Starbucks Consumer Reviews - Page 4

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA -- A few minutes ago a thief walked off with my tablet PC from inside a small Starbucks with 4 security cameras. The store employees refused to help. They declined to call the police. They declined to review the security camera footage. They declined to be helpful in any way, shape, form or fashion. This is this what their company calls RESPONSIBILITY.

The store manager - eventually, reluctantly - allowed me to call the police while he filled out a one-page form (for corporate use) and would not even give me a copy of it. A quick Google search tells me that this is an ongoing concern, but Starbucks will not even post warning signs for their customers because this might "spoil" their experience.

DUNKIRK, MARYLAND -- I ordered a Grande iced tea at the Dunkirk, MD, Starbucks and indicated I wanted just the tea in one cup and a cup of ice in another. Employee proceeds to hand me a cup one-third full of tea! I asked her to please fill it up, and she said: "Then you will be getting two teas for the price of one." First of all, Starbucks prices are totally out of control. Second of all, since when does the consumer only get one-third quantity of the full amount paid for?

The truth is, Starbucks makes big bucks at your expense by adding a full cup of ice and one-third cup of beverage. The same holds true for some of the coffees where the cup contains mostly foam instead of coffee. It really Starsucks, if you know what I mean.

WHITTIER BLVD. BY COMMERCE THEATER, CALIFORNIA -- I Went to Starbucks, and all I ordered was a Caramel Frappucino. 4-5 people were in line after me and when they ordered their drinks theirs came before mine. I had to wait 15 minutes for one drink and the workers seemed to not care. They were all dozed off and talking to each other. When I went up to tell the guy "What happened to my drink?", All he had to say was "oh sorry I forgot". It was horrible and that worker should be fired. I wanted to speak to the manager but no surprise the manager wasn't there.

And when I asked for my money back the guy took at least 3 minutes just going into the cash register. He had to call someone else to open it. They didn't offer any gift card, free drink, coupon or anything like that! All they said was sorry. I RECOMMEND NO ONE GO THERE. HORRIBLE, BAD, JUST AWFUL SERVICE.

RENO, NEVADA -- I recently went to the Starbucks on Roberta Lane in Sparks/Reno Nevada and typically not a fan. I ran Dutch Brothers coffee for some time and am a big advocate for cheerful talkative employees which I find rare at Starbucks.

I was pleasantly surprised that a young man named ** and a woman with red hair whose name I didn't catch were so pleasant. Asked me about my day, made sure they got my drink correct, and were overall just very upbeat and nice. The nice is what I want to point out. It was very refreshing as well as greatly appreciated after a 12-hour clinical day headed to the library to study till midnight. These two particularly ** deserve some kind of compensation

AVONDALE, ARIZONA -- I was in the Starbucks on 105th ave and Indian School Rd. It was around 10 am on a Friday, it wasn't busy. There were no napkins on the station, but the huge bag of napkins were left on the station. There was trash all over it and coffee stains. A guy and a girl was standing by the drive-through window, giving each other back rubs and neck massages. I have meetings here for my group all the time. I'm going to rethink where I bring my group, this location was so close to all of us to meet at on a regular basis. I guess I will have to find another location. I will keep checking back to see if things change.

ILLINOIS -- They tell you that they promote from within. Yet that hasn't happened in the Lake County Il stores since I've worked here the last three years. Every time an opening comes up they promote managers from the local mall out of a jewel store. Not only are they not trained but of course all females. You would think upper management would of caught on by now. Plus how funny it is that our district only shows up at our store if we're lucky once every six months.

Store managers are afraid to tell the truth in the reports because they know they will be fired and replaced by another out of the mall. Its all too bad because I know that's not the way they want this to really work. Just too many people looking the other way. Make the NUMBERS that is what counts.

ANAHEIM - HARBOR AND BALL, CALIFORNIA -- Harbor and Ball. This was the most disgusting and disorganized Starbucks I have ever been to. I have been to them all over the world, but I would never go back to this one. It started out with the ordering. They had one person taking your order and writing on the cup. Then the cup was sent over to make the drink and you stood in a different line to pay. When we got to the cashier, we had to tell team again what we ordered! Then when we went to pick up the drinks, there was spilled coffee and other sticky stuff all over the counter.

I have been a faithful customer of Starbucks for years and every time that I have purchased a large bag of ground coffee I received a complimentary cup. This employee was very rude and told me that it was no longer the policy then told me I needed to use a Starbucks card after I already purchased the coffee with my debit card. Not only was the employee rude when I asked if I could have a cup of coffee with my purchase but was sarcastic in telling me the store code in case I needed to complain.

I spend hundreds of dollars as well as my family at Starbucks and did not appreciate the rudeness and unnecessary disrespect after spending money at Starbucks. I hope that Starbucks will address this matter as I am very offended by the disrespect I was given.

HERNDON/RESTON, VIRGINIA -- I see a recurring theme in many of the reviews. The local management (usually at the district level) makes the same mistakes over and over again, causing the best employees to leave (or even firing them for behaviors that are a direct result of management failures). I have seen an equally large turnover in the district level management, leaving very little continuity. The results of a manager's poor (and sometimes inappropriate behavior) usually manifests itself only after the several months of poor performance on their part, and then they move on.

When a corporate entity permits this type of behavior to persist, such that it affects the quality of the service and the products it sells, eventually the public catches on and the flow of repeat customers diminishes. I can see that at many Starbucks locations, repeat customers are not as important as the constant influx of new consumers. I would have hoped that the corporate leaders would have learned a lesson from the last downturn, and placed a higher value on quality - both within their management ranks and their business practices.

I've drawn the line with Starbucks. I tried to purchase coffee at Starbucks, Chino Hills, California. Here is what I got: a fifteen minute wait and a rude barista. If you want a refill, they make you wait in the line all over again, rather than fitting it in during a logical pause in their routine -- even if you pre-paid for the refill the first time, you must wait 15 minutes in line again. I'm not giving friends Starbucks gift cards anymore and I'm not spending high prices for long waits, and poor customer service at the counter. It's so sad to see a formerly great American company fall so far, so fast.