Let's get the weekend OPEN THREAD going!

Starbucks is on the expansion track once again. (100 more U.S. stores in the next year.) Discuss this, or anything else Starbucks-related in the OPEN THREAD.

Comments

[jtom]

News report, at least new to me.

Local news (Seattle) just said Starbucks is moving into coffee pod/single coffee brewing (an extension of the Via line). Will be releasing a machine/pods "soon".

[spence]

That is HUGE! I can't emphasize it enough. Those are pods (via) we can sell. We have lost so much bean sales to the Keurig. If I didn't get a free pound of coffee a week, I'd have the Keurig, too.

[jtom]

The old Tulley's roasting facility here in Seattle used to dispose of their K-cups for various quality control issues. Specifically these were the cup was either under or over-filled per whatever their spec is/was. At the end of each mfg shift they would bag the cups and leave them on their back dock area for disposal. We would sneak in at night and steal giant trash bags of the cups - literally thousands at a time of Kona, French and Italian roasts.

Do not have a k-cup machine, but popping open a cup and breweing with the grounds worked just fine.

Good times.

[Derek]

I heard today about Starbucks doing a holiday drink happy hour next week, though I'm not sure if it's Monday through Friday or just Thursday and Friday. Buy one get one free on holiday drinks from 2-5 in the afternoon. Also, this is in SoCal so I'm not sure if it's nationwide. Anyone have any more info?

[Kill me now]

Holiday drink two-for-one is Thursday through SUNDAY!

[ASG]

Can any partners tell me what is an appropriate holiday gift for a regular customer to give as a way to say 'thank you?'

I am a daily customer, and there is at least one barista that has been especially great to me so I'd like to give him something as a way to say 'thank you.' Is a card and cash the way to go? How much cash is appropriate?

I do leave tips in the common tip jar a couple of times a week, but I want to give something to this individual who has gone above and beyond.
Thanks.

[Doppio Con Karma]

@ASG
This gets brought up every year around this time, and no surprise, different people have different thoughts on the matter.
Personally I can tell you I wouldn't be comfortable accepting cash directly from a customer, tipping is one thing but I just find a card with cash is just.....wierd.
Personally I'd love a card with a personal message and baked goods. Alternatively if you're a super crafty individual something hand made would likely be very welcomed.
Best of luck, and I'm sure anything you'd like to give would be very welcomed and appreciated!

[I.Heart.Spirit]

Is Simphony the slowest thing ever for anyone else? Or is it just my stores systems?

[YupYup]

Yes it is realllllyyy slow. It adds atleast another 3-5 seconds of lag time for every customer, add that up with the hundreds of transactions, and that's alot of wasted time.

[Nick Burns]

Symphony people, we started with this software last April and yes, it was r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s-l-y slow. You need to get your manager to call your DM and get them to get the ball rolling to have a tech come in and install MORE RAM.

It is a hardware upgrade so someone will have to come in and physically install it into your register terminals. We went from 256MB (or something) to 2GB of RAM and it made the registers run MUCH better. Hope that helps.

[Darth Sidamo]

We got the RAM and it's still slow. It's not of much use without a processor upgrade.

[Hirayuki]

ASG: Who wouldn't love to get a loaded Starbucks Card? ;)

[spence]

@ ASG: If you give your favorite barista cash, there are those in the store (and they may be right) that it is a tip and therefore should go into the partner tip box. However, a gift addressed to the barista would be fine especially if it wasn't cash. GIFT CARDS are perfectly fine. Just make sure it is in an actual envelope addressed to your fav barista.
@ Partners: Yes, I know that while the fav barista was focusing on the customer, we were doing other essentials. Just be happy for the barista.

[.]

Get your fav barista a 12-pack of Via! One less pack they have to worry about selling to you...

[Hipsterdufus]

My last day is in 2 weeks! I can't believe it.

[K]

Grats Hipster! Hope you are moving on to greener pastures. My manager has been telling us to lie to the customers about how great Via is. "Fake it 'till you make it" is her motto. I can't believe how far this company has fallen and I'm so glad I'm leaving as well.

[Guat.my.mala]

It is sad that DM's have to force Via down people's throats. As an SM, I really filter what my DM says and try not to make it such a pressured sales environment, but of course I still get emails that say "Why didn't you sell $100 of Via on our spike day?" and I just have to tell the truth. People didn't want to buy it.

I love my job and I love my partners, but it is hard when I know that this isn't what they signed up to do. They want to make quality beverages and help their customer, not force products on people. I will never tell people to fake it in my store. There are partners that genuinely like Via and people can better sell something when they truly like it. (I like the Mocha flavored Via myself)

If I had one wish in my whole career with Starbucks, it wouldn't be for more money or more hours to do things, it would be to make the extreme pressure of selling Via stop for all baristas. But that's a Christmas wish that I don't think Santa Howard will grant.

[Hipsterdufus]

Greener pastures indeed...off to Apple I go.

[spence]

Well, I've been opening the Christmas boxes. It's going to be a pretty Christmas even with Via glassware, Via Cups, Via containers, Christmas Via, etc. We are going to have a lot of Via discounts in January.

[gbl ftw]

can you guys settle a bet for me? Im an 8yr partner and I swear like 3 or 4yrs ago the recipe for an iced venti CM got only 4 pumps of vanilla. am I crazy?

[Hipsterdufus]

no you're not crazy. The Iced Caramel Macchiato used to only get 4 pumps in the iced venti, god knows why. They changed it when I was still working in denver which was over 3 years ago.

[I <3 music]

Nothing says "good will to all" like pushing instant coffee

[gbl ftw]

I knew I was right! Thanks!

[Melody]

@spence Say hello to Via dark chocolate bars too!

[CD]

VIA branded merchandise is puzzling to me. It seems more like a "promo" item that Starbucks should be giving away instead of something that they would sell in their stores.

Do people really want to pay for VIA branding?

[Guat.my.mala]

Oh man... a shift and I tried the VIA dark chocolate yesterday and I actually had to spit it out and go drink some coffee afterwards. That chocolate had the worst aftertaste EVER! But perhaps that is the marketing strategy, buy the chocolate, HATE it, and have to go buy a coffee to wash the taste out of your mouth. Seriously... yuck.

[Barista G]

Starbucks is hurting and angering a lot of people with the VIA push. I understand they want to grasp a chunk of a new market, but I still think pushing in stores is idiotic. Most instant coffee is sold in the department and grocery stores that are making it difficult for partners to meet goals anyway. Still, if you've ever tasted instant coffee from other places, you'll probably agree VIA is better. I never thought VIA was special, I had only tasted coffee made from actual beans prior to tasting it. I thought it was similar to pre-ground coffee you can buy in stores, but nothing that would ever replace my daily brew. However, I recently found myself in a position to try several other instant coffee brands and honestly, I think VIA is a godsend compared to them. For the instant coffee market, it is a great advance. Still, I can't honestly see where it has a place in the core market of the Bux.

[usorthem3]

Sugar free peppermint

[Allison]

I have a comment to make about the drink I usually order at Starbucks (just a chai). I noticed that in the past 3 or 4 weeks, the drink has been tasting very watery at several different Starbucks locations. I stopped going to Starbucks because no matter what, my drink tastes the same. A barista told me that they changed how they make the drinks now and now they make them one at a time. Since they have changed the process of making the drinks, the chai has been tasting watery and acidic. My boss orders the same drink and says the same thing!

**When you make a chai, you need to let the mix sit in the hot water for a minute or two in order for the spices to activate. This new process causes the barista to make the chai too quickly without allowing the spices to activate. That causes the chai to taste very watery. I hope Starbucks will pass this information on to their baristas - the chai used to taste very creamy and spicy and I hope it goes back to being that way.**

(I also wanted to add that the hot water is a key ingredient to the chai and it is what activates the chai and makes it very flavorful - a lot of people mistakenly order "no water" chais - thereby making their drink taste more watery).

[likewater4chai]

Allison, it could also be because of the new red Christmas cups. We usually add water to the bottom of the "siren's eye" (the logo). The new red cups don't have a siren's eye in the usual place. Maybe someone is not putting the correct amount of water.

[Guat.my.mala]

Allison, I have no clue as to what you are talking about. My sbux has made the chai the same way, ever since the beginning of time. If anything, the drink isn't made too fast at all, it is given more time. You can always ask them for extra water to make sure you get what you want.

[Ryan]

I was wondering, at your stores, how often do you run out of syrups? I was talking to a barista at my local store, and they told me that they ran out of Peppermint - which I thought was strange... how could one run out of a syrup that is popular year round, even more so during the holidays? Wouldn't you expect them to have more of it?

Also... I've yet to try a Gingerbread Mocha. It sounds good, but, much like the eggnog latte, it might just not be. Any experiences you want to share? :D

[Hipsterdufus]

yeah Chai lattes do not taste different based on how long they take to make, that's complete bs.

The chai tea in the chai latte is already brewed, already as in months ago already, and then made into a concentrate and shipped to the stores. It doesn't need to activate.

I would say that the change in flavor is either due the new new cups (which as someone said is how we measure water into the drink), a new kick of baristas making it a different way because they "discovered" the real standard, or just a no really differnt.

[erstwhile]

@Ryan - Stores should never run out of core syrups, unless a distribution center runs out and zeros out their order (something I've only seen a handful of times in 5 years with the company).

It sounds like someone at the store you visit wasn't prepared for the holiday push.

[Waltie]

"they ran out of Peppermint - which I thought was strange... how could one run out of a syrup that is popular year round, even more so during the holidays? "

How did they run out of something that lots of people buy? Didn't you answer your own question there?

[usorthem3]

@erstwhile Our distributor (Southwest Traders) zero's out ordered items EVERY day. That's why I have ordered plastic wrap for two weeks and have yet to have it delivered. Last week a store down the street didn't get anything delivered (pastries, sandwiches, milk, paper supplies until 10am) It had nothing to do with the people that work at the store not being prepared.

["is it too late to ask for non fat.."-as i am pouring 2% in it..]

my vivanno is still made wrong=(

i wanted whip on it, with caramel on top and on the outside of the cup so it is sticky when i hold it!!!!

[bobbyganoosh]

Maybe look into how your distributor runs your delivery drivers 14 -16 hours straight..not compliant!!!