"From the Comfy Chair": Juan gives a Starbucks store an A and a big pat on the back

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"

Starbucks
1450 190th Street

Torrance, CA

I wandered into the Starbucks cafe store in Torrance, California on a classic Los Angeles bright, sunny morning.  It was busy and folks were making ample use of the outdoor patio to catch some rays.  There was a short line most of the time I was there but that wasn't a bad thing.  Instead, it meant folks kept coming in but were quickly and efficiently taken care of so the line never really had a chance to balloon into something serious.

The register partner was very friendly and even, gasp, asked if I wanted something to eat with my drink. Moving over to the bar to wait for my drink, I was greeted by an equally friendly bar partner who, despite being busy, managed to keep up a running line of  banter with waiting customers. It was the perfect combination of being efficient and being welcoming at the same time and it really made the five minute wait seem like nothing.

After sitting down, I watched the team in action and it was wonderful to see the focus on all things customer related. Temporary break in the line? They got the pastry case cleaned up and stocked. Even as the others handled the shortened line, a partner zipped out into the lobby to do spins and keep the condiment bar clean and stocked.

They even managed to get a break in while handling the business. Now, it helps that this is a smallish cafe store so there wasn't quite as much ground to cover as some of the larger stores. Still it also helps that, after they ran the line, they didn't just stand around gabbing and playing grab ass like I've seen in too many stores up til now.

And, of course, the bathrooms were clean.

As has been often noted on Starbucks Gossip, these are ambiguous times and there are great pressures to do more with less which  has to make operating one of these stores a real challenge. It's really great to see a store manage all of this in a way which doesn't affect the customers at all. For all they do, this store gets an A and a big pat on the back.

Overall rating: A

Time of day: morning
# of partners on the floor: 4





Service time: 5 minutes

Business level: busy
Was the bathroom cleaner than a gas station bathroom?: Yes
Legendary service: Yes
Would I recommend to a friend: Yes

COLUMN STATS




* # of stores reviewed where a partner has tried to connect with a customer – 13 out of 30
* # of stores where they've offered samples of anything – 3 out of 30









* # of stores that could have been considered "understaffed" - 0 out of 30
* # of stores with a clean bathroom – 17 out of 30

"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

Comments

[coffee in exile]

I love it when the register person suggestively sells something relevant, such as asking if I need to stock up on beans, or if I'd like something to eat with my drink that morning. Even just suggesting a little extra for my drink (ie extra shot of espresso), and I'll honestly consider it. So good on that register partner for suggesting something!

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

I always ask customers if they want something to eat from the pastry case.

[Tall in a Venti Cup]

Yawn* it's much more interesting reading about badly rated stores.

[blarg]

wooo LA

[SPORK]

I know this is off topic so delete it if you want it to wait for the weekend open thread, but I just signed onto our PoS (that's point of sale machines for those who don't know the lingo) and lo and behold, no more BREWED and MRNG PCK, just simple PIKE and BOLD... Melody, I know that this will hopefully show the actual sales of Pike Place...

[SBUCKS DRONE LOS ANGELES]

Hurray for LA!

Rebel, I always ask too. I also ask for people's name's and if they're having a great day (and I actually give a damn). You never if someone's going to tell how crappy their day has been or how wonderful life happens to be.

[Starbucks Partner]

I really don't care for "From the comfy chair" because its just another commentary on Starbucks, just another perception. I log on here to read news the company doesn't release to the partners or to get the scoop before it happens. I think its time for "From the Comfy Chair" to take a seat.

[Chrissy]

So I have a question that's kind of off topic but completely out of curiosity. What is the proper way to mark a cup for "no foam"? My drink in the morning is a triple grande, no foam, SKVL. I've had the cup marked /F, -F, No Foam, F in a circle with a line through...what's the official way?

[haha]

the official way to mark it, is with a loogie

[haha]

also
juan is playing grab ass with ssc, hoping some officer notices his reviews and offers him some job writing about starbucks- yawn.

how bout something interesting?

[Bouncing Barista]

no foam is the symbol for no (/) over the symbol for foam (F)...in the custom box. Look it up in the Bev Resource Manual. Or in Barista Trng Materials. It should basically be F with a slash through it.

[Aces of Eight]

Bouncing Barista is correct. Pretty much if something that normally is in a drink is not in the drink, you write the code for it and then cross it out with a line.

For example no Whip cream would be (WC) with a (/) through it.

[(Formerly) SMJosh]

Well Juan I'm glad you had another good experience. Stopping in my former store might not give the same experience it did last time. I got fired today! Keep on keeping them honest for those of us who can't any more.

[Sparky]

Thanks for coming all the way down to So.Cal. While you're here, check out my stellar local store in downtown Claremont, CA -- shoutout to my homies!