Dear Steelyard Starbucks,
I am sorry to hear you are closing your location this Friday. However, I think I might help you understand why this Starbucks sucks so much. When I asked you why you were closing, you said, "We're just not getting any business." Hmm. Let me explain.
First, nobody knows you exist. You are in a valley of steel and strip mall. This is not really your fault.
Next, while your drive-thru is convenient and quick, most of your baristas spend way too much time on those patrons and not the ones, say, right in front of your face in the store.
Thirdly, your music is way too loud. While I enjoy the Beatles and Bob Marley as much as the next person (well, that's actually untrue, I hate Bob Marley), I don't need them screaming in my ear when I'm trying to read. Because why else would you have ample seating if you didn't want people to sit and relax? Just because you guys can't hear the music over the roaring espresso machine or coffee grinder doesn't mean everyone else has to suffer.
Next on the list is your AC. Turn it down! Waaaay down. I know it's not just me, because as I was sitting inside on more than one occasion, people have walked in and gone, "DAY-um! It's cold in here!"
Finally, your staff is not particularly professional, nor is it particularly friendly. I have heard all of you gabbing about which various Starbucks locations you're going to get placed in when this one closes, and I'm happy for you that you're not losing your jobs. But unlike at Steelyard, where you just feed off of one another's irksome giddiness and unfunny jokes, you might actually end up annoying other baristas at those other locations. I'm just sayin.'
Fondly,
Coffee Drinker read more