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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).

Non-Starbucks coffee shop finder (alpha)

Tags: non-starbucks starbucks project

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KC 04.14.2008 #

I go to Starbucks several times a week. The baristas know me by name and many of them know I work in theatre so they ask me what plays I'm working on/seeing. They usually will ask if I'm having an Americano before I even open my mouth. Sometimes I like to change it up and ask for something else, tho, just to keep them on their toes. ha. I've only ever had a problem with one barista who could not correctly make a carmel macchiato. I mentioned it to one of the baristas I know and she retrained him on how to make one. After that, no problem. I like all my local baristas so much, that I give them Xmas presents each year.

kim 04.14.2008 #

Didn't they just do a big corporate re-training too?

I'll tell you what though, I used to be all "BOOO corporate chain" about Starbucks but I will give them major props for how they treat their employees - part-timers qualify for health insurance, they pay better than a lot of retailers, they're really accomodating about their schedules, and I know a girl I grew up with had to leave to come home for her dad's surgery and Starbucks totally took care of her - comped her some checks and vacation time and temporarily transferred her to a new store so she could work a little near her dad.

So that $5 latte is at least going toward paying their people, which is nice.

I think their coffee sucks though - WAY over-roasted.

Jay 04.14.2008 #

Ever seen this?

http://www.delocator.net/

joe 04.14.2008 #

@KC - I share the same camaraderie with many of the baristas across many of the st. louis starbucks. That's what makes this a little sad.

@Kim - MAJOR props on that, no doubt. That's one thing they get for sure. I watched a documentary about a year ago on the history of starbucks. The one thing that was threaded throughout the entire piece was the fact that starbucks takes care of their employees. The main reason for this (and you'll have to check my facts here) is the owner, Howard Schultz, watched his dad work his fingers to the bones with low pay and no health insurance. He wanted to create an workplace that his dad never got to work at. --- VERY respectable. But bottom line the issue here seems to be quantity over quality. They are fast-food-izing their branding and in my opinion the delivered product is taking a hit.

@Jay, wow no I haven't seen that. I might have to defer to the already built tool. I'll check it out further for sure (initial test was good though!) Thanks for that!

holly 04.14.2008 #

i heart the starbucks in valley park - always right, always gives doggies treats, and friendly. but it's only one that i've experienced that at.

joe 04.14.2008 #

@Holly

DUDE! That one is my absolute favorite... we used to work in VP and would go there every morning, absolutely love that one! (they knew us by name and when we pulled up, as soon as they found out it was us they would just say "pull forward" without us even ordering!)

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