucks insists it's coffee is of the highest standard. But it's been enlightening to read the posts on this site and hear the truth...that our coffee just isn't that good.
I've met a lot of cool people working at Starbucks, and our store is one of the very best in the district or whatever. But the bottom line is...I'm not going to miss a lot of the crap when I leave. For starters, I just wanna slap these people who come up and order the most convoluted drinks imaginable. They make me soooo nauseous. But at the same time, I understand that if you pay $3.50 for big ass mocha, then you have the right to have it be fixed any damn way you want. Right? Which leads me to another thing I would like to mention here, today. Thanks to reading this site, whenever I give someone their total for their order, the thought that crosses my mind everytime now is..."And your total is...WAY TOO FRIGGIN MUCH! HAHA, SUCKER!"
Thank you, drive through! |
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| Name: | Troy 01988 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:19 PM |
| Ahh yes! I cant believe I have not stumbled upon this site before. As a former partner of 2 1/2 years I have to say the "Starbucks Experience" was one of the most interesting I have ever taken part in. Propoghanda, childish behaviour on the part of the managers, partners, and customers, big brother like provacy invasion, lies, manipulation, and a first hand look at how corporations really work. Before I rant to much I do have to say that Starbucks was great for meeting a lot of great people and friends, especially having just moved to a new city and overall it was not the most stressful job (other than $8000 Saturdays but even they could be fun). And being in school the free coffee was greatly appreciated. Overall though the experience was bullshit. The company is a perfect example of what is wrong with corporations and lets face it, Starbucks customers can either be great, or the biggest pricks in the entire world. Although I always tried to make every drink perfect is it really necessary to throw a tantrum because your drink is 172 degrees, not 174? And I have a couple questions for others here? 1. Are there any other Canadian partners (past or present here) and 2. Are all the girls that work at Starbucks crazy or have I just made bad choices in who I date? |
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| Name: | Kendra Krause 01989 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:18 PM |
| I'm a Mesa State College student in Grand Junction, CO, and I hate Starbucks. Mainly just because of its unending expansion across the globe and how it drives every small business coffee shop out of business. |
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| Name: | schmoopy 01990 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:18 PM |
| can we hear from the portland, oregon area partners? has your starbucks experience gone downhill? it is not the company i joined years ago. it used to be fun and hard work. now it's corporate prison. it is all about the dollar and nothing else matters. i don't want to be a member of this cult anymore. |
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| Name: | John Pritchard 01991 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:18 PM |
| My 2-day old Folgers taste better than anything at Starbucks. |
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| Name: | Competitor 01995 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:16 PM |
| Hey *$ SLAVE!! You're so good at criticism, yet fail to show your face. Why are you hiding? |
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| Name: | ozza 01999 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:15 PM |
| some figures...
intenational breakdown by region:
-continental europe: 1%
-middle east: 6%
-taiwan and china 15%
-japan 31%
-u.k: 26% |
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| Name: | Unhappy 02002 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:14 PM |
| I must agree with the others on this site. The coffee is usually too bitter and they come in and destroy the local sceen. WSU has reently been invaded and its local coffee shops are taking a hit. Also I know several people that have worked for them for over four years each (not any more) and both said that they suck. They were promised manager positions but when the time come they hire outside the company. There is no room for upword movement and they had terrible hours if they get that many. Their pay sucked too. I just wanted to put in my $0.02 worth of bashing. Really pisses me off that they baught seattle's best too. |
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| Name: | anon 02004 |
| Date: | Feb 08 2004 10:14 PM |
| I work at Starbucks, they pay me almost nothing.
I give away so many free coffees. I even sell the furniture!!
It's quite satifying |
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| Name: | kate 01981 |
| Date: | Feb 03 2004 01:58 PM |
| after reading about the deteriorating quality of espresso im left too scared to venture into my starbucks for a triple grande hazelnut latte. also ive heard from others that pre groung espresso deteriorate once opened so how do i make good coffe at home? should i buy the beans and grind them when i need them or what? i need good coffee and i dont have much money so a little advice would be good, ps i live in uk so i dont think i can buy green coffee beans and i dont know how to roast them anyway. help! |
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| Name: | Marco 01983 |
| Date: | Feb 03 2004 01:57 PM |
| FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRINK STARBUCKS!!!!!!! |
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| Name: | Storm 01984 |
| Date: | Feb 03 2004 01:57 PM |
| Starbuck is a hungry corporate giant; i love to feed it. Its my baby. Everyday when I go to work I try my hardest to squeeze every dollar possible out of customers to feed the hungry starbucks corporate giant. :) |
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| Name: | susan 01985 |
| Date: | Feb 03 2004 01:55 PM |
| As a consumer, not only do I abhor the flavor of their coffee, but most of their locations don't know how to steam the milk into tiny tiny bubles to make a THICK steamy FOAM, plus they don't pour enough of it on! They are cheap! |
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| Name: | cris 01986 |
| Date: | Feb 03 2004 01:54 PM |
| I\'ve been to starbucks more than a few times,and i\'ve paid four something for a mocha. Sometimes the coffee tastes pretty damn good, but usually it sucks. Isn\'t that the reason McDonalds is still around; a Big Mac in Boise is the exact same thing as a Big Mac in DC? Anyways, i usually feel really sorry for the people working at Starbucks because you never see the owner around and the managers seem to have come from the DMV or somewhere. In summary, the consistency of Starbucks coffee sucks and you will never meet the owner of the store you visit. |
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| Name: | Sad 01987 |
| Date: | Feb 03 2004 01:54 PM |
| I work for the company for 4years. At first it was fun to work for. But as time went on is when to start to see how they really run things. Promiseing more hours {a joke} when people would come in and ask for an application,I would say when ask the starting pay {6.75} and that you would be promised 25 to 30hrs. a week, not ture it is just there way of getting you hook. Please how can anyone pay for anything with a pay check of 2weeks at 6.75hr. at more realist hours of 15 to 23hrs. aweek average pay check between $101.25 and 155.25 and that is before taxes. As much this company make a year you would think they would give there partners a 40hr. aweek job! There thought is hire about 16 to 19 partners per store and work them to death at little pay. Starbucks needs to learn to treat there partners with more recept and not like we are working in a sweat shops! Corporate Greed has sure found its place in Starbucks it is and always will be about MONEY! and never ever be about the well beings of ther partners and treating them will! |
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| Name: | kye won from seoul 01965 |
| Date: | Feb 02 2004 05:31 PM |
| well, I admit that within the area, rarely anything can compete with SBUX in its taste and mood in average though not in excellence.
however, I feel that SBUX apparently predominate the cafe industry with the scale of business. and surely bullying other small locational cafes into out of business at last.
and i worry that someday it's gonna be the only one to sell coffee and hold the customer into its grasp. |
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| Name: | ShiftKing 01964 |
| Date: | Jan 25 2004 12:43 AM |
| Hey barista girl...if you really dislike your manager that much, you could EASILY get them fired, and SBUX couldn't do a thing in response. If your plumbing overflows and there is human waste in the store, that's an IMMEDIATE close-the-store thing, and for insisting you stay open, your manager should quite easily loose their job. OSHA really needs to hear about that (the occupational safety and health administration) and any complaints you make to them are confidential and protected, meaning SBUX can't fire you for talking to them. I would advise talking to them, and also following up with the local health department about that circumstance in particular. That is lawsuit-CITY...for customers as well as for any employees forced to work. Seriously! |
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| Name: | Barista girl 01963 |
| Date: | Jan 24 2004 08:18 PM |
| I work at a starbucks is Florida and we have a drive through, but a tiny parking lot. Consequently, customers always complain about parking and having to wait in Drive through so long. Starbucks hasn\'t mentioned moving us into a larger store so I guess they don\'t care about making more money. Suprisingly the only other \"near by\" Starbucks happens to be 1 1/2 hour away which means that it we run out of supplies such as cups and sleeves we S+@# Out of Luck! Starbucks claims that they are environmentally concious but when our manager makes us double cup because we\'ve run out of sleeves what a waste of trees! The brochure that people read talks about us donating our pastries..haha! Our manager is too lazy to do that therefore we just throw them away. Every week we have to detail clean the store, but it\'s hard accomplish running the store and drive-thru with only 4 baristas, one of which (shift superviser) happens to be aimlessly wandering around the store! So, I was working from 5pm till 1:30am because the manager wanted the store spotless. The day after cleaning the manager opened and had a comfortable staff of 5 on the slowest day of the week so that she could pretend to work. Our schedules are always incorrect and the baristas find themselves being janitors 90% of the time. I was sick after my last cleaning day because our bathrooms overflowed and the store plumbing messed up. In other words water, urine and sh#$ was flowing throughout the store and i mean FLOWING. The shift called the manager who insisted that we stay open, but the customers were disgusted by the odor and floating feces that they eventually closed the cafe so that the barista\'s could clean up. By clean up they meant sweep and wipe up urine with towels, oh and pour un-diluted bleach onto the floors BUT drivethrough stayed open! The customers even asked why they smelled poo and bleach! It\'s a lot of fun when my manager asks me to scrub the side boards and work bar at the same time \"Sorry about the bleach in your latte...\" |
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| Name: | Bugsy 01962 |
| Date: | Jan 24 2004 08:13 PM |
| Starbucks is taking over the world! I live in the heart of London, in a place called Queens Park, and up until this point we have had not a single chain store open up. There is two nice coffee houses, with good honest people, little supermarkets, and a real community feel. I was walking past an empty shop with some construction going on inside the other day, and guess what is going on? STARBUCKS is invading! Not only that but they have picked a spot on the opposite corner of an intersection from one of the other coffee houses.
I hate STARBUCKS! Their coffee is consistently burnt, their cafes too cookie-cutter. The thing is, they will probably do well simply because it is starbucks, and people will go in and ask for an expresso or some caramel in their macchiato. |
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