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Boycotting Starbucks - Supporting local coffee shops

04.14.2008 Comments Related

That's the final straw. Starbucks is officially dead to me. Although this isn't the best reason to quit (I'm sure there are better reasons, like supporting local coffee shops now and then) but it'll due. Every-single-time I get a drink from Starbucks, it is not delivered as ordered. It's a common theme out here in the suburbs. I'm done.

In the city it seems like they just get your drink right, no problems. If you live in the city you should be safe.

Out here, EVERY TIME I GO, there is something wrong:

One time I go, I order a vanillia latte with no foam and get 1-1/2 inches of foam on the top, all the way down to the Starbucks logo.
Sarah orders extra extra whip (that's 2 extras, not a typo) and she hardly gets any at all.
Another time Sarah (my pregnant wife) orders decaf to find out later (after drinking it and getting a nice buzz) she gets caffeinated!
The other day I ordered a vanilla latte and get a latte, no vanilla!
Today Sarah stopped by to get an iced green tea and there's a HUGE FLOATY in the bottom of the cup. It wasn't a tea related floaty, it was some kind of foreign object.
There have been numerous other times (too many to list, I only listed the recent issues) where I have received a regular mocha instead of a white mocha. I have been stiffed that extra shot (I always order a triple and I KNOW when it's not a triple, I've been drinking coffee too long) and many other mishaps that only seem to increase over time.

That's it, I'm done. For nearly $5 for a latte I have higher expectations than this. Numerous calls to their corporate office did not seem to work. They were always gracious in sending free drink coupons but ultimately the issues were never corrected. I always receive courteous service at Starbucks and don't blame the baristas. I blame the company policy and the fact that the shift of focus seems to be on quantity (of stores) rather than quality (of coffee). I feel at home when I'm in a starbucks store so I want to stress the fact that there's nothing personal against the people who work there.

I did a little work, it's the alpha version of my soon to be cool "Non-Starbucks coffee shop finder". I looked at the google maps API tonight for an hour or two but decided on this quick and dirty solution to tide me over. Select from a top city or enter your zip code, try it out and come back in a few days cause I'll have a fully working example (using the API).