Fireworks? You get them every weekend in the Starbucks Gossip Open Thread!

There are always controversies, questions, disputes, comments and Starbucks-related observations in the Starbucks Gossip Open Thread. Let's get the Fourth of July chatter going. (As always, keep it civil to avoid being banned from the site.) || Jump to the fourth page of comments.

Comments

[green_cup]

So, what exactly changed in the "new food?" I can't really taste a difference, but I can tell you the barista behind the counter wanted me to KNOW it was different. I asked her what the changes were and she said she honestly didn't know.

It feels like Starbucks, once again, dropped the ball on actually getting COFFEE to the customer and are using this smoke-and-mirrors approach with the "new food" to make it seem like they're meeting "what the customer wants."

Side Note: If you work at Starbucks and they've rolled out a new promotion, it's always a good thing to actually know what is being advertised. Otherwise, you look like an uneducated slacker who doesn't really care about your customer or your job. It's bad service and you're doing a subpar job if you can't even figure out customers might be asking what's in the new [PROMO ITEM HERE] or how an old beverage is similar to the new [PROMO ITEM HERE].

[Melody]

As to the brewed coffee situation, I have no idea what is going on ... Yesterday I found myself lost in Puyallup (because my bf's car broke down there & I had to go get him) and the 2 of us ended up at a Starbucks on 4th NW in Puyallup. At 2 in the afternoon, Gazebo Blend was on the brew. I was shocked that at 7 pm last night, a Starbucks here in the city of Seattle had some Espresso Roast on as drip coffee. I ordered it both times despite that it was too warm out for coffee, just because I felt like I couldn't pass it up!

Maybe that was random luck twice in a row!

As to the new pastries, I really like the Cherry Pie! I don't think there are any smoke and mirrors going on with the food launch. It's just a bunch of new food choices, and much to my surprise, I like a number of them. I even like the new Strawberry Banana Vivanno, but I still have to ask for it to be made the 'old way' because otherwise it's too thick. But so far baristas are pleasantly just saying 'yes' to that request.

I wonder if the Cherry Pie is a hit in the stores? It's so good, that I bet it is going fast!

[me]

Well, green cup, if Starbucks would only let us know what kind of advertising is going on, we would be happy to comply with your request. Unfortunately more often than not it is pure luck if we know about an ad campaign ahead of a customer.

Quite often I see myself confronted with all kinds of coupons I have no way to find out if they are legitimate or not. Because no one tells us what is out there.

SSC just doesn't care about partners or customers. They only care about themselves. Very sad but true. More so every day.

[green_cup]

@me:

While I understand your point, it's not really a great explanation to a customer.

It's really just going to be the person behind the counter that looks like the moron and not the SSC worker.

[Coffeehouse Revolutionary]

More on "Real Food": has anyone actually looked at the list of crazy polysyllabic ingredients on the new Chicken Cobb Salad sandwich??

Also, I just saw a 1 week old memo from our DM (dated 6/26, only saw it on 7/03--never brought to my attention by our SM) stating that all sandwiches, salads, etc. are now dated for a 2 day shelf life. No explanation for this given in the memo--more importantly, no information at all about how to answer the obvious food safety questions that will arise.

Before you buy another sandwich or salad, BE SURE TO CHECK THE DATE ON IT!!!!!

[Claire]

Dear "Me,"

I'm a SS. Promotional books arrive at least a couple weeks before every new rollout. They describe in detail ingredients, schedules, themes, drinks, pastries, new coffees, CDs, etc. Have you ever seen one of these? If not, maybe your manager/supervisors aren't making you aware of them. They definitely should. If you've never seen one, call corporate!

As for coupons, I agree. It seems like registered card holders and gold card people get lots of coupons in the mail. Those are usually our regular customers, though, so I usually assume they are valid. If something's been printed from home, chances are it's fake. You can "just say yes" but let your manager know. Probably from online or email. They might not even know it's fake.

[Yep]

@Coffeehouse Revolutionary
We should always be on top of the sandwich dates. I would hope that would be a given.

Re: "Real Food"
I'm finding my number one complaint about the new food products and some of the old ones, is that the company has chosen some silly names. Why can't an outrageous oatmeal cookie just be an oatmeal cookie? Or the cheery cherry pie? Maybe I think too much.

[whatwhat]

@Yep.. what about the marshmallow dream bar? btw the oatmeal cookie was better the say it was why did they have to change it?

as for the other food, I did notice that the pesto pasta the replaced the other one has better chicken (not so rubbery fake) and isn't so dry anymore.

[C/H]

@ Claire

I agree whole-heartedly.

and @ green_cup

...even if you did miss some of the stuff from the books, how can you miss all of the outrageous signage. It's all over the pastry case. If you have any questions, just walk around your store, or ask an S/S, ASM, or SM. Better yet, take some initiative and try some of the new stuff yourself, that's the best way to sell something to a customer-if you've actually had it yourself. They don't want corporate BS, they want your opinion, from the one that works with this stuff on a daily basis. You people make it seem like our job is so demanding. If you actually do what you're supposed to instead of thinking of new ways to complain about it, maybe our company wouldn't be in this much "trouble."

[stacy]

I honestly don't get the all complaining about the new recipes. Yeah okay, I prefer the old cream cheese danish and the names are about as gay as it gets but overall, I'm liking the new recipes.

The entire point behind the roll-out was fresher, more natural ingredient food product. It's not often that I agree with Starbucks' decisions lately but this is one that I'm ok with.

Also,
@green_cup
For someone who blasts the company as much as you do, I'm amazed that you still bother to step foot in Starbucks. Hypocritical much?

[CamSpi]

Happy Independence Day US Starbucks Gossipers!

[offended]

@ Stacy... What exactly do you mean by saying they are gay?

It still amazes me when people use the word "gay" for something derogatory.

[new!]

Here's a question for you fellow parteners:

I'm a recently new partner, I've been employed about a month, so I still have my paper partner card. At my store, we just ring in other people's numbers for the partner discount, even for partners outside our store. Imagine my surprise when I was scolded (yes, scolded) by a partner at a different store (one I visit every day I'm not working) for only using my numbers and ID. Apparently it's "Starbucks policy" to onliy give the discount if you have the actual card (in this case, a dinky piece of paper). No other store seems to have a problem with my numbers and ID.
Is this really policy? What does your store do?

[CamSpi]

BTW
The packaging is changing for whole bean coffee. I read an email that explained we may be out of coffee for a while in order to transition into the new packaging. So, from my understanding, we may be out of your favorite whole bean for a while at my store. Isn't that messed up?

[CamSpi]

*I just want to apologize for the redundancy of my last post. Ignore the sentence "We may be out of your favorite whole bean for a while at my store".

[me]

I do see these binders. Unfortunately I'm hardly given any time to read them on the clock. And I'm not going to read supposedly important/necessary stuff while off the clock.
If I ask my SS "What's new?" I usually get the answer "Nothing.".
So most of my information is from here.

[vegassm]

Hey New! Welcome to the Starbucks life. It really depends on the store you go to, Out here in Las Vegas we do require your partner card and an ID, and you must pay with cash or a credit card with your name on it. We only allow manually entering number when it is a partner we know for a fact works for Starbucks. We have had a few problems in the past where friends would know someone's numbers and use them, or sometimes a partner's family member will try and use them.

[Ryan (SS)]

@ Me,

I totally agree with you. I worked in my store yesterday after having two days off and we had started cadence brewing and no one had taught me! Thankfully I read this enough to know roughly how it's done, but stores seem to be dropping the ball on training more and more recently.

[green_cup]

Oh, let's get this started:

@ C/H | July 04, 2009 at 09:47 AM:
I don't actually work at Starbucks, so the books everyone keeps referencing would not be available to me. What should be available to me is the educated opinion of the Starbucks staff. That, though, seems to be lacking for some very inexcusable reasons. Either way...

@Stacy:
First, never use the word "gay" in a derogatory way (as already referenced above) ever again. I saw this really great person mention something about insults that you might want to understand: they are meant to paint a person in a way that alludes to something bad. Being gay is not a bad thing, so I'm unsure how you saying something is "gay" is an insult. Further, it makes you sound low-class, uneducated and overall ignorant. In the future, please refrain from making yourself sound stupid. But maybe you meant it in the way that something is happy? Right? Nah, you meant it to be insulting because you're stupid.

As for the whole "why do you go if you blast Starbucks thing": You know, Starbucks is decent in regards to the space made available to customers. Lots of meetings occur there (as you may have noticed had you not been so close-minded and most likely doing a very poor job working there). Fortunately for you (and the sake of you keeping your job), people spend money in there due to these meetings. When I arrange and hold meetings, they're typically at a neat Seattle indie shop.

[Beantown Bearista]

the difference in the bakery items is that they are now not only trans fat free, but also contain no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial ingredients. They even gave us the recipes for the new banana loaf and oatmeal cookies.
Rwanda and the new project Red coffee are excellent BTW, it is always exciting to roll out new coffees we have never offered before.

[VancouverBC]

New Strawberry Banana Vivanno:

What is the strawberry being used in it? Is it something new?

(And did you get rid of the old strawberry sauce you were using in the Strawberries & Creme frappuccino?)

I used to just add some of the strawberry sauce to my Orange Mango Banana Vivanno. I liked it that way & I'm scared to try the new one.

Is there an option of asking for a Vivanno that is 1/2 OMB and 1/2 SB?

[WA SS]

@ New! - Official policy is that you must present your partner card to obtain your partner discount, and you, the partner, must pay for all items purchased using your discount.

[just a customer]

@ Green_cup

Do us all a favor and go to McDonalds :)
I for one am tired of your constant negitivity. If you don't like it don't go! Simple as that.

[Almost gone]

It really stinks that corporate decided to roll out so much at once. New Vivano, 8 min brew, Real food, treat reciept, and a sirens eye all in the same week. You know how much extra time we got to do all of that? Two hours, the SM got two hours to "go see" how the new 8 min brew works. Thats it. Then when we don't know the answer to somthing RDO's and DM's freak out. I want to know what I'm talking about when I'm at work but honestly it means I have learn off the clock. I'm so done with SBUX, I've been around for years and loved this job! I always told my friends what a great place it was to work. That is simply not true anymore. Howard your really letting us all down, Partners and customers. Give us the time we need to do our job.

[blarg]

stores closer to seattle are much more strict about partner cards being present than the rest of the country.

[Vincent]

Posted earlier by Melody:

'As to the brewed coffee situation, I have no idea what is going on ...'

And as I stated in a thread last week, neither do 99.9% of Starbucks 'coffee' drinking customers. Particularly those of us who like BOLD.

At the Starbucks I usually frequent, I heard a barista tell a customer (a couple of days ago) who wanted a drip venti decaf (this was about 1PM in the afternoon), that 'we don't brew decaf or bold coffee after 12 noon, I can make you a decaf Americano...'. Now this is the same store that last week, after I inquired if they had any bold left (again about 1PM in the afternoon), a different barista offered/insisted she would brew me a batch of Sumatra. And I didn't even come close to DEMANDING it (truth be told, I never demand and just drink what's available)..Again, SAME store, But different employee and different week..

So, to reinforce what you said...I have no idea what's going on either. And sadly, I suspect, neither do most of the front line employees. And I feel bad for them because they end up catching the customer flack. SBUX should really go back to offering the all day coffee pick like they did for years. Is the PPR 'all day marathon' actually more cost effective for the company and more convenient for their in store employees? Maybe an SSC partner can explain this as we know they most likely monitor this site.

[Judy Anderson]

Speaking of signage on the pastry case... "no artificial trans fats." Does that mean the items are made with "real trans fats?"

[green_cup]

@ Green_cup

Do us all a favor and go to McDonalds :)
I for one am tired of your constant negitivity. If you don't like it don't go! Simple as that.

Posted by: just a customer | July 04, 2009 at 12:19 PM

Same for you! If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that. Thanks!

[HoratioBucks]

Offended,

A lot of people are offended by having the 'gay' or homosexual lifestyle slammed in their faces everyday. So lighten up. What comes around, goes around.

[klbarista]

Vancouver BC

Just ask for it, 1/2 OMB 1/2 Strawberry Puree!! Its not a problem making it that way!
The new strawberry puree is healthier made.. some DMs are allowing old strawberry sauce to be used up in strawberries & cream, but the new puree in the Vivannos & Strawberry Blended lemonade. The option for customers now is they can ask for the drinks without the classic syrup added in, so healthier & less sweet options available! welcome to Sbux canada!!!

[HoratioBucks]

greencup,

@stacy is free to express herself (himself?) and people are free to choose to be offended by it, as Offended chose to be, as you chose to be.

[Claire]

Does anyone know about time and half for July Fourth? Our SM told us we got time and a half on Friday the third, not today, b/c supposedly Friday was the federal holiday. However, my mailperson delivered yesterday. I just hope that either Friday's or Saturday's workers got it. (My SM wasn't there today to ask.)

[stacy]

@offended and @green_cup
Get off the pedestals. I'm a girl and I have a girlfriend... omg so wait that must mean, I'm gay! Gasp! A gay person using the term gay- oh the horror!!!

[stacy]

@new
It is policy to have your partner card (paper or plastic) with you, as well as another form of ID so your name can be verified, in order to receive your discount. This is done to verify that it is only you using your discount.

Some stores follow this to the letter. Some don't. And some only follow it if they are not familiar with you. I'm in a rather small district so I know the vast majority of partners who come in therefore I don't check cards. However, if I come across a face, name or number I don't know I have every right to ask to see your partner card. And if you can't present it, I have every right to refuse to give the discount.

[quadespresso]

@ greencup
The new pastry line-up is completely different. All recipes have been changed. No more artificial ingredients, no more HFCS, trans fat free and shorter shelf life. The new oatmeal cookie is far superior to its predecessor. It tastes like a real oatmeal cookie, not something processed from the grocery store shelf with a 2 year self life. If pastry could be good for you, then you can find it at Starbucks. We are sampling the new pastries through out the day as well as the new strawberry banana smootie and our 3 promo coffees. Give it all a try and if they are not sampling when you stop in for your meeting, as for a sample of whatever you want to try.

@ Judy
Are you serious? All fats are now natural, no artificial sources... let it go

@ Melody and Vincent
It's called great barista vs lazy barista. I press for my bold customers all the time and if I am brewing decaf on demand which at our store is after 1PM, then I ask if they mind waiting for a fresh batch. Most don't mind waiting for a drip coffee made just for them. you shouldn't have to demand but it can't hurt to ask. And yes, it is saving tons on coffee loss by brewing these items as needed after a certain time of day when demand for them changes.

@almost gone
Gimme a break. You get 10's and 30's... read while you are eating or smoking. Come in a few minutes early for your shift, get a partner bev and read for a minute before you hit the floor. Care just a little and it will be easier. This is not brain surgery, its brewed coffee, new food and some new mugs and whole bean on the shelf.

@ Me
see above note to almost gone. Excuses excuses!

@ VancouverBC
Yes the new strawberry puree is all natural, no added sugar so just naturally sweet. It is so much better than the previous sauce. Give it a try and if you are not happy once you have tried it, tell your barista and they will make you something else... thats what we do.

@ Ryan (SS)
Are you really a SS? I find it hard to believe you didn't have a meeting before cadence brewing began that was mandatory for all shifts so you could all teach your partners. Again this is not brain surgery and I just seem to be reading excuses as to way you are incompetent. I can't believe you are a ss.

@ New
Welcome! The official policy is partner card plus id and you pay for all items with cash or card in your name as stated. In our district we obey this policy unless it is a known partner, then we don't need their ID or partner card. The rest remains the same.

[Venti Urnex Latte]

@new

Stores are very loosey goosey about requiring more than just a partner number for the discount or markout. If you feel weird about refusing, ask a question that will flummox them. Like, ask their store number, which I *think* shows up on the screen. Or ask "What is the recipe for an urnex latte?" or some other complicated question that they would know only if they worked at Starbucks.

It is easy to punch in the number wrong, especially with a new partner number. If you get one of the last few digits wrong, that number will likely belong to someone far away, whose name will show up on the screen. For older partner numbers, this doesn't happen much, because there is such high turnover that people with those numbers no longer work at Starbucks.

[BouncingBarista]

@quadespresso

I am a SM, and due to the "new" labor restrictions for non-coverage I just have to say (hahaha...meetings?! Seriously?!)

Personally, I was lucky and opened five days in a row, so I started the BCA Cadence on Thursday and then by my day off Wednesday I had pretty much explained to to everyone that worked mornings. I don't think a meeting was necessary.

[SPORK]

Melody,

Customers are always so snide when we brew espresso, but I think that the brewers really bring out some distinct flavours. So happy someone else sees the good in brewed Espresso.

[lost the gold(card)en touch]

As of June 30th, Starbucks Gold Cards are no longer sold in stores- online only. Even if your store still has Gold Cards in stock, they will not ring up on the register.

I had a customer today looking to purchase one as a birthday gift for a sbux lover in his life and was mad when I told him no- go online. (so much for just say yes!) he stormed out of the store empty handed- although he was ready to buy a drink & merchandise too- thanks for letting me lose a sale!

I think an online sales channel for Gold Cards is great- in addition to the retail one- not as the only one. Although I'm sure plenty of purchases happen due to online buzz, then going directly to the starbucks website- many many more were from baristas (like me!) at the store level recommending the Gold Card to our best customers or when a guest, standing in line with a friend, is impressed by theirs & buys one too.

And no word yet from SSC on how we will handle the mass renewals come fall (1yr anniv. of Nov. Gold Card launch date). Will they let us process those in store? Or only if you've registered your Gold Card online and pay for the renewal fee online will you still be allowed to use it?

Does this mean no Gold Cards available for sale in store for the holiday season too?

(hey webmaster jim-with respect-maybe this topic deserves its own thread & a response from the SSC press office?)

[Coffeehouse Revolutionary]

Re: Yep (stay on top of sandwich dates)

Of course we need to stay on top of them... My point is that as long as there've been sandwiches they were only good for ONE day. Now, they're magically safe and sellable for two?

I don't have the slightest bit of info to give any customer who asks me why this is OK--and having seen the food delivery operations in our area, I absolutely don't trust that the sandwiches were kept at safe temperatures while on the truck.

[(former) FLA SM]

Re: using the word "gay"....

Fortunately the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives us the freedom of speech. Just imagine what it would be like, having people telling you what to think or say. That would be so gay.

"Oh no!" (recoils in horror) "WORDS!"

[usorthem3]

@quadespresso must say that in reading your responses, as crass and shallow as it may sound i will take the hit. DITTO,DITTO,DITTO. spot on my wavemate. nothing more.

[usorthem3]

by the way webmaster--really digging the fireworks picture. just 2 let you know

[green_cup]

RE: Using "gay" in a derogatory sense...

Fine, you want to exercise your freedom of speech, et al? That's fine, I guess. It still makes you sound like a moron, frankly. You wouldn't use the word "straight" in a derogatory way, would you? (Well, I know some people that might... :D )

As for whomever said folks didn't like homosexuals slamming "their" lifestyles in straight folks' faces: here's what I have to say about that: I'm frankly sick of you trying to slam your twisted, disgusting, low-minded and ignorant views on what a valid relationship is in everyone else's face. Why can't you just be happy that two people (regardless of sex) are happy to be together, creating a life together that's productive and supportive? Of course there are limits, but two guys or two chicks together IS NOT A BIG DEAL. Get your crappy views out of the general picture and stop trying to limit other people's civil rights. You sound ignorant and low-class. I'll get off my soapbox now regarding this.

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

quadespresso | July 04, 2009 at 03:49 PM:

Thanks for the great explanation on the new food. It does sound a little better than the old stuff.

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

@Melody:

Are you in Seattle this weekend? I hope so; the weather's been fantastic!

[me]

@quadespresso
It is not rocket science. But my breaks are MY time, especially the unpaid 30. And I'm always early for my shift, but if you want me to start work early, start paying me early, too.
I really hope you are not a SS or higher in California, otherwise Starbucks should be REALLY scared to have you on payroll, since you basically demand free work by your employees. Someone in legal should be nervous by now...

[aeiou]

I had a customer come in today who planned on using the internet. He bought a vivanno, reloaded his card and sat down to his computer. Then he asked me how to use the internet, at which point I explained what I knew which basically consisted of opening the browser window and a login page would appear (which is how it's worked for me and any other customer I've helped with the internet). I asked if his starbucks card was registered, which he said it was, so I told him that when he got to the login page he would use the same login that he created to register the card.
I guess he was having problems or something, because he said that it wasn't working and that he wanted a refund from reloading his card because that was the only reason he reloaded the card - to use the internet. I had to look up the procedure to return starbucks card money and found that I couldn't do it through the pos, but one of us had to call 1800starbuc. I offered to call for him, and did try to call but they were closed for the holiday. I explained to him that the office was closed for the holiday and he could call another day to get his money refunded.
He got pretty mad that I couldn't just give him his money back right there. I said something like "I'm sorry, but there's just not a way for me to refund the money through the register." and he replied with something like "well it was easy enough for you to take my money". (I guess implying why couldn't I just return it as easily?)
My question is was there anything else I could have done in this situation? I suppose I could have physically gone over to where his computer was and try to see what was going on, but we had a few customers come in during this whole time so I was making their drinks while also having the conversation with this guy. What else could I have done to improve the situation? Or was he just mad because he couldn't have his way?

[Sheik]

@aeiou

There's nothing you can do. There's no way to refund gift cards - and that's what Starbucks cards essentially are: gift cards. Even though he *just* reloaded his card, think about it. If you got a $20 gift card to say, Hollister, and you don't like their clothes. Too bad... you can't just go into Hollister and say "gimme $20."

Anyways, you did the right thing. He can't get his money back. And he was just mad cuz he couldn't have his way.

I'm sure somewhere in the fine print it says Starbucks card reloads are non-refundable.

[aeiou]

Thanks, sheik, that's what I thought. I felt bad that I couldn't be more helpful, but there really wasn't anything I could do...

[Mousie]

Regarding Bold... the store near my office only brews bold until noon. The tiny one near my house usually brews a bold all day. The larger DT nearby is hit-and-miss. The real surprise was the licensed kiosk in the student union at the community college where I'm taking a summer class. The lady working there said they only brew bold during the main school year, as there's no call for it in the summer - but if I could wait 4 minutes, she'd brew a batch of Verona.

If a licensed store worker is empowered to Just Say Yes regarding bold, it stinks that actual partners aren't (with any consistency).

Haven't tried the new pastries yet, as I'm too addicted to the gluten-free orange cakes, but I will put in a word of praise for the new mini cards. I just lost my main Starbucks card. Again. Picked up the new mini and stuck it on my keychain. Now I'm fine, as long as I don't lose the damn keychain. Again.

[passingtimeindallas]

aeiou,
just a little fun fact for you and everyone else out there. The 800 number wouldn't have been able to help him either. Refunds are only offered on Starbucks cards that have never been used. I know this from personal experience. Long story short, a new barista wasn't paying attention and reloaded a regular customer's card with $300 instead of the requested $30. We called the 800 number and the rep read us the policy and told us he'd have to file a dispute with his credit card company. Needless to say, he got lots and lots of recovery coupons that day.