Starbucks Gossip

Check out the "10 Most Loved Starbucks in America"

The person from the Localicious Blog who sent me this "Most Loved" link says this is all based on Foursquare check-ins and searches. "And if we missed any good ones, we're asking for feedback and giving away $100 to one of the responders." THE TEN ARE:

10. Washington D.C. – 1501 Connecticut Ave NW at Dupont Cir NW
9. Charlotte, NC – 1401 East Blvd. & Scott Ave.
8. Honolulu, HI – 949 Auahi St.
7. Austin, TX – 300 E 4th St. at Trinity St.
6. Raleigh, NC – 609 W Peace St.
5. Jacksonville, FL – 1650 Margaret St
4. Nashville, TN – 3005 West End Ave
3. Kansas City, KS – 302 Nichols Rd.
2. Tampa, FL – 502 E Hillsborough Ave.
1. Atlanta, GA – 867 Peachtree St NE @ 7th St NE

Starbucks to start selling K-Cups in November

The Starbucks packages of K-cups will come in 10-count, 16-count and 54-count packs in flavors such as Breakfast Blend, Pike Place Roast, House Blend, Sumatra and French Roast. It will also have Tazo Tea flavors Awake and Zen available in 10-count and 16-count packs. Starbucks hopes to build its K-cup deal into a business worth more than $1 billion. || Read "Starbucks to have Keurig packages in US in November" || Read Starbucks' press release



What do you know about Howard Schultz's neighborhood Starbucks? PLUS: Hurricane talk

The New York Times reports that the Starbucks "in Seattle’s lovely Madison Park neighborhood" is where Howard Schultz can often be seen getting his drinks. (4000 E. Madison St., correct?) The Times asks:

Were the baristas looking for their boss, who lives in a ton of house nearby? Were they anxious? Were they freaking out? Is it true that they undergo special scrutiny before they can work there? Do they sometimes wish they worked in one of those apathy-oozing independent coffee shops in an edgier part of town? Surely they have a tattoo or two beneath those buttoned black sleeves, right?

Good luck finding out.

“It’s an honor to work here,” said one, noting his necktie.

No further comment. Call media relations, they say. Call corporate.

What do you know about Schultz's neighborhood SBUX? Have you ever worked there? What's that like? Or have you worked at a Starbucks where Schultz made an "impromptu" visit? (As if that ever happens! One Chicago-area Starbucks had been given a heads-up that Schultz might stop by, and I saw baristas scraping gum from underneath the tables -- for the first time!) Discuss this story or anything else Starbucks-related -- including Hurricane store closures -- in the OPEN THREAD.

Chicago and Calgary SBUX customers can enjoy a Pumpkin Spice Latte on Tuesday

Everyone else gets the seasonal drink on Sept. 6. [UPDATE: Commenters say customers in any city can get PSL if they ask for it.] I heard a barista at my neighborhood Evanston (Chicago zone) Starbucks bragging about the contest victory to a unimpressed customer. In the U.S., Seattle came in second and New York was a distant third. || Read the Starbucks tweet

"People who become good Starbucks managers work waaaay more than 45 hours a week, especially in Seattle"

That's what one commenter wrote in the last thread. It makes sense -- I've seen managers at my places of employment (non-SBUX) often put in 60 hours a week. Some, though, I believed did it just for show and could have done the same job at a 45-hour level. ("Look at me how long I work!") How many hours do you put in, Starbucks managers? Or, for baristas, how many hours does your boss work?

What did you do at your Starbucks store when the earthquake hit?

Did drinks hit the floor (along with the customers)? Were there screams from the over-caffeinated crowds? Did mugs fall off the shelves? Did you close up shop? Tell us your Earthquake of 2011 story.

OPEN THREAD conversation-starter: Are you pumped up about the Pumpkin Spice Latte?

I notice on the Starbucks Facebook page that customers are supposed to tell Starbucks why Pumpkin Spice Latte should arrive early in their city. I'm dying to see the reasons! Discuss this promotion or anything else Starbucks-related on the OPEN THREAD. || Jump to the second page of comments.

Starbucks to pay $1.6 million to managers and their lawyers to settle overtime pay dispute

The lawsuit was filed in 2009 by a former Starbucks employee and covered roughly 550 managers who argued that Starbucks wrongly classified them as exempt from overtime pay. When they work more than 40 hours per week, they should be compensated with overtime pay, they said in their complaint. In a settlement reached this month, Starbucks agreed to pay $613,680 to the managers represented in the case and $950,000 in attorney's fees and expenses. || Read "Starbucks to pay $1.6 million in settlement"

Starbucks pays $75,000 to settle dwarf barista's lawsuit

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Starbucks in May for firing Elsa Sallard, who is a dwarf, after she asked for a stool to perform her job at an El Paso, Texas, Starbucks. The lawsuit stated that Starbucks fired Sallard after three days of training because it deemed she'd pose a danger to customers and co-workers. The EEOC contends Starbucks' actions violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. || Read "Former barista awarded $75,000 in Starbucks lawsuit"

Bottled Frappuccinos MIA in Canada?

A Starbucks Gossip reader writes:

In Canada the bottled Frappuccinos have been discontinued. Do you know anything about this? And if you haven't mentioned it on your site, you should make a post about it! They raised the price by like 30 cents a few weeks before discontinuing them too weirdly enough.

Can anyone confirm -- or deny -- this? I thought I saw the bottled drink at my neighborhood Starbucks, so I'm assuming they're still available in the U.S.