I want to start by saying that I've been a Starbucks Partner for over 2 years. I started out as a barista and now manage the second highest volume store in my district.
With that said, I'm EXTREMELY disappointed in how unclean and un-hygienic this store was. The first thing I noticed were the over flowing trash cans, trash on the floor and mountain of boxes piled up by the front entrance. As I walked to the register, I noticed their handoff plane COVERED in spilled drinks, syrups, milks, etc. and as I was taking my order, I noticed that this store also had their mango dragon fruit & kiwi star fruit refresher based stored in pitchers on the tea shelf (next to the strawberry refresher base) despite these 2 flavors not being safe to store at ambient temperature and the boxes these bases come in specifically stating "refrigerate after opening". The store was not very busy at all, there were 3 partners on the floor, and no one seemed to be concerned or phased by the gross condition of the store.
I ordered an ice water and an iced americano and then went to the bathroom. The bathroom was DISGUSTING. At this point I didn't even feel like I was in a Starbucks anymore. I felt like I was in a gas station bathroom. The sink had dirt built up all over it, the floors looked like they hadn't been mopped in weeks, there was very little toilet paper on the roll, and A LOT of it on the floor.
After I came out of the bathroom, I polite informed who seemed to be the shift supervisor that only the mew strawberry refresher base is safe to store at room temp and that the others should be in the fridge. Her response was "Oh, I know! We just keep them out during the day and put them back in the fridge at night."
I don't think she's aware of how good safety works.
By the end of my visit, I was too grossed out to even drink my americano. I took my drinks, walked out the store and threw them away as soon as I had the chance.
Such an unfortunate experience, but I don't blame the partners. This is a direct reflection of Starbucks no longer offer competitive wages for baristas. We are now, unfortunately, forced to hire candidates who were unable to get higher paying jobs with other fast food establishments. A once competitive and highly sought after position in the food service industry is now being shoved into the "standard fast food" box and it's heartbreaking to see.
Starbucks- please invest in your partners! Our brand is better than this. read more