Weekend OPEN THREAD: Ask your questions, or just speak your mind

It's your weekly chance to discuss anything else Starbucks-related (in a civil manner, of course). || Jump to the third page of comments.

Comments

[SBUX Alum Bill]

I still think this article about the runaway success of the McCafé's ought to be particularly vexing for Starbucks enthsiasts & critics alike:

McDonald's McCafé line exceeds expectations

[CamSpi]

Had a huge laugh with the return of Vivan on Ellen.
Watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeF-aMIug1U
Really funny!

[TCoffee]

Love the Ellen show starbucks prank...cracked me up.

Thanks CamSpi!

[SPORK]

Does anyone know what it means when the back computer says "Activity Log Full"??

[nycsm]

@ SPORK

means it time to call the EHD

[SBUX Alum Bill]

Does anyone know what it means when the back computer says "Activity Log Full"??

It means your computer is about to explode! Get out of there! Run for your lives!

(Sorry, just an early April Fool's prank. I couldn't resist.)

[r]

So, everyone, do you know if Optimal Scheduling is still going to take effect? At my store, there are a fair number of us who either just meet or are just under the OS requirements and we are still employed for now....anyone heard anything definitive?

[EmeraldCityBarista]

I read in an article that Tully's donated to the Amanda Knox fundraiser in Seattle at Salty's. Starbucks may be alot of things and but at least they don't support aledged murderers. There are a lot of other charites far more deserving. Maybe they should get a list from Starbuck's HQ

[Just Another Customer]

I used to come here frequently and participate in the conversations but now I only come here once in a while, mostly to read Juan Valdez, because of all the negativity from partners. I understand it is difficult to loose your job, and I sympathize with anyone in that position, but even the partners who still have their jobs do nothing but complain. I suggest you remember the serenity prayer, there is no use in fighting things you cannot change. You should focus on those things you CAN change and work towards making the change. There also seem to be a total dislike of customers. I have worked retail so I know about the "difficult" customers, but don't focus on them. You should focus on those customers who appreciate what you do for them every day.
I know this will cause more negative posts, and you can all tell me to go pound sand but I am just another customer. One who is thankful for the baristas who work at my local store, one who sends emails to corportate in praise of their service, and sends cards on condolence when one of them looses her father to a long illness. They are my friends even though the only place I see them is at Starbucks.
I am Just Another Customer.

[Kitty]

I'm just another customer, too, I guess. I agree with you completely. Well said.

[Starbucks Customer]

I received my free Starbucks Via sample a few days ago. I am very impressed. It is much more superior than regular instant coffee. I wanted more after my first cup (gave my second packet to a family member). Can't wait until the national release in late fall.

[Starbucks Customer]

When the Starbucks Via is released nationwide, will it be sold in grocery stores such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc.?

Anyone else received their free sample of Via yet? If so, how many sample packets did you get? Mine contained 2 packets although it looked like I was supposed to get 3. Maybe one fell out in the shipping process.

[burnt out at the bux]

My DM won't let us take ONE extra day off without 90 days notice!! How do I know 90 days in advance if I may want to have a 4 day work week?? This is crazy...if I wanted 2 or more extra days off fine, but 1? I have over 100hrs of vacation so its not like I'm taking a bunch of time off.

[WhoGivesAdam]

Anyone know when the list of the 200 closing stores will be out?

[VIA FAN]

You can buy VIA at starbucksstore.com

[Mousie]

@Starbucks Customer - I received my sample a couple weeks ago, one packet of each Via flavor. Wasn't hugely enthusiastic about either one, but thought the Italian Roast might make a good iced coffee.

I don't mind the negative posts - to me, this is an outlet for Sbux employees to rant and rage and vent among those who can emphasize. I'm just an eavesdropping customer, getting flashbacks to the days when I did tech support and indulged in endless rants against short-sighted policies and stupid customers.

[g]

"My DM won't let us take ONE extra day off without 90 days notice!! How do I know 90 days in advance if I may want to have a 4 day work week?? This is crazy...if I wanted 2 or more extra days off fine, but 1? I have over 100hrs of vacation so its not like I'm taking a bunch of time off."

Posted by: burnt out at the bux | March 27, 2009 at 05:08 PM

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boy am I glad I am no longer a manager!!!

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Optimal Scheduling= The weak shall perish

[Frustrated]

hello, I am a fellow lurker at this website. I am a two and half year partner. I got reassigned to a new store after my other one closed last fall. I just have a couple of questions. Do you have any partners at your store who do not know how to prepare any beverages? Its very frustrating because many baristas at my store have about 15 hours a week except for two. One of them doesn't know drink recipes, isn't welcoming and might I say is pretty lazy. She manages to get 25+ hours a week. I work really hard, go above and beyond to keep my store clean, engage with the customers that come in and I only manage to get 15 or so hours a week. Another question I have, how many hours a week do managers get for administrative work? My manager takes every, and I mean every moment, he can get to be on the computer. I didn't know that it takes 6 or more hours to write a schedule. He is on the floor less than 10 hours a week. It makes it difficult when I have to close with him. I am not complaining about Starbucks or my job, its just that I have never been at a store like this. I guess I just need to get this off my chest after being there for six months

[suger free vanilla non fat with extra caramel drizzle and whip; hypocrite]

What happens when you add 1 cup of milk instead of 1 cup of milk to make Via?

Does it become inferior Latte?

[suger free vanilla non fat with extra caramel drizzle and whip; hypocrite]

instead of water*

[JerseyGurl]

Frustrated~

With Optimized Scheduling, why does your new store have so many baristas under 20 hours/week? I was under the impression that if partners do not average 20 hours/week for a month, the DM gets a list of all those partners and is supposed to have a "conversation" with the SM about it. I'd understand 1 or 2 being under 20 but it sounds like most of your store is not being held to OS.

[Licensed Store Junkie]

Frustrated
I understand how you feel. I do not work at sbx, I work in an office. I am a records clerk. I had to train another employee how to do my job so she could take over when I go on vacation, my days off, sick days, etc. She still does not get it. I have trained and retrained her. I have told management, nothing happens. She is disgruntled and does not try to learn. So, on my first day back to work I spend 3-5 hours correcting what she messed up on my days off. I have tried to "change" this problem but since it is obvious that I can't....I have "accepted" that it is something I cannot change and am dealing with it.
This type of problem is universal.Either change it or deal with it.

[J]

Let's talk about the starbucks magic trick... how to turn a tall hot drink into an iced venti drink... the trick is to *just add ice* !

The other day bored at work I poured a tall hot cup of water into an empty iced venti cup. It came right up to the ice-line. That means that an iced venti latte is getting 12 ounces of milk and 12 ounces of ice, while the same price as a hot venti latte with 20 ounces of milk. While starbucks advertises it as 24 fluid ounces.

That's some expensive ice.

It also tastes three times as strong as its hot counterpart, an iced venti recieving 3 shots of espresso instead of the one that goes into the same amount of milk in a hot tall.

An iced tall has less liquid than a hot short.

An iced venti latte is flavored with 6 pumps because barista's are told that they are flavoring more milk than a hot venti which recieves 5. But it is only flavoring the amount of milk of a hot tall. Which means that iced drinks are TWICE as sweet as their hot counterparts!

What's the deal? The only way you are getting your money's worth, as well as any kind of consistency of taste, is to order no ice at all. And no customer will know to do that.

It smells really fishy if you ask me.

[Clover Kona]

@Starbucks Customer:

I requested Via samples two different times (once with my school email address and mailbox, and once with my primary email address and home address).

One sample shipment came with two packets of Colombian, and the other shipment came with one each of Colombian and Italian Roast. It might just be the luck of the draw.

[Soy Latte]

Does Starbucks hire temporary workers for the summer months? If not, do you think it would be possible to work full time in the summer and then part time during the school year? I apologize if these are dumb questions, but I am unfamiliar with Starbucks' hiring practices.

[spence]

Soy Latte,
Starbucks doesn't hire temps (unless maybe if you are at a beach location.) Assume that you must work at least 20 hours during the school season. Also, no one gets 40 hours. As a beginner barista, it is not uncommon to get 8 to 12 hours a week. Beginners at my store frequently get 5 to 10.
Also, you should know the down side. Getting up at 3 in the morning for an open shift is not much fun for minimum wage or just above it. You should also expect to clean public bathrooms.
Our job is supposed to look fun and perky. But as soon as the customer turns their back, expect to work your butt off. It is not all about smiling, laughing and making lattes.
Having said all that, you should also understand that I am only giving you MY regional information. You could probably talk to a local mgr and find out the specifics for your area.

[spence]

Just another Customer,
Please keep in mind that their are thousands of baristas. This site attracts a tiny percentage. And it seems to attract those with the most angst.
Clearly I know a lot of baristas. I don't know anyone who is as negative as those on this site. Obviously there are many people who blog here who have some legitimate gripes. I have been drinking the cool-aid but I've never personally met anyone who has had the problems that these people have. Either I've been lucky, there are regional differences or we get a lot of grumpy people here.

[CuriousAboutClosings]

I am curios how many of the original 600 stores that were closing are still open. And if so why they think they are open still

[nematode]

hey frustrated
its the same story at my store we have partners that work 1 day a week. i hate closing with my manager he does nothing..

[at J]

J:
The thing you are forgetting is that the ice is not solid- there are gaps around it. So when you pour the milk it doesn't magically start at the top of the ice line, it fills in all the spaces around the ice- which is actually quite a bit.

[lisa]

my store let go of 7(!) baristas due to "optimal" whatever and somehow our baristas still aren't getting the hours. Only like three get more than 20, the rest often less. As a shift, I can never get more than 34.

[lisa]

And the worst part is, Starbucks is so hush hush about it, implying that only corporate employees are getting laid off. When I tell customers about in store layoffs they are shocked.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

The weak shall perish. Uncle Howie is actually a member of Species 8472!

[green_cup]

First, BSR: Yeah, you... um... you need to get our of your parents' basement.

As for the iced drinks at Starbucks: they are a rip, yes. When I rarely get a coffee from Starbucks and it happens to be iced, I specifically ask for it to be made proportional to include half the amount of ice. It's completely ridiculous when you see how much filler (ice) Starbucks uses when it makes these beverages.

But, seriously, a venti iced milk drink? Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe iced coffee or tea in a venti, but a venti iced latte?! That's just nasty.

[Noor]

J- Hot shots of espresso added to the cold milk are still more than warm enough to melt the ice (By the way, barristas who add the ice last then don't stir? Ew. Don't you give my customers that tepid beverage.) and the face that there is a fair bit of fill space in the ice section (Anyone who used to make frappuccinos ye old fasioned way in the cups knows this.Even though the cup is filled completely with ice, there is still room for about half it's volume in base) AND the fact that this cola nation is used to craving freakishly intense flavors in cold beverages.... It's not really an aweful deal at all. Try pouring that tall over a cup of ice and tell me how you like it.

[J]

at J:
Just because there are gaps around the ice doesn't change the fact that it's only 12 ounces of milk in an iced venti. While Starbucks advertises it as 24 ounces. Well, yes, TECHNICALLY it is 24 ounces. You get 12 ounces of latte and 12 ounces of water. Bleh.

"Try pouring that tall over a cup of ice and tell me how you like it. "

Um I have, I like it =) It tastes like a tall latte, only cold. Which is how you would think Starbucks would want the iced lattes to be.

[KGB]

So when you go to McDs and ask for a Large soda and half of it is fill with water-down soda and the others half is ice, what do you say to them?

[J]

What does that have to do with anything?

my point is starbucks charges the exact same for a cold drink as they do for a hot drink and you get almost half the liquid that tastes twice as strong and twice as sweet as the original. Where is the drink consistency in that? Where is the quality?

[Former 7yr Manager]

Why would you steam a tall latte and pour it over ice? You dont get enough labor as it is. You get 1 shot in a tall 12oz and 3 in a 24 oz iced venti. If you get 12oz by pouring it over a venti cup of ice then why would you do it and lose the 2 extra shots of espresso? Ice melts and if you didnt add the extra shots and flavor you would just have watered down milk.

[Transatlantic]

Are Chai Lattes still supposed to get water? I thought they changed the recipe back when they rolled out tea lattes, but I still hear people asking for them without water.

[i need some liquid love now! con pannas on my mind!]

burnt out at the bux- i think the first thing is to ask why this policy is there. next check with the business conduct helpline and found out why this is the policy in your area and not everywhere? i think this is simply one person's rules. if you have over 100 hours then you need to take some time off otherwise when you hit 120 then you stop accruing time till you spend some of you vacation according to the new rules from the january memo. check it out before you lose time you deserve to have.

camspi-- great post about ellen it seems that some people still do know how to laugh!

curiousaboutclosings-from my understanding the stores on the list of the 600 that are still open is that the leases which corporate entered into on their egomaniacal quest for 40,000 are not cheap to get out of and it's better to stay open and make some money while finishing out the lease. i read on here about one store that didn't get product during the holidays because the corporate office thought they were closed. they were told last july they would be closing but it hasn't happened yet and i can't even imagine having to work in a store where your regular customers ask daily "any news on when it will happen". having to go to work everyday for 9 months wondering if today will be the day is more torture than i could endure. good luck to those still waiting for the phone call! i guess that really includes me as well, so good luck to me too!

[g]

Transatlantic:
I haven't heard of any changes to the Chai latte recipe even when the new tea lattes came out. As far as I know, it's still water added to the Siren's eye.

A lot of partners I know will either:

a) not put water in the beverage at all, or

b) only put a small amount

Unless the customer asks for one of those choices, I would still make it as I have always done.

[Melody206 -twitter]

@justanothercustomer: People love to complain and this site can be for venting. That's okay: It's probably cathartic.

@green_cup: That Starbucks you found at 3rd & Madison is a hidden gem. Still has comfy seats. Brews bold all day. Love them. I started a bit of a rant with the barista who asked me about my coffee knowledge, ranting about the old customer coffee passports which I remember well. I loved collecting the stickers. I said "it's not the same Starbucks anymore." The barista behind the counter simply said to me, not missing a beat, with 100% sincerity, "we're trying to make it that place again." I was stopped dead in my tracks and decided I love that store.

Link in my name is to the latest brewed coffee blogs at MSI. It's the first time in eons that we've heard from Rachel Antelak from the coffee department, so I thought it was worth pointing out.

I'm tired of the 40s and 50s era music. Is it just me? Do baristas hear complaints from customers about the music?

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Melody,
I don't read My Starbucks Idea because for me its like bringing the Red Cross to see a concentration camp and saying look, the Jews are being gassed and cremated. Oh no, we just have some commies and fags here, and who really cares about them. Or the South saying, that black slaves were being treated better than the Irish in the North. Mind you the Irish, actually came to America on their own accord, and that the slaves were either kidnapped or born into bondage.
But I digress. I think that there are too many layers between the departments at the SSC and the stores. For example, for something to go through, it has to be passed through field leadership. Like why can't Dub "Brutus" Hays just send a direct voicemail and email to all stores clearly indicating that this will be the standards?
I personally thought that Estima came well in the Clover. And if they had been talking with you for 10 minutes that could've brewed an entire batch of coffee. Maybe you should walk around with a bag of Starbucks coffee with you so they can brew you some or a coffee traveler?

[green_cup]

@Melody:

Yeah, that's probably my "regular" office Starbucks. That's the Starbucks where everyone in my office goes on their coffee runs. I have to say between that store and the new one by the market, I've come back to Starbucks. I just can't go if I'm not going to those two stores, though, and my hiatus has given me some great options like Victrola, Stumptown and Stella.

By the way, have you tried Stella yet? It's that Italian espresso bar on, I think, 1st and Spring. Fantastic! They even do whole bean, which I highly recommend. It's fairly "authentic" considering and they have fantastic pastries, too. (Here's a little write-up about them)

Either way, things are great at those two Starbucks... everywhere else, not so much. It does make me wonder, and maybe you've already asked, but why that store on 3rd and Madison? It just seems odd that Starbucks would allow that one store to do bold and decaf all day, etc.

Glad I could share that store with you.

Finally, from that linked article, I found this amusing:
It takes precisely 42 coffee beans to make a single shot of espresso, according to Fast Company magazine. Other java facts from the latest issue: 23,000 cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every second, and six or more cups a day will cut your risk of gout by 59 percent.

[spence]

Oh Geez. Don't let it get around that it takes 42 beans for an espresso shot. We have a silly customer that will return his latte and say, "ya know, this isn't quite right. I think there's only 41 beans in here."

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Will Starbucks be upgrading their wireless routers that can work with 802.11n? I find that a bunch of wireless sustems together can inhibit my ability to surf the Internet at full speed. Just an idea.

[green_cup]

@spence:

To be fair, you all don't do anything with the beans past pouring them in the hopper and out comes an espresso shot. No more hand tamping, etc.

Too bad, really. But, I can say, a lot of folks do hand tamp and, well, they probably would be better off with a fully automated machine like the Starbucks machines.

[inopethflames]

anybody know what the new drinks will be & when they will come out? thanks.