<p>emeraldkity – not sure – I live outside NYC and I think we’re still in a recession here, and D can’t find a job, so I would say the employment opportunities are less than robust. I think a lot of it has to do with the person – with the right attitude, you can view a low-paying job as a great opportunity. Or you can see working at Starbucks as another nail in your coffin and the only way to get back at people who have more than you is to make them wait for their coffee.</p>
<p>They sell these Via packets. Maybe next time I want a jolt, I can sprinkle the coffee powder on my tongue…</p>
<p>My experience is that each Starbucks has its own personality. Some are better run than others. Some are friendlier than others. Much of this comes from the managers. For example, the Starbucks I prefer to work at is staffed by intelligent, friendly people who know the drink preferences of a large number of customers. There is always turnover so you never know how a place will change. </p>
<p>I can’t speak for all areas of the country, but in Boston lots of college age and just beyond kids work at Starbucks. So for example, the one I mentioned above has had 2 nationally ranked figure skaters working at it; it’s a block from the rink. Another kid is studying for the MCAT. One of the managers is part time in grad school. </p>
<p>Another Starbucks close to my house is staffed mostly by high school age kids. The interactions are less mature, though on the whole friendly. Another seems to be staffed half by hipsters, which actually fits the vibe of that area. </p>
<p>I don’t buy food at Starbucks. I’m also not a big fan of their drip coffee. But the Clover makes some of the best and certainly the most consistent coffee I can find. And we have a lot of coffee bars in Boston.</p>
<p>I don’t get the love that DD gets. We don’t have a doughnut culture here in Colorado, but since everyone in Boston, where my daughter studied, raved about DD I gave it the old college try. The first coffee I tried was bland with little flavor. The second was way too weak. I also tried one of the McDonald’s coffees. Ditto. But at least it’s cheap. Starbucks may be overly roasted but it wakes me up. It’s strong enough to defend itself. And if you just get the plain drip dark roast it doesn’t break the bank. I’d rather support a local coffee house, but when desperate times call for desperate measures I go to Starbucks. At least they offer their workers health insurance. And they were big and early backers of the free-trade trend. As far as chains go, it’s not a bad one to support once in a while.</p>
<p>If you do not step into Starbucks, then you will not be fed up? Am I missing something? We all have veto power, if we do not like the place, we do not go there.
If we are there already, we quit and never come back. One second of thinking about it is complete waste of time. There are more important things to think about.</p>
<p>If there’s a vendor that we otherwise like, we can contact management to see if they will change things. We can also buy some shares, attend the annual meeting and ask management about it in a more public forum.</p>
<p>Any large chain restaurant business like Starbucks does not want unhappy customers. If you like going to Starbucks, you should let them know about an incident like this. Ask to speak to the manager on duty. All Starbucks have comment cards (I think postage paid) that you can send to corporate headquarters (include time, date, store, and the problem).</p>
<p>All large companies like this have district managers, regional managers, and national operations managers and customer service people. You can write or call and speak to someone. You would get a response and probably some free drink coupons. Maybe that particular store you were dealing with needs a new manager.</p>
<p>I go to several Starbucks with excellent customer service. I like one store in particular and try to stop there. I drink Starbucks coffee every morning too.</p>
<p>“That’s appalling. Are they like that in sit-down restaurants, also?”</p>
<p>No, CTTC. People are generally very friendly in sit-down restaurants. This has only happened to me at fast food restaurants and places where someone is sitting at a desk or behind a counter and I walk up to them. Places where people get tips are generally staffed by friendlier people. I always make a conscious effort to greet people with a big smile and be overly friendly when I’m there. I understand why it happens. Some may instantly assume that I’m one of those racist white people they have to deal with, and I’m not…so don’t treat me like that! I try to make that clear immediately, but in a fast food restaurant, you might not get the chance. It makes me sad, but it’s a local problem.</p>
<p>How do you know that they’re not equally rude to everyone? ;)</p>
<p>Best chain coffee shop I’ve ever visited was Intelligentsia in Chicago, both in product and customer service. It was definitely a hipster hangout, though.</p>
<p>“How do you know that they’re not equally rude to everyone?”</p>
<p>Cuz besides living there for five years, I’ve worked out of there for 18. And when you see people smiling and talking to the person in front of you, walking away from you to help someone else…you know. And I’m not looking for it, I’m patient and rather oblivious. It pretty much has to hit me in the face for it to be noticed. But things have gotten better over the years, though I don’t know if it’s overall for everyone, or because I’m making a big effort. Things are so much better when you treat everyone with respect, no matter what. That’s all anybody wants, when you really get down to it.</p>
<p>Long time Trader Joe’s fan but hate what it is in New Jersey. The cashier rings up the groceries and packs the bag. This was new to us and very common in NJ and I hate to think how many people go unemployed by making one person both scan and pack, but that’s another discussion. They always drag their feet on the bag-packing part so we jump in and do it and the place is so crowded that everyone is tripping over everyone’s groceries at check-out. And in general, the staff just isn’t as quirky, humorous and customer friendly. Have only been to the Princeton and Westfield Trader Joe’s stores. Maybe others in New Jersey are better.</p>
<p>Wegman’s is sort of my gold standard for what a grocery store should be. I love that staples and just regular stuff are well-priced but in the same store I can access over-the-top gourmet items. And the butchers and fish guys are just tremendous.</p>
<p>I love Egg McMuffin’s but have to eat two for breakfast to be satisfied. I still do it every now and then and usually find I can go very light on lunch.</p>
<p>My fav McD’s item at the moment is the 150 calorie ice cream cone, which near me is often just $1.00. I wolf that down, then have a small black coffee and get myself into overdrive for the rest of the afternoon.</p>
<p>The McD’s I go to is in a nearby town and seems to be entirely staffed by African American kids with two older gentlemen sort of running things. They just slay me. All wear really crisp, clean uniforms and literally seem to run from station to station to get the orders. They are unbelievably courteous and upbeat. Funny how the vibe can make the difference between a successful fast food place and one that struggles.</p>
<p>Trader Joes isn’t geared to whole week shopping in my opinion. In our old one, most people would pick up a few things to half a cart. It was rare to see a full cart of stuff. Then they moved and built a much bigger store far closer to a ton of apartments and suddenly tons of people were doing a week of shopping there. The registers were jammed despite having twice the number of registers and twice the amount of staff. I think that they’re going to have to change their model at this store to add baggers.</p>
<p>Sewhappy–interesting. I go to the Westfield TJ about once a month, and I think the staff is wonderful. I jump in to pack, but I do that at other stores, too. The Shop Rite near us has baggers, but no one else does. And the TJs folk are so friendly! Plus, I love the music they have on there.</p>