"From the Comfy Chair": Juan visits a Starbucks with "a great vibe"

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"
 Canyon Park (Bothell, Washington)

Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical.  ~Jonathan Swift

The Starbucks located in the QFC (Quality Food Center) in Canyon Park is large by any standard but particularly large by the tried and true "Starbucks in a grocery store" standard. There's a lot of tables inside the actual store plus a couple more inside the grocery store. 

And when I wandered in during the late afternoon, it was all clean. Two in a row, we're on a roll folks, the condiment stand was clean and stocked, the pastry case featured items that looked positively yummy and the bathroom was clean as a button.

So there was nothing left for me to do but get some good ole decaf coffee. And when I ordered, the partner asked if I knew about Starbucks' new policy on decaf.

Why, no, I sure didn't. In very apologetic fashion, she proceeded to carefully explain how they no longer pour decaf after twelve o'clock but they'd be happy to brew some for me, fresh. It would just take four minutes. Disappointment must have shown on my face because another partner came over and began apologizing, stating how she felt so bad when folks order after twelve and have to wait. Then the first partner had an idea. "We could make you a decaf Americano if you'd prefer not to wait...it tastes pretty good." "Awww thanks," I said, "just give me a decaf grande latte."/CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT BELOW

Comments

["JUAN VALDEZ"]

The second partner went over to make my drink and the first one rang up my order, apologizing again. I thanked her for her concern and told her no worries. Folks...this was the way to handle the decaf issue. I was a happy camper.

Which I was. Like the Burlington Starbucks reviewed last week, this store had a great vibe. There were just three partners on the floor but they were working well together and seemed to enjoy each other's company. This cannot be overstated...when partners enjoy working together, it can't help but spill over to the customers.

There wasn't a lot of business however everyone kept busy. Overall, a great job!

Time of day: late afternoon
# of partners on the floor: 3
Service time – 1 minute
Was the restroom better than a gas station restroom? - Yes
Busy level – slow
Were they trying to keep the lobby clean? - Yes
Would I recommend to a friend – Yes
Legendary service? - Yes
# of stores where a partner has tried to connect with a customer – 3 out of 6
# of stores where they've offered samples of anything – 2 out of 6
# of stores that could have been considered “understaffed” - 0 out of 6
# of stores with a clean bathroom – 3 out of 6

"Juan Valdez" is the nom de cyber of a former Starbucks manager who became disenchanted with the increasingly bitter taste of the Starbucks experience and fled to the mountains of Colombia where he now rides his burro and ponders the glittering sunsets. On a crisp clear day, when atmospheric conditions are just right and the moon is in the seventh house, Juan can be reached at juanvaldezsbux@gmail.com.

[Xcalibir]

I'm curious if this was a SB owned and operated store or one of those owned and operated by the Grocier. Were I am from most of the SB in King Soopers and other stores are operated by the store and not SB and boy can you tell the difference. The drinks are made different and the service is not the same. SB stores are operated under SB standards regardless if enforced or not. These other stores don't seem to have standards.

[Mrs. Tillinghamshackles]

Xcalibir,
If my memory is correct, I believe this location is company owned and operated, not licensed.

[Christin]

Licensed stores I've been to rarely have more than 1 or 2 people working

[Maddie]

The store is definitely company owned. I used to work in the same district.

[GRTL]

I wonder how much this store does in a week in sales. You can tell a lot about your Sbux experience by customer count and sales level. I find slower stores do generally give you the true sbux experience while those that are slammed cannot because of low staffing levels and overwhelmed staff.

[NorCalBlend]

Nice to hear that some stores and baristas out there are still delivering legendary service. And thank you, senior management, for making me apologize to our loyal and dedicated customers while you save those precious few dollars of wasteage.

[NorCalBlend]

Maybe they can buy another jet, or fly 10,000 people to another city with the savings.

[Pat Nerr]

HA! WOO HOO! My old store... the one mentioned here...

http://www.greenapronstories.com/2007/09/18/making-people-care-one-for-des/

Hardest and best store to manage ever!

[Pablo]

Juan Valdez is a tool, and should work for the 3rd party auditors so that he can actually get paid for his "wisdom".

[Starbucks Fan]

This is a very nice starbucks with a gas fireplace, company owned, larger volume.

[oops]

thank you for the postive story, it is a nice reminder that every customer matters no matter how slow or busy we are. TO THOSE WHO REFUSE TO SEE THE POSTIVE, MAYBE THAT IS WHY YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE LOSING FAITH IN YOUR STORE. I like that "From the Comfy Chair" gives a perpestive from the other side of the counter. It has helped me open my eyes to how I need to rethink how I influence my team and how they in turn influence other customers inside and out of Starbucks.

[T-NF-C]

I enjoyed a really good cappuccino this afternoon from that very SBUX. As you said, great vibe from the store and from the attached QFC. Also, both baristas were attentive to whether or not I wanted it dry/wet/down-the-middle. I really appreciated this.

[cactusmush]

Actually I am warming up to the "no decaf" in the afternoon rule.

They deployed this policy at Sbux in Toronto this week. However, the excellent staff were good enough to advise me that for the same price as my estwhile afternoon Short Decaf - I can get an Amicano or a French Press Decaf of my choice - same price. I have taken advantage of this twice in two days to get a perfectly made fresh French Press of my own selected Decaf bean (avoiding the PPB Decaf they have been brewing leading up to the policy) and all of this for $1.58.

Sure I need to wait 4 minutes but it is worth the wait...to me.

Both times the Baristas expressed no resentment or fatigue at the extra effort involved.

So - if one is not in a hurry the afternoon decaf scenario is much better than before the no-afternoon-decaf-drip policy.

[Torontodude]

I'm not sure how if this is happening everywhere in Toronto.

I'm pretty sure I saw decaf at about 2:00 PM today. But I wouldn't swear to it.

FWIW, here's what happened Monday at 6:30 AM. The only brewed coffees being offered were House Blend, House Blend Decaf, and Pike Place.

Me: Gee, I wanted a bold but you don't seem to have any.

Barista: We're short of the other coffees right now. But Pike Peak is a bold.

Me: Not really. At least not to me.

Barista: We can make you a French Press, or an americano. Or we can add a shot to your Pike Place.

I went for the added shot -- at no extra charge. Which turned out to be two shots! So I was more than happy.

(BTW, I don't share the general disdain for Pike Place. It's far from my favorite coffee. But it's okay, even without the extra shot.)

I really think posters here are making too much of the "no decaf" issue. If the baristas handle things properly, most customers can end up thinking they are getting extra value.

[Mocha Max]

This is definately a company owned store! I worked in the same district for about 4 years. This is a great location with a great crew and an EXCELLENT Store Manager!! This store does over 25k per week (at least it used to when I was in the district) and is known for it's very high volume on the weekends. Great Job Canyon Park!!!

[LSM]

Why does it matter if its company operated or licensed? A store is a store is a store, and should be held to the same standard!!

[Amap]

I work for a drive thru and a good amount of customers are annoyed about the decaf wait. Legendary service though has eased the transition and those who wait are quite happy with the coffee. We have also made a number of converts to americanos from people who had never tried one before. So I find it a wash. It has some bad vibes in some places, but it also has created opportunities in others.

[DTSM]

Torontodude:

No one in TO should be serving House Blend right now, let alone Decaf House. Those are pre-packs, and inventories of that should have been depleted nearly a month ago.
As for the decaf, some districts are brewing and tracking to determine if there is sufficient demand to continue with it.

[NJ Jeff]

Decaf policy is short sighted. I have not been to a Starbucks in 3 weeks and I used to go 3 times a day for my half-caf. Not only do I now have to wait.. some stores actually refuse to brew decaf on demand. Instead they offer Americano or French Press which don't cut it for me.

I'm saving money and having great coffee from the local Whole foods coffee bar now.
Way to go Starbucks.. keep alienating clients.

[Shifty Stuporvisor]

To LSM, the reason licensed and company operated stores should not be held to the same standard, is that they're not held to the same standard. I work in a company operated store in close proximity to several licensed locations, and I remake their awful drinks all day. Always with a smile, and an admonition to come back to us and get it right the first time! I know at least one of these locations keeps the coffee in an airpot, until it runs out. The licensed stores sell our product and use our name, but do not have to use the same recipes or quality standards. Many of them just drag down the whole brand identity.

[LSM]

Shifty...thanks for the reply...I can guarantee you that there are some terrible licensed locations out there...but for every terrible licensed store there is a terrible company operated store!! I would put money on it.