<p>I’ve never had an issue with staff at Starbucks vs staff at any other coffee shop I go to. I actually have independent coffee shops closer to both where I live and work so I usually go to those.</p>
<p>I don’t go to Dunkin Donuts anymore. I don’t like their coffee black and they pretty much refuse to carry soy milk – there are 14 DD’s in the country that make soymilk an option. If I do go there, it’s for tea and/or hash browns.</p>
<p>We have Caribou where I live, and I generally prefer that. Every once in a while I end up at Starbucks – I have a small rebellious act I always perform, which is to ask for a “small” instead of a “tall” drink. They are NOT tall, they are small, and I am not going to cave into their ridiculous attempt to convince me otherwise.</p>
<p>I miss going to Peet’s after living in the Bay Area, but have found that I have learned to live with buying my coffee from Cost Plus World Market and grinding at home. If I need something fancy, I tend to get iced coffee at McDonald’s. I prefer their iced coffees to Starbucks. </p>
<p>I will say that the workers at our Starbucks workers are always some of the best retail workers. Of course, I know the manager and she would never tolerate the service discussed by the OP.</p>
<p>*Here in LA we have more medical marijuana shops than Starbucks. *</p>
<p>In Seattle, we have both! 
(on Phinney ridge we had espresso dental, a dentist office that will cap our teeth after the coffee takes the enamel off, I am waiting for the marijuana dispensaries to start pulling shots!
) That isn’t counting the * other * coffee shops.
[Seattle</a> area espresso cafes to visit? - Cafes and Get-togethers • Home-Barista.com](<a href=“http://www.home-barista.com/cafes/seattle-area-espresso-cafes-to-visit-t13639.html]Seattle”>http://www.home-barista.com/cafes/seattle-area-espresso-cafes-to-visit-t13639.html)</p>
<p>OP - Seriously, go to the Starbucks website and see if there’s a place to provide feedback and let them know what happened. I imagine whoever has that particular outlet will be interested to know and might be able to do something about it. If they don’t get feedback then they can’t fix it.</p>
<p>You might even get a gift card for doing so… albeit to Starbucks.</p>
<p>Employees in grocery store “Starbucks” locations do not work for Starbucks. Those are “licensed” locations and grocery store employees.</p>
<p>I once interviewed a candidate for a technical position in San Fran. On his resume he listed as hobby: Coffee beans, roasting and blending. I was curious and asked him some questions along this line. I mentioned that I was never a fan of SB because I thought their coffee (the straight black kind) to be both burnt and bitter tasting.</p>
<p>He lit up like I couldn’t believe! It was his passion. He said that SB’s coffee was indeed bitter because they buy green coffee beans which are cheaper but needed to be over roasted to reduce the bitterness. He went on about aspects of coffee roasting that went way over both my interest and head. But I went away thinking my opinion of SB’s coffee had been confirmed by a certified coffee evangelist. </p>
<p>I still think DD has the best and continuous quality coffee out there.</p>
<p>My dog loved Starbucks. We’d drive through with the sunroof open, his head out. The baristas gave him a biscuit every time. Then, one day the biscuiting stopped - their health people had come through and stopped all the fun.</p>
<p>Starbucks pay isn’t great but their benefits rock. Employees get full medical and dental benefits after 4 months of work @ 25+ hours weekly. The CEO has been told by his Board to stop that, but he’s dedicated to taking better care of his employees. Baristas also get a small amount of stock, a savings plan with employer contribution, and some help with college course tuitions.</p>
<p>Usually I try to go to local places, and in my area, they are better. In the NW, Starbucks is everywhere and hard to avoid, and I like knowing I can find internet access while traveling at Starbucks. Certain of the Starbucks bagged coffee blends are very good, better than the bitter stuff they brew to sell. Caribou has never impressed me. No DD in my area, though I knew the donuts as a kid in Phx. I don’t understand how they morphed into a coffee destination. </p>
<p>Don’t know Tim Hortons’ coffee, but the crullers are to die for! One every year can’t hurt me, right? More like one a decade, as hadn’t been back to Canada in that time.</p>
<p>Toblin, D2 just got back from a 3 week engineering/science/technology camp. One of the projects tried different methods of roasting & combining different types of coffee beans (including greener beans), and testing things like the Ph in the resulting coffee. They gave out samples, too. Their presentation said that a Ph of 5.4 tasted the best in their tests. 
They were really excited about their project.</p>
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<p>paying3, Tim’s does this, too. I occasionally go through the drive-thru when out and if I happen to have my dog(s) with me, they always give a Timbit.</p>
<p>Dunkin donuts sells a large iced hazelnut coffee (32 oz) for $2.49 at my school…and then from 2-4 pm everyday it’s happy hour where that price gets cut in half. And I always request light ice! It’s delightful.</p>
<p>(They don’t just sell hazelnut but that’s my favourite flavour which makes it absolutely delicious…)</p>
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<p>I usually only go to Starbucks when I want free WiFi (not really a
problem now that I have a MiFi) or when they have a convenient place
somewhere that I’ll be waiting for something at so that I can work
remotely.</p>
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<p>Did you make an offer?</p>
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<p>I drink coffee black so bitterness isn’t masked by cream and sugar and
I do like Dunkin Donuts but McDonalds is pretty good for the price. My
choice of coffee shops is usually dictated by location.</p>
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<p>Yup. I did that once – to complain about a couple of employees that needed retraining on customer service – and SB mailed me a couple of coupons for free drinks.</p>
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<p>Can’t get onboard the DD wagon. To me, their coffee is just a smooth standard house brand. Not bitter, but little flavor. And I hate that it’s a hassle to add my own sugar and cream (very little of each doesn’t work in their machines) and the cream has to be requested separately.</p>
<p>Peet’s on the other hand…</p>
<p>bluebayou-- every DD we have stopped in (mostly upper NY) has always premixed the cream (milk) and sugar for us. My usual order if half a cream / one sugar and my W is half a skim milk and 1 sugar twin and we have never had to mix our own. I guess it again depends on the location and staff. I do agree that their coffee is just regular coffee but they do have flavors that we really enjoy. I can never finish a cup of SB coffee as I find it way to bitter. I dont know if you have Second Cup coffee in the States but we have those all around us here and what is nice about them is what they call the perfect cup. For example my W love their Belgiun Chocolate so when she goes in she can order any coffee (usually a medium Blend from Peru) and they make it special for her with the flavouring at no extra cost. They grind the coffee beans for her one cup and brew it seperate from all the rest.</p>
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This is part of my issue with DD as well. I don’t drink it black, so when I bother to order coffee out I am going for a specialty drink (very rare due to calories & price). If I want the hassle of building my own coffee, I’ll just do it at home, and it usually tastes better.</p>
<p>I agree that local independent coffee shops can be the best. Sadly the few that have tried to establish locally haven’t lasted long. There is one that seems to be hanging around as they also specialize in cupcakes, but their coffee is nothing special (the cupcakes are keeping them open). I like Caribou until I try to order something sugar-free/non-fat…then it tastes no better then the cup it comes in. SB’s, for all it’s failings, does a much better SF/NF drink.</p>
<p>I used to always go into DD and just say “large regular” and I’d have my coffee quickly. They have those dispensers behind the counter that can do cream and sugar far faster than I could open packets and little plastic containers or small milk cartons.</p>
<p>I understand that doing it yourself gives you more options (like kind of sweetener or cream) but a lot of people going to these places are in a hurry and just want a drink quickly.</p>
<p>I much prefer DD to SB, which I also find bitter/burnt tasting. But I"m surprised by comments about having to mix your own–I’ve been in scores of DD’s, and I’ve always had everything added in by the employees. Maybe it’s a part of the country thing? (But then, I live in a state where they always pump the gas for you, too–not that I want to open up THAT discussion again!)</p>
<p>There are lots of Tim’s in Maine!</p>
<p>^ LOL garland! I don’t bother with the coffee at DD, but when I walk in they recognize me and know S2’s home from college (or I’m headed there) and I want 50 jelly munchkins! :)</p>