"From the Comfy Chair": At least the garbage guy made a connection

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"

Today, we're in a town called Fife, the northernmost suburb of a city of 200,000 known as Tacoma which sits near the southern edge of Puget Sound.

And, now, a poem:

Filthy dirty men's room
with stains all over the mirror
And debris on the bathroom floor

A dirt stain by the paper rack
Papers litter the empty, dirty tables
And crumbs scatter on the lobby floor

The condiment bar is a complete mess
The pastry case empty, dirty and forlorn
Toto, I don't think we're in Sodo anymore...

About half an hour after I sat down, a partner came out to replace the solitary half and half pitcher on the condiment stand, bringing a towel with her.  She replaced the pitcher (is there only supposed to be one pitcher on the stand?) and wiped up a small cream spill.  Then, God help me, she turned and walked away, leaving the other half of the condiment stand covered in spilled sugar and bits of straw wrapper.  On her way back to the counter, she picked up some of the newspapers and wiped a couple of dirty tables – knocking the crumbs onto the already dirty floor.  Even worse, I'm sorry to report, this was the MOD.

AHA!  You exclaim...Juan has walked into a store where the VTI crackdown has affected staffing levels and, thus, store operations.  Sadly, your exclamation would be wrong.  There were six partners on the floor at this drive thru store.  Not the most ever seen however nowhere near the level where they could be considered “shortstaffed” especially since, while business was steady, it wasn't overwhelming. 

Ok, fine, they were clobbered right before I walked in and they hadn't had a chance to recover yet.  Except the MOD [Manager On Duty] didn't come out on the floor until a half hour after I sat down.  It was another half an hour before another partner managed to wander out from behind the counter and that was to empty the garbage.  It was yet another HOUR before a partner came out again, wiped a couple more tables off ONTO THE FLOOR.  That partner did grab a broom and half heartedly sweep a small part of the lobby floor but it did little to dent the growing piles of debris scattered about the rest of the lobby.  It was clear to me that, whatever the priorities in effect at that store, keeping a clean lobby/bathroom/pastry case was not among them.

On the good news side, the partners were efficient at taking orders and making drinks.  In fact, the barista making drinks was so gosh darn efficient, she couldn't be bothered to look at or thank customers who picked up their drinks. It was "Grande White Chocolate Mocha!", a plop as the drink landed on the handoff plane and poof the barista was back on the other side of the machine without blinking an eye.  Even when the customer was standing right there, she didn't make eye contact or thank them.  But I did get my drink in thirty seconds. Thankfully, she was eventually replaced by another barista who, besides being quite efficient, did manage to say thank you and make eye contact with each customer who picked up their drink. /CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT BELOW

Comments

[Carmella Asalt]

That poem sucked. Maybe if we had Juan in our lives we wouldn't be losing our jobs.
I hate the typical elitism and lack of constructive problem solving that plagues our company. I can't stand that this dude gets excited about newspapers on chairs...typical of the same gross people who are running the company into the dirt. The only thing is that dude doesn't even work for Starbucks. I feel like puking

[ndemystic]

To demitasse- Just a typo, I was typing very fast and had no time for proofing. You knew it spelled milk that white stuff, lol right back at ya...does anyone know Not Jaun ?

[Former shift (promoted to customer!!!!)]

On a scale of 1 to 10, this is a 6. I know there are a lot of hard core Starbucks people on here and this is a mild example of what else is out there. He's just spot lighting one store (one moment in time) and all I have to say is I wish I would have had 6 people on the floor with me or at least 3 competent people that knew what the hell they were doing.

[Former shift (promoted to customer!!!!)]

This sounds like the shift was new and did not know how to deploy his people correctly. Geez, they will probably be promoted next week. HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

[Gregory B]

I cant speak for all Starbucks. I have been in quite a few that were completely awful. Im a Starbucks regular and the one I frequent now, which Im sitting in now with my girlfriend is really great. They are the epitome of what Starbucks needs to be. The staff is always curteous, I know a few of them.
Robert, perhaps one of the greatest baristas and higly conversational also very hyper and over caffeinated. He took the time out of his busy day to help me connect to the internet. Mona, makes the best drinks money can buy. Warren, the store manager also a Starbucks lifer makes great drinks. Shannon, the movie girl. Matt the coffee guy who can answer every question I have about coffee. I feel a connection whenever I am in that store with all the employees even the ones that I didnt mention here and I go everyday. At least in that store the "third place" is still alive. I cant speak for everyones Starbucks experience and I cant say every Starbucks is like mine. But dont throw the baby out with the bath water and dont use these random experiences to judge every Starbucks.

Greetings from the Starbucks at Lake Boone Trail in Raleigh North Carolina.

[Michael D]

Don't know you, but your message is clearly not to help situations, but to hurt people. You're a c*nt. You clearly deserve the miserable state which you are in. By the way, grow up.

Michael

[baristajack]

The partners that seem to complain about the comfy chairs observations clearly must have felt a nerve hit.i am a barista , although we don't have a super busy store it take all of 5 minutes or less to do a complete lobby sweep.I DO IT ALL THE TIME.. i myslef have gone into work an hour early at times to play on my laptop, and have witnessed 5 partners chatting behind the counter with dirty tables, floors and condiment stand left unattended, these factors drive customers away, its the small things that bother customers, and in my opinion everyone has time to do what we are supposed to do, so when your stores get closed due to lack of business , you'll only have yourselves to blame..

[fmrmgr]

Yeah, the comfy chair section is kind of pointless, if the store doesn't get the feedback. Sounds like someone with too much time on their hands....yawn

[baristajack]

Juan, I enjoyed your posts and observations,its unfortunate a little constructive abservatons aka critisizm as some prefer to see it. is so frowned down about, it hits alot of lazy people right in the a"". if it didnt ,why would you feel so much backlash..just think how much we could all learn if we take these as ways to improve, and maybe keep nicer stores,happier customers, more jobs and business. in this economy i feel lucky to have any job i do, im not happy about the cuts the company has made to us partners, but what can you do, hopefully we will all come thru this economic time soon, and maybe we will have some lazy partners ,,and finally quit, and open up hours for those of us who need them

[msnina]

hmmm well you documented the store -- and honestly they don't really sound like they were doing a great job at all.. but i was not there so i cannot say. i know sometimes i go into my lobby (as MOD) and i'm like "WHOA. I should have been out here 20 minutes sooner. OOps." because sometimes I get caught up and (rarely, but it happens) I forget about doing a slide. maybe i'm having a bad day or i'm hungover, ya know? lol. anyways, that sandwich you speak of, the rosemary ham & swiss?? I LOVE IT! You see, you have to warm it in the oven to truly savor the dijon mustard flavor. and taste the delicious melted swiss on the soft fluffy bread. it is soooo good! but, if you didn't warm it, i can see why you think its dry. because all of our sandwiches taste dry until you zap the preservatives back to life, LoL :)

[triple_short]

well, can't say i'm surprised. the store is in fife. has anyone ever been to fife? 'nough said.

[NotSoKindly]

We work really hard at drive-thru stores. If you didn't get a "THANK YOU SO MUCH I WILL GIVE YOU MY FIRST BORN" send off well, sorry. Understaffing has alot to do with it these days.Nobody's fault. I mean, are you that needy? I know it is our job to give the best expierence and I myself take pride in everything I do and make at my job, I love that people come to Starbucks not only for the coffee but for us. PARTNERS RULE!!!!

I find it funny that people need so much from, sorry to say a human. Barista's are human too, and we know what are job entails do you? Also, we do love that you like our drinks, but really? If there is a line in the lobby and the drive so long that it might not be the bar persons job to chat you up and say something to the extent of: "oh wow, thank you so much, taste it see if you like it, I'll will watch you enjoy every sip, don't worry nobody else matters except for you and you alone".

While others (assuming I was you) would get/need the same thing. Thirty Seconds isn't a standard anymore. It is beverage quality. I am happy to say that. Please. Please please, let it go. Choose another thing to be slightly ticked about. Maybe the decliniing American Enconomy? Dafur? The war in Iraq? People going to sleep without food? C'mon.

[Bothered Barista!]

Do you really sit in a Starbucks all day and write poems about how dirty it is and bitch about the shift?? No offense, but I'm a Starbucks partner and I think not only is this rude, but really lame that you put so much effort and time into Starbucks. I wouldn't come into your work place and start talking crap about how filthy it is or how there's paper all over the floor. Find a new business to write shitty poems about!!

[Angelina]

You have many friends that post in your guestbook - it is cool! very thanks!.
I am from Gabon and also now teach English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Lindbergh field san is located in the heart of the city making it really easy to get in and out and there."

Waiting for a reply :-), Angelina.