Starbucks

Starbucks Smartphone iPhone Application Is Problematic When Online-​Ordering
SITREP
On balance, I have nothing but positive things to say about the various Starbucks stops I’ve enjoyed around the country, such as the independent brick & mortar stores, the stores located inside office buildings, even to some degree the (limited) kiosks inside airports & grocery stores:
But as this is the location of the National Starbucks Headquarters, the problem I am raising is more to do with a national (specifically, TECHNICAL) problem impacting all users, irrespective of location.
THE SETUP
My issue has to do with the deployment of the Starbucks iPhone Smartphone Application. Recent updates this half of the year have been mind-​numbingly brutal in the way they *gum* up the *NEW* & much vaunted online ordering process.
The Scenario As It Unfolds:
* In a hurry, trying to catch the commuter train — or the bus, or the carpool, depending on location or day-​of-​the-​week.
* We Starbucks patrons have been *BOMBARDED* with all the emails, and app notices, etc. etc., these last few months to avail ourselves of their new *Online Ordering * system.
* While 3 – 8 minutes out (whether walking or driving) from the Starbucks location of our choice, we open the app on the iPhone, but the application *FREEZES* right in the middle of our product-​selection process.
*You close the app, open it, close it again when it freezes, open it again.
* Sometimes it does let us get through to the ordering process, but it’s functionality from screen-​to-​screen is limited, and when taken to the menu landing-​page, it indicates (wrongly, as we find out later) that ALL items are sold out at this location. My associates and I close our apps again at this point because we realize the app is messed up.
* A lot of my associates give up on the app at this point, and sometimes are so infuriated with Starbucks they jump down the block /​across the street to the nearest Peets or Indie shop to grab their coffees.
* For those of us being a little more bullheaded, and finally after several minutes of this clusterf*cking around, a contractual term of agreement waiver (no doubt generated from the update we uploaded earlier in the week) FINALLY pops up on our iPhone screens, requiring us to *Accept* the terms of agreement.
* After another few minutes of opening and closing the app, it finally let’s us go through the ordering process to order a coffee and/​or a breakfast sandwich. And AMAZINGLY now indicates that all the items that were *sold out* just a few minutes before at this location, have in the space of just a few minutes, MIRACULOUSLY materialized now at this same location. «Hallelujah!»
* But at this point, I /​we have already missed the commuter train, or am late in walking to my next appointment.
OUTCOME OF YOUR APPLICATION GLITCHES
So not only are your application glitches extremely inconvenient to we patrons as a terrible waste of our time dicking around with it, they do YOU a disservice since the application wrongly indicates that a store location is out of product, causing the patron to give up the application and not even bothering to check out your stores, but instead go to the Peets or Independent Coffee Shop close by, just down the street.
This has happened recently with your updates to the Starbucks application. You should have «Terms of Agreement» process on the BACKEND of your smartphone application where someone can access the agreement within a noted-​timeframe, NOT on the front end where it disrupts the online ordering process. After all, this IS supposed to be more convenient and save time, right? It’s not doing that when running rampant with the glitches your app has created.
[And here’s an intuitive thought: you encourage your «loyal patrons» to buy specific items /​more items to rack up bonus stars, thereby acquiring *Rewards* faster. So how about letting us order online with one of many banked-​rewards?]
THE LOWDOWN
Fix your iPhone application glitches or continue to loose business.

Here we are at the epicenter and it should be treated with reverence and respect. Here it is. Coffee at our core. And we must acknowledge this.

I would think a big beautiful building, a name like Starbucks and flagship setting in Seattle would command serious attention to coffee… Nope. Here was my experience today 10.29.15 at 2:30pm. I asked for a grande Sumatra drip. Clueless barista did not know how many ounces were in a tall or a grande, and said they were all out of Sumatra. The stainless bin featuring the Sumatra placard was right in front of me which was why I even asked for that one in the first place. No offer to brew a fresh pot and wait, just… We are all out. …OK, I’ll take a Veranda. Sorry, we are all out. … What??? Again, the stainless bin was right in front of me featuring a Veranda placard. Barista insisted that they CUT OFF these less popular choices after lunchtime. What? STARBUCKS CUTS OFF COFFEE? I repeated back to her what she just said to me so that she could hear how ridiculous it sounded… Then I followed up with, OK, what DO you have available? She offered me Pike Blend, which I took because it was my only choice and otherwise a third strike. I left there shaking my head saying Now I’ve heard it all. Aren’t they in the coffee business? And, if the Veranda and Sumatra were all gone, doesn’t it mean that they are more popular, and they should brew more of it? Geez, shouldn’t Starbucks, being in the coffee business have more than one drip coffee option? Even a greasy spoon diner has an option of coffee or decaf. Starbucks hires people at this location who are clueless rude liars, and they left me feeling like I paid waaaay too much for something I had to settle for as a last resort. Huge Bummer Bucky’s. In the future I will pick any other coffee place besides this one.

Limited Starbucks souvenirs and was a bit of a letdown for the HQ. It’s been on my bucket list to go to Starbucks HQ ever since Seattle was a city for me to visit one day.
I was a visitor and asked the front desk if I can grab a tea bag and he said it’s only for visitors. He gave me that curt response and left it at that. It made my experience even more of a letdown. No convo or anything. Hmmm. I am a strong supporter of Starbucks. Every time I go to each country, I would drop by that Starbucks to see what the culture is like and whether it blends in with that country’s vibe. Get the country’s Starbucks container and leave with a warm Starbuck’s feeling. However, with no welcome or greetings from the HQ admin front desk, it left me thinking that maybe the culture of the company is becoming more like this. It was a major letdown.
Luckily, I went downstairs to purchase the Seattle Starbucks cup (for my uncle) and the baristas seemingly was cherry and warm. Just avoid going to the front desk, I guess, or screen better Starbucks staff members — especially for the face of HQ Starbucks?

Five stars because it is Starbucks. –1 because there is no public restroom… you have to go next door to Office Max to go. But, they don’t open until 9am… where was the health department and city plan reviewers when this was approved… maybe they got paid off?
— holding it in

Mother ship of Starbucks– we had to check it out! 8^th floor is open for public and offers free tea/​coffee:)

Yes, I am still a Starbucks Fan!!!
I had a small problem concerning ME buying Starbucks products in Canada using my Gold Card and I was also concerned about NOT receiving my Free Drink after buying 12 of their Products using my Gold Card and I was very fortunate and happy to receive an almost immediate response back from Kirsten, their Coffee Master | Executive Support | who took the time out of her day to write back to me and explain everything, including my recent Canadian Transactions.
Furthermore, she treated me well like Starbucks is supposed to treat all of their customers and just Took Care Of ME!
I am very Proud and Fortunate to be Not only Kirsten’s Customer, but Starbuck’s Customer…
Thank you Kirsten for All Of Your Help!
Sincerely yours,
Howard Paul Shore
Loyal Starbucks Customer
/​HPS

If you’re in Seattle and into Starbucks, this is Starbucks World HQ — the Starbucks Mother Ship if you will. We had to stop by! Caught an über and we were here in about 15 minutes from the Pike Market area.
Very impressive building, made more so by the huge Starbucks Siren logos. Great photo opportunities. We happily snapped shots for many minutes.
It’s important to realize that there are no Starbucks Tours here, so unless you know a Starbucks employee that can carry you around, there are only a couple of things to do. You can visit the coffee shop on the first floor, of course. Additionally, and what we did, was visit the Gift Shop on the eighth floor, which is open to the public. Lots of gear here, and worth a stop by.
Non-​Starbucks fans will find nothing of interest here, but for Starbucks lovers, it’s a great thing to say you’ve been to!

To Starbucks HQ:
I am at a loss for words to describe how I feel since you discontinued the Valencia Orange Refresher. I have tried multiple variations of your drinks trying to find something comparable or at least something that tastes just as good on your guys menu and I just cannot. I have gotten at least one a day for months from the store close to my work and home. Along with a lot of my coworkers! We have over 250 employees and contribute a lot of business to the location near us. I am not saying all 250 are Valencia Orange drinkers. There is maybe 10 of us. But, those 10 people buying 20 – 40 each monthly does add up. If the drink is gone, I am afraid my business and probably some of the others is gone as well. PLEASE BRING BACK THE VALENCIA ORANGE REFRESHER.

Starbucks HQ I always wanted to come here when I worked for the bucks but was unable to. I was happy to stop in and check out the store and get some amazing items. There is a shop in the lobby that sells coffee but upstairs is where you want to go to get to the store. There are no tours so you are unable to get a view other than the gift shop.

I’ve never been a big Starbucks fan. I have a small position in SBUX stock in my IRA because it’s a good investment, but the coffee is overpriced, and I’m not a big fan of many of its business practices. But this isn’t about any of that. My 3-​year-​old daughter and I had been going to HQ every morning for probably six months after we dropped my wife off at work down the street. Getting a cake pop was part of my daughter’s morning routine. She loved going to the «Coffee Lady Store» (in reference to the siren logo). The baristas all knew and loved her, and she was even «Customer of the Week’ once.
Well, after getting her cake pop, my daughter often wanted to go up to the eighth floor, to see if the gift shop was open. It was only a few minutes out of my day, so I indulged her. The eighth-​floor elevator opens into a public lobby area and a reception desk. If the gift shop was open, we’d go in. If not, we might wander over to the window to look at the view, stay a few minutes, leave, and go about our day. My daughter was always quiet and well behaved and usually brought a smile to the faces of the people who were sitting in the lobby. Even one of the receptionists thought it was wonderful to see us up there every morning.
Then, out of nowhere, a receptionist this week basically told us to leave and not come back. Again, this is a public area, and we stayed far out of the way, not disturbing anyone who might have been there waiting to see a Starbucks employee on business.
Fine by me. We went to a locally owned coffee shop to get our cake pop this morning, and now we’re happily supporting a local small business. We probably spent $ 200 to $ 300 a month at Starbucks HQ, between cake pops, my breakfast (protein packs and the like), and the occasional trinket from the gift shop. Their loss. If someone had told us from the beginning that they didn’t want members of the public going up to their public area on the eighth floor, that would have been fine. But they should have said so before it became an expected (and fun) part of my daughter’s morning routine. To have our dismissal happen completely out of the blue and for no apparent reason was quite shocking and disappointing.

According wiki pedia over 20,000 stores worldwide, 64 countries, 14 billion revenue, 182,000 employees,
cloning coffee stores Starbucks branded makes some hefty bucks. The Headquarters resides in the old Sears catalog distribution center. Congrats Starbucks!!!
Thanks for providing a great atmosphere to work and to sip with new and old friends a cup of coffee in many different locations. 20,000 different spots to enjoy. Very cool!!! Impressive from a business prospective. I am enjoying my local Starbucks right here in Delray Beach, FL

Horrible experience with Starbucks server today. I do not need to be schooled on race relations by a coffee shop employee. How inappropriate for Starbucks to interject their political beliefs when they were not asked for.
Coffee went right into the trash and neither I nor my family will return to Starbucks.

Amazing company with rich history. If you ever get the opportunity to do a tour you should do it. It will give me a lot more appreciation for the every day Starbucks that you see.

For those of us coffee lovers that aren’t extremely coffee snob, Starbucks will do. For those of us that are Seattleites I would hope that your loyalty is in check, a company that started in Seattle and has worked its way worldwide, is consistent in their pricing and the beverages. you can create your own drinks, my personal favorite after a good hard workout is a green tea iced frappé, four scoops of protein, a pump and a half of peppermint, double chocolate chips, double blended in a Venti cup. amazing!

Its always a pleasure visiting the Starbucks inside the grand dame (old Sears building), Barista’s are super friendly and service speedy

~this was the first time I came here. I like the building outside. The coffee shop is small. I like the outside seating! The Customer service was great! I love my Starbucks reward card 2 get free drinks & 50% off deals. Thank you!

UPDATE
I called and spoke to a customer service rep at the corporate office on this matter and she told me they have «no set policy» and it was «up to the discretion of each individual store manager» as to how to charge.
Even today I receive reply’s to my emails that state different «opinions» on how to charge, even within customer service they can’t come to a consensus.
Would’t it be better if they just wrote a policy for this and put it into their employee manual?
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This is the address for the corporate store and a review of the customer support team.
Upon writing them with a complaint of one particular store, corporate just does not seem to get it.
The problem is the pricing when it comes to ordering a drink, such as an americano. When our family orders a grande americano in a venti cup we are charged the grande price because only the amount of shots that are in a grande are placed in the venti cup. We will get the rest of the room in that venti cup filled up with either milk, water or a combination of the two… and the price does not change…$ 2.55
I one particular store in the area they want to charge the venti price for the same thing. Now corporate office says that one store is charging correctly. In other words corporate says we are too be charged the cup size and not by the amount of default shots in it. Well, if this is the case then why does every stores manager that I have talked to about this say the opposite. The managers in all of the other SB say we are charged by the default shots in a particular cup size and it does not matter if they pour that into a larger cup.
Think about it. By corporates interpretation of being charged by the cup size, and IF we only wanted shots by itself, then we should be charged a tall cup size if we want the default amount of shots of a venti pored into a tall cup.

Go to the java source! This world headquarters is where they make the big corporate coffee bean decisions for us Starbucks fans.
This office complex is lo old Sears building in SODO. There’s a gift shop too upstairs.

If you’ve read my Starbucks list, then you know my philosopy that the stores are not all equal. That being said, while I review individual Starbucks locations, I need somewhere to review Starbucks overall, as it’s the corporate decisions/​policies that flow down to the individual stores. Hence this review of Starbucks HQ.
I’ve had a love affair with Starbucks for as many years as I’ve been working. There is something about going into your local store or a store by the office and getting YOUR drink as part of your normal routine, that is truly comforting. I once met with a financial planner that tried to get me to go to 7 – 11 for coffee, cutting my cost per day in half (this was after I told her not to tell me to make my own coffee at home to save money) …needless to say, she wasn’t my financial planner after that.
Of course I was one of the first to buy my Starbucks Gold status (for those of you that remember, it was a $ 25 membership fee for a year and you got 10% off any purchase). Since then it’s changed considerably with status being earned at 30 stars/​visits in a given year, and different benefits being provided. In fall of this past year the benefits changed considerably… they announced that a free drink would be provided every 12 stars instead of every 15, and in a bit of a footnote (which I completely missed), the free modifiers (soy milk and syrups) would bite the big one.
I don’t know how I missed the outrage and rants of all of the poor lactose-​intolerant Starbucks regulars, but apparently I live in a vacuum. It wasn’t until I was at my Starbucks in Hawaii that I realized my total sounded a little high and checked the receipt. Sigh… I’ve been paying for sugar-​free vanilla for months without realizing. Anyway, while I like my drink, I don’t like sneaky marketing tactics and I never like it when benefits that I’ve had for years get taken away. I’m sad at you Starbucks and that’s why I’ve been weaning off my habit. I doubt I’ll quit you completely but that dip in profits you’re seeing, that’s me:) So to sum it up, Starbucks overall is really just «okay» now in my book.
#Yelp 100 Challenge: Review #15/​100