Starbucks Gossip

Weekend OPEN THREAD: Let the fun begin (again)!

Don't worry about going off-topic and having your comment deleted; everything Starbucks-related is allowed on the weekend open thread. Discuss drinks, store drama...or whatever. || Jump to the fifth page of comments

"From the Comfy Chair": Why Juan hangs around Starbucks stores for more than 10 minutes

From The Comfy Chair
Starbucks Marysville, Washington 

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"

Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.  ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh


Over the course of the first six Comfy Chair columns, I've been taken to task, quite severely at times, for spending more than five or ten minutes in each store I've visited. This criticism has never made much sense to me for a fairly simple reason – if I'm in and out, wham bam thank you ma'am, then whatever I see in that short period of time becomes the sum total of my experience.  Frankly, I've never thought that to be fair to the store or its partners.

For instance, if I'd just spent 10 minutes in the store on 116th Ave NE in Marysville, Washington during my recent visit, I would have missed when a partner came out and cleaned the dirty condiment bar approximately 40 minutes after I sat down. I wouldn't have seen the same partner clean the front windows shortly thereafter.

I'd have missed another partner who came out approximately one hour after I sat down and cleaned some tables and sweep the lobby floor. I would have had to report that the condiment bar was filthy and the lobby dirty instead of being able to note that at least the partners on duty were trying to keep those areas clean.

The partners behind the counter were quite friendly and they made an effort to connect.  I ordered decaf in the middle of the afternoon and these folks had it already brewed and happily handed me a cup right away. The pastry case was clean and stocked and everyone seemed to be having a good time at this drive through store.  /CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT BELOW

Starbucks employee in Chicago brings class-action lawsuit over lost laptop

Laura Krottner's suit accuses Starbucks of fraud and negligence. It says the company "failed to follow reasonable precautions to secure its employees' [personally identifiable information], failed to provide timely notice, and failed to protect employees from invasion of privacy, fraud, identity theft, and associated expenses." It adds that Krottner and the other employees must now spend "considerable time and money to protect themselves" from identity theft. || Read "Starbucks sued after laptop data breach"

"The Clover project is alive and well," says Starbucks spokeswoman

After questions were raised on this site about Clover, I asked Starbucks global communications director Deb Trevino about the status of the project. Her response: "The Clover project is alive and well. Customer response to Clover-brewed Small Batch Coffees has been very positive. The program is currently available in three markets, Seattle (10 stores), Boston (33 stores), and San Francisco (9 stores). Starbucks is evaluating new markets in which to expand the Clover program and is committed to doing so."

OPEN THREAD: What's on your mind this weekend?

Go ahead and discuss it, as long as it's Starbucks-related. || Jump to the fourth page of comments

Should Starbucks have said 'Sorry' to UK for Schultz's remarks?

That's the question on CNBC's website, and the vast majority of people taking the survey said NO. The UK's business secretary is upset with Howard Schultz for saying the UK is in an economic spiral. || Read "Should Starbucks have said 'Sorry' to UK?"

"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

VIA Ready Brew gets good reviews from Chicago Tribune critics

"Having imbibed a lot of instant overseas, I did recognize an inital familiar instant aroma, but the taste was far superior to any instant I've ever had," writes Monica Eng. "If I'm stuck at my desk on deadline, and especially if I just want a quick inexpensive iced coffee on a hot day, I would turn to this powdered product in an instant." The Chicago Tribune's restaurant critic, Phil Vettel, sampled VIA and said it was "surprisingly bold and complex," "totally acceptable, especially if I were in a rush," and "really good if a little on the burned side." || Read "Starbucks new instant coffee tastes almost like brewed"
> SmartMoney.com: "We were surprised -- it actually tastes like coffee"

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Howard Schultz: There are "numerous logical reasons" to get into the instant coffee business

Among them, says the Starbucks CEO, are "the significant size of the instant coffee market ($17B globally); the increasing mobility of consumers (imagine a cup of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew on a mountaintop); and, regardless of our ubiquity, that customers continue to tell us they want more Starbucks, and more ways and opportunities to enjoy it." Read "Howard Schultz: Staying Real in an Instant"

Starbucks officially announces VIA Ready Brew instant coffee

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew is made by adding hot (or cold) water to a cup, which brews the coffee in an instant, says the news release. The product is pre-portioned into single-serve packets and will be packaged in books of three or boxes of 12. The suggested retail price for the U.S. will be $2.95 for three and $9.95 for 12. The national rollout of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew is planned to begin in late Fall 2009, with first availability on March 3 in the Seattle area and in Illinois Starbucks stores. || Read "A Breakthrough in Instant Coffee" || Read Reuters' story