Starbucks Dating Service and other wacky (or not) ideas

I was using the wi-fi in an Evanston Starbucks this morning (as usual) when I overheard a guy on a nearby comfy chair chatting on his cellphone about his suggestions for Starbucks. He mentioned calling Starbucks corporate -- I don't know if he had or was planning to; I was only half-listening, being on deadline at the time -- with assorted ideas. One was a Starbucks Dating Service, which had something to do with matching up people who order the same drinks. He rambled on about this and obviously had thought a lot -- too much, probably -- about it. He also mentioned he wanted to be Starbucks' environmental consultant, although I missed the save-the-Earth part of his conversation. MY QUESTION FOR STARBUCKS EMPLOYEES: Do you get a lot of wacky (and maybe not so wacky) suggestions from customers? Do you ever pass them along to managers (or just mutter "Gawd, another kook")? AND *$ "GUESTS": What do you have to top the guy's Starbucks Dating Service idea?

Comments

I'd never date someone who went to Starbucks. Seriously.

Especially a Starbucks in the suburbs.

[Josh]

... and yet you read and post to a blog about Starbucks. hmmmmm...

It would never work. It would be a lawsuit waiting to happen. Let's say Starbuck's gave it a whirl, and Bob got hooked up with Jane. Turns out Bob is a serial killer. Who will Jane's family sue? You guessed it; Starbucks, because they gave at least tacit approval to the dating service scheme.

Besides, it's a stupid idea anyway. It may just be my ego or something, but I don't think I fit the mold of the typical Starbucks patron in my area. Most are not exactly college-age folks, but teeny-boppers or arrogant, pretentious, self-important jackholes with a little money and a stupid SUV.

And as for me, I'd need a little bit more to go by when it comes to datin' than the fact we both like Peppermint Mochas.

What an idiot. Instead of trying to save the earth, that guy should try to save his sanity.

[Jerry]

I've been a barista in Berkeley for about two years now, and I enjoy listening to whacked out customers if I'm in a good mood. There's just something about making suggestions to a large corporation that apeals to people. Anyhoo, I've heard anything from banning college students (because they "loiter" and take up all the seats) to brewing coffee for each individual, to restaurant type service. One I especially despise is forcing our store (specifically) to grind coffee and spread it around so the store can have the coffee aroma... oi!

For all the hate people give towards the corporation, please remember that it's like a practice of paitence for us minimum wage baristas trying to save up some money. Don't hate. Besides, if you make your suggestions at baristas, the likeilhood that we'll do anything about it is extremely slim (unless we like the idea)

That is actually not that bad of an idea. Being a barista myself, I have learned to call an order before the person has opened their mouth.
Dont worry, love. The chances of you getting hooked up with a teeny-bopper are almost none. They are busy ordering Fraps (boring little brats). And arrogant know-it-alls head straight for the lattes, most of the time trying to impress you by ordering extra shots.
As for me: give me a man (or woman for that matter) with an iced caramel macchiatto in their hand any day.

Starbucks is a dating service in itself. They set up these great conferences for their managers, and they get to stay with whoever they want. If that isn't good enough, Starbucks has turned into such a cult and culture. Their employees are brainwashed totally to think it is the only place they should be, as well as the Bux buddies are the only ones they should have. Heck, my wife is seeing one of her employees, and another manager from another store. My sons and I just love SBUX!!!! Lawsuits aren't a bad idea, hummmm class action for divorced Bux spouses...Anybody?

[funknlatte]

FWIW, there was, once upon a time, an independent coffee shop here in NYC called DRIP, and it had a dating service. if you wanted to get set up, you'd fill out a profile (as on personals sites, but w/o pix), it would go into an age- and sex-appropriate binder (e.g. 20-something W4M, 40-something M4M, or whatever), and the staff would assign you a profile # for anonymity's sake. folks who wanted dates would go shopping in the binders, and if they saw something interesting, they'd take the profile to the counter and ask the barista to contact that person. and the whole premise was that the couple would meet there for their first date.

i know lots of folks who met/dated there. it was good for that late '90s social thing, before their clientele aged out to have kids or moved away or ambled over to the likes of match.com and their ilk. sometime this past spring, DRIP finally closed.

DRIP: R.I.P.

[Kate]

AHH ICED CARMEL MACCHIATOS.. best drink ever. well i am a partner as well, and although i dont get weird suggestions like that, there are a few people that when i see come in, i try and think of anything i could do that would take me AWAY from register or bar for that matter. they talk tooooooo much. about STUPID things. telling me random tid bits of lame info and ordinarily i wouldnt mind so much, except that theres a line piling up 20 deep. it gets kinda annoying. sometimes i even have to take my breaks in the back depending upon who is in the store. the other day i talked me whole lunch away :( i love working for the *bux.. its just exhausting sometimes.

[Amy]

So - I came upon this late. I'm working at Starbucks. And let me tell you, The drinks are great, BUT the management sucks....Which is why I intend on transferring rather soon...for the second time. There is WAY too much drama occuring within the stores if you let yourself get sucked into it. Plus it's rather sickly that the baristas who work their only communicate w/ ONLY other baristas that work at Starbucks....and their social lives revolve around Starbucks.

FYI I only have ONE friend who works at Starbucks and she's quitting before Jan 1st.

I LOVE working for Starbucks but the managers I have been with so far STINK like no other...and that's just putting it nicely.

[javajockey]

Yeah, we get nutty suggestions all the time. Like, "Hey, you should show movies here!"...like people need another excuse to hang. Or, "You guys should put a grill in here and serve burgers!!" Jeeez.
A dating service. Oh, please. Next they'll want a tanning bed.
And, an aside to Amy: Sorry about your situation. My manager is a terrific guy who has helped me grow in the company. I think you're just unlucky; they're not all bad.

[Bettiebarista]

Awwww, I thought we were talking about a dating service for Starbucks employees!!

[monica]

What do you think about a starbucks lounge?

[C.S.]

Okay to kinda veer things back towards the main question being addressed:

Yes, We do get those handful or even two handful of crazy wacky (yet fun loving) customers who want to make a suggestion to the Corporation. And as nuts as some ideas sounds.......I always give them a hand by showing them the Comment Card Brochure and tell them to mail in their idea.....Knowing that everything goes through a screening process....All the insane ones are sifted out. And Sure, some improvements are added. What do I think of them? They certainly brighten up my day and I'm easily amused. I recognize our customer's as being people with dreams. And they're only trying to dream of a better place and make it come true. I'll let the Corporation deliberate on the advantages/disadvantages of ea. person's suggestion.

As a result of many submitted suggestions:

Recently all within 1 month's time the corporation mandated all SBUX's with a drive-thru have a Fast Trak Timer System installed........
Meaning we have 5 sec. to say hello 45 sec. to take your order and 45 sec. to take your money and give you your drink order and it all has to be ideally under 3 mins!!!
They have all also recieved a new Black pastry case for cars at the window to see and upsell pastries
And now more and more SBUX stores are recieving baby high chairs!!!

Pretty Interesting huh?

[Jake]

hmmm.... Starbucks DOES have a new dating service.... Espresso Dating.... sort of. Check out this: http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/personals/espressodating/index.html

They have partnered with Yahoo! Personals.

[skinny latte girl]

The HIPPA act (you know that dorky privacy act) would probably not allow you to give out any information about your clients, even if you wanted to.

[banana girl]

could a regular starbucks customer ask a barista out without seeming desperate?

[Newbiebarista]

Some kook probably reccomended the banana fraps....

[barista in love]

Dear 3 iced venti coffees with 8 pumps of classic and extra cream each-

our conversations on drive thru light up my day :)

[banana girl]

no honestly...i don't order the three venti iced coffees with all that madness...but could one ask out a starbucks employee that they see on a regular basis but otherwise do not know anything about?

[spot and dash]

umm yeah.... banana girl... find a new crush, and leave the barrista alone.

[GiGi]

We have a customer who doesn't make a move in her life without consulting our baristas.

For example, Lori came in a couple of months ago, and asked me to "witness" for her (sign for her) in a real estate transaction. She held up the line, and frankly, I thought, "Jeez, does she want everyone here to know all of her business?" The answer is "yes." She is a 50 year old Starbucks groupie. Sick. Sad.

She had no awareness that a line was forming behind her as she lay down her documents on the counter with her agent smiling at me like a weirdo.

Go and figure. Cincinnati area store.

[Claire]

I know who that is!

[Claire]

She's a regular at the Mariemont store, isn't she?

[JUles]

New Starbucks in Ukiah, CA Airport Blvd.
Too light on the ingredients, beef up those coffees please!! Life is hard enough, we need those coffees to wake us up in the afternoon.!

[blackissues]

Trackback:[...I was using the wi-fi in an Evanston Starbucks this morning (as usual) when I overheard a guy on a nearby comfy chair chatting on his cellphone about his suggestions for Starbucks. He mentioned calling Starbucks corporate -- I don't know if he had or was planning to; I was only half-listening, being on deadline at the time -- with assorted ideas. One was a Starbucks Dating Service, which ha...]

[datingdork]

Trackback:[...you get a lot of wacky (and maybe not so wacky) suggestions from customers? Do you ever pass them along to managers (or just mutter "Gawd, another kook")? AND *$ "GUESTS": What do you have to top the guy's Starbucks Dating Service idea?...]

[Dating]

Starbucks is actually been a place for dating activities, if you look around you will find the same... depends on the time of the day, you will find different age groups. It would be a good ideas to have online dating within the shop for the customers or fun seeking teenagers. login and find the match for whatever you can think of. Wi-Fi world of dating!

kim
College Dating

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