Food: 1/5
Price: 4/5
Service: 1/5
Organization: 1/5
Layout: 5/5
Ambiance: 2/5
This is not the type of review that I could deem worthy of being entirely impersonal and neutral, but I do feel that I need to mention the issues that plague this potentially promising store. While I still carry over that the pricing for Starbucks could be a little better, the layout for this new store is spectacular. The seating and available restroom make it feel more like a cafe rather than a place to grab your coffee and drink it elsewhere.
Now onto the bad aspects of this location. They do not have all the standard food items that the other two Starbucks locations also located in the mall carry, even though they are classified as a Reserve store and should be offering something as simple as Spinach Foldovers. Based on this classification, which describes them as "recherche", they are supposed to not only carry all the necessary food items, but also provide above average service.
While I can excuse the lack of ample variety of food, it has come down to the service that has been provided that pains me to give this location a one star rating. I am used to locations training new hires on proficiency and excellent communication. However, aside from a few veterans that have been transferred over from other locations that I am familiar with from their prospective former stores, I have witnessed baristas who are relatively new to the register functions and espresso bar left unsupervised while the store manager rushes to the back with his lunch as the line of more than ten people wait to order and pick up their drinks during their ten minute break. Rather than jumping in to assist these green baristas and cashiers, he just goes into the back with his meal. Further more, I have seen this same store manager literally leave two baristas to run the entire floor during a rush, with one ringing up customers at the cashier and the other running around making all the drinks and food, as he provides no assistance other than to talk to a handful of customers out of a long line and hold up the register. His selection of who to talk to appears to be very biased and more driven by sales rather than providing excellent customer service as certain words he chooses to utilize seem too uncouth in a business setting like Starbucks.
Another prime example of his lack of leadership ability lies in his coaching of less experienced baristas. I have a set drink that I always get and I speak slowly with extra care in pronunciation to ensure the accuracy of my drink. An iced venti soy caramel macchiato, substitute the vanilla syrup with caramel syrup, stirred, and with either five or six total shots of espresso. I have had new baristas either not know how to properly write down the substitution or interpret a C (which is for caramel syrup) as classic (which is normally written CL). On top of this, I had a less experienced barista mistakenly put vanilla syrup in, realize the mistake, throw out the cup, and then begin making my drink without remembering what was originally written on the cup. I was then asked if 2% milk would be fine. Although I am not lactose intolerant, I do enjoy the taste of soy milk. She didn't put any caramel in the remake and when I asked if it was caramel syrup in now, she lied and then put it in after the espresso pulled, meaning that if I had not told her as she was making it she would have played it off as if nothing was wrong with her preparation of the drink. This lack of accountability cannot be properly placed on new hires as much as the complete disregard for supervision that the store manager should have been providing for quality control rather than stuffing his face and expecting to compete with the service standards that the other two Starbucks located in the mall have striven to uphold themselves to.
Normally I have seen many store managers jump onto the register to start at least writing the drinks that way they only need to be rung up by the cashier but this store manager provided no such assistance or even showed concern for the efficiency of the store towards its customers.
This lack of leadership from the person who is supposed to be in charge of a special Reserve store shows when I see baristas either running around, standing idly by, or overall lacking direction with their work ethic. The only people I can say make this location a worthwhile experience are Kira, Nate, Arantxa, and Mickey. I have seen their work ethic and service constantly shine even in the face of a long line of customers reaching the door that their counterparts let build up and stand waiting. Without them, this store should either be downgraded to a regular corporate Starbucks rather than a Reserve or should have new management handling the supervision that way the individuals working there can be allowed to properly perform their job functions without the excess stress. read more