As a New Yorker, we take certain truths as self-evident: the subway, the Yankees, ground zero, movie shoots blocking up traffic, the president blocking up traffic, and most of all, you can rely that there will be a Starbucks Coffee on every other corner. Now I can remember a New York without Starbucks, but I am not entirely sure when they started to seep into our collective consciousness.
It was around 1999 or 2000 when I discovered this funny little treat called the Caramel Machiatto. It was yummy. I gained weight. Then it stopped being a treat because you could get one ANYWHERE. Suddenly there was this explosion of outlets to get this thing from. Small coffee places were no more. The cart guy on the corner was almost a Dodo. Then I started turning against it. I didn't like the weight and when I tried their regular coffee I couldn't get into it. It was burnt and bitter and not particularly flavorful. I was a Dunkin Donuts man. But the problem with DD was the atmosphere. The coffee was good, but you never wanted to go there. They were disgusting. Dirty. Smelly. That was the thing that I thought Starbucks had going for them: the presentation. That they had down cold., But I ddi not like their coffee. And then something happened at Starbucks. And that thing was called Pike Place. And I was hooked.
It was a delicious coffee and my 4 cups a day habit just increased in price from $1.19 to $1.85. But for that extra .66¢ I got great coffee, beautiful storefronts, cool music playing, free wifi, and most of all, friendly, professional and awesome service. Their baristas, cashiers, and greeters were top notch. Educated, courteous, neat in their appearance, and seemed to take a genuine interest in the direction of the company. Then I find out that Starbucks is -- apparently -- an amazing place to work from a corporate structure standpoint. (I cannot verify this rumor as I have never worked there.) Word on the street is that the workers get health insurance, profit sharing, and other incentives. Holy cow! What service industry job offers health insurance to hourly workers? It was a pleasure to go.
Then suddenly things got lazy. The stores started to get managed poorly. The milk stations started to get sloppy with powder and napkins and spills and stirrers littered about. The bathrooms were disgusting. And the biggest slip of all: the service. Suddenly there was tremendous worker apathy towards the job and towards the customers. Starbucks' legendary and impecable customer service, suddenly fell to shit.
And this is what is prompting this blog. As I give Starbucks a fair amount of business I cannot help but no longer say silent (not that I ever do stay silent) I must report for the good of New Yorkers and for the good of my soul, any disappointing experiences with Starbucks Coffee. Which is not to say that if I have a positive experience that I won't report it. No, not at all. I am going to make mention if I receive outstanding customer service. I won't mention if I get adequate service. I am going to report on a few incidents that happened recently in separate posts, which obviously will not be taken from a real-time perspective, however once these few anecdotes are brought out, I will be reporting my findings day of. But ultimately this blog poses the question which plagues me on a daily basis:
HOW DID STARBUCKS GET SO SHITTY?
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