Hey, Starbucks customers, you can do something about your gross travel cup (the proof is on the left)

That's the inside of my cup, which until this afternoon was brown and gross and no doubt disgusted baristas at Starbucks and indie coffee shops I frequent. A barista at Metropolis Coffee in Chicago took one look at the inside of my cup today and politely said: "Do you mind if I clean this?" Go ahead, I said. In 90 seconds, it was a different cup. "What did you use?" URNEX, he said, handing me a sample packet. That, I thought, was legendary service. What about your gross-cup customers? Feel free to tattle on your those with the grossest cups. Do you/did you have the courage to confront them about this? ("Ma'am, you've obviously spent thousands to get your teeth whitened; now how about doing something about that brown cup!")

Comments

[Tim]

URNEX works fine but you have to be careful to rinse it out *very, very well*. It is a dangerous chemical - there are reports of people becoming seriously ill and nearly dying from ingesting even a trace amount of the stuff. Baking soda and a scrubby brush work fine too, it too gets rid of the coffee smell and gets out the stains without the danger of any chemical traces.

Great example of customer service, though!

[STARBUCKS GOSSIP WEBMASTER]

Thanks for the warning, Tim. If there's no open thread on Saturday, you'll know I've died from ingesting URNEX.

[mapunx]

that's scary about urnex. anecdote ahead:
we had a conversation at our store one time where the manager and a barista shared stories of times they had accidentally given someone coffee that had urnex in it. The customers always came back and were given like... a stack of recovery coupons, but didn't die.

You may want to have this handy—

http://urnex.com/msds/MSDSCafizaPowder.pdf

Urnex if not cleaned can cause extreme gas problems as well as other stomach issues. The typical metal in a mug is not thick enough as the brewers we use the cleaner in, and I would never put it in a customers glass. I don’t know why they didn’t just use the sanitizer, which is just soap. Urnex literally eats away the top level of metal from the product…

Please do not use my name or email in any comments you may make on the site about this post.

I would highly recommend contacting Starbucks CSR about this, it is a pretty serious saftey hazard. If none the less, the store needs a serious reminder of this.

[STARBUCKS GOSSIP webmaster]

The cup wasn't cleaned by a Starbucks barista; it was at Metropolis Coffee in Chicago. The employee used boiling water and rinsed the cup thoroughly.

[Rich Lafferty]

I get the feeling you're not used to reading an MSDS. An HMIS rating of 1 puts that stuff in the "inconvenience" level: "slight irritation hazard". Nearly dying from the stuff listed in that MSDS? Doubtful.

[Sheik]

Death by Urnex.......

LOL....
Hope not!

[barrister barista]

Kinda glad that didn't happen at Starbucks.

We're super careful with urnex, and I wouldn't risk washing out a customer's cup with it. It's pretty potent stuff, so much so that they had to add blue dye to it to prevent people from accidentally ingesting it. . I don't even use a full packet on my coffee maker at home.

That said, I always offer to rinse out a customer's travel mug with hot water if needed. I guess I've never seen one in such a state that I felt hot water wasn't enough.

[Pat Nerr]

HA! Urnex is the shiznit when it comes to cleaning anything stainless... and the reports of death are overexaggerated... You will most likely get a serious case of the trots if it isn't rinsed out with lots of seriously hot water... If you make a nice paste of Urnex and water, it'll clean most stains on tile as well.

Exactly what my post said for the person who said I cant read MSDS sheets. I did not say in my post Urnex will kill you or put you in the hospital, I just said it will give you gas problems and other stomach issues (the runs, possible vomitting, ect). Starbucks is not going to have a chemical used daily in the stores that could kill someone, but Urnex can make ones day very very uncomfortable.

[Pat Nerr]

as per their info...

All Urnex® Brand Products are non-toxic. In addition, many of our products contain food-safe dyes to help ensure proper rinsing.

It is also safe for Organic brews... They won't confirm the mix, but I've heard it's a strong citric acid and phosphate mixture... hence the trots.

I love this topic... SBUX cleaning product folklore

[Venti Urnex Latte]

I guess nobody else remembers the notice from about three years ago where a barista served a regular customer a venti cup of Urnex instead of a cup of coffee. She put in her usual milk and sugar, took a swig and got violently ill. Starbucks gave her a gift card for $200 and, if I am not mistaken, paid her medical expenses. There was a big written warning about not serving Urnex to customers

That urn must have been mighty filthy for Urnex to be mistaken for coffee. When the urns are filthy, the Urnex turns brown and looks like coffee, only bubblier and it smells urnexy. In my store, nobody uses Urnex properly. It needs to soak and be scrubbed off and rinsed.

If coffee tastes bitter, it is because the urns are not clean. I have been a borrowed partner in a lot of stores and the urns are disgusting, like black inside from coffee buildup or else they are half clean because they were urnexed on half-brew not whole brew.

[Venti Urnex Latte]

We used to have a big brush-with-handle labeled "toilet" and an identical brush-with-handle labeled "urns." A new girl mistakenly used the urn brush to scrub the toilet. When she realized this, she suggested putting the urn brush in the sanitizer.

I said "We will get by without an urn brush" and threw it in the trash.

[fiteensplendra]

VUL: We had that too. Our clearly marked "URNS ONLY" brush had little pieces of toilet paper stuck to all the bristles.

[Em See]

I know a manager who swallowed some urnex because a barista forgot to rinse out the urn and she didn't die but she did get a bad case of diarrhea, and had some other stomach issues.

[Tracy]

Urnex smells horrible. Even when it's mixed with coffee (if someone forgets to rinse the brewer or something) it still smells horribly.

How could you not notice?

[Z-PHANTOM]

I've had customers plead with us NOT to clean their cup. They considered a stained commuter mug to be "seasoned".

As for the mixing up of the toilet and urn brush, we chained our urn brush to the back dish sink to prevent this.

[SomoJava]

If we even touched a customers lid or washed the cup out the health department would shut us down. Being an independent owner and form SB worker I want to service the customer but I have had to post a sign that says we can't anymore. $250 fine is a lot of coffee to clean up for a slob. I have refused to put it in some cups and just given them a to go cup.

[Tall Drip]

If I order a coffee, I always sniff it and proceed with caution to make sure it's actually coffee. People make mistakes.

[caffeinated]

I've actually found Oxyclean to be perfect for cleaning out my gross coffee mugs and thermos. I just pour some boiling water in and then add about a teaspoon of the oxyclean - the coffee grime just bubbles out.

[AG]

When I worked at SBUX, we had a couple women come through EARLY one weekend morning. One had a travel mug that had a good two or three inches of what I thought was leftover tea or something. So I offered to clean it out for her. She said very definitively not to.

I thought that was odd, but whatever. So I went to make her drink (honestly, I forget what she ordered), but while I was making it, I smelled, very distinctly, alcohol. So I sort of smelled closer to the cup...yep, it was everclear.

Always ask before you dump anything out of a cup. I guess she wanted a 5:00 AM buzz or something.

[TORONTOWYLD]

AG's comment brings up a question... if a customer spikes their commuter mug before we pour their drink into it, could we potentially be charged with unlicensed serving of alcohol??

Last I checked the larger merchandise-heavy Starbucks stores offer a retail pack of "Cleaner & Descaler" for home coffee/espresso makers made by, you guessed it, Urnex => (I happen to have a pack in my house that I bought a while ago but haven't used because baking soda has done the job just fine so far - I always suggest baking soda when customers ask about buildup on their mugs) Sells for $3.95USD for 3 packets, claims to erase both oil residue and mineral buildup (calcification) =>

[Torontodude]

On a somewhat related topic, how would you clean a bome tea kettle? In addition to the spout, mine has a large lid that lifts right off. So access is no problem.

Last week I finally peered in. Yuck. There were whitish deposits of something or other. (Minerals?) I just wiped with a J-cloth soaked in warm water. And the J-cloth turned brown.

I use the kettle only for boiling water and never put anything else in it. And the water is brita filtered.

SInce the cleaning, my coffee and tea taste much better. How would I do a proper cleaning job>>>vinegar? baking soda? And how much?

[Venti Urnex Latte]

Torontodude, what is a J-cloth? Is it the Canadian version of a Handi Wipe?

Apparently those are lime deposits. Google around for 'cleaning' and 'tea kettle' to find out more.

[caffeinated]

The white stuff is probably lime - the same deposits form when you leave water in a humidifier too long. Vinegar should solve that problem - vinegar is also great for rinsing the same deposits out of coffee makers, though you dilute it with water rather than using straight vinegar.

[Jim C]

If you own a dishwasher - run your stainless travel mug through it. Don't wash the lid in the dishwasher - it will warp the seal. But, if you run the mug through the dishwasher - it is good as new.

[a]

Don't be a tool - always rinse mugs. It warms them up and prevents us getting our ass sued off. Lady comes in for a sambucca whatever, hands us her spiked cup, we go make the drink and then SHE GETS IN HER CAR AND DRIVES OFF. Car crashes and burns, along with whatever she hit, she lives to tell the story and says "never in a million years would I ever drink and drive - it must have been the barista!"

It's the same reason we don't put anything from outside the store in our drinks...

[AG]

Well, she wasn't driving...her friend was. I dunno why she wouldn't just put it in afterwards anyway. Oh well.

[anonymous]

"Always ask before you dump anything out of a cup. I guess she wanted a 5:00 AM buzz or something."

No, always rinse it. Always. They can put crack in it if they want to but they need to do it afterward.

[Tracy Eckels]

I've found the best way to clean coffee film from any cup or carafe is to simply heat up some water in a tea pot, put some dishwasher soap in the item to be cleaned, and then add the hot water. After about a 10-15 minute soak, the film will just wash right out.

[anon]

i have dumped out/rinsed cups several times only to have the customer go off because they had their special diabetic sweetener/flavor in the cup. as a courtesy you should ask. when im a customer, i would want to be asked. as for the barista getting blamed if the cup was spiked by the customer, give me a break. that would never happen. heck, someone could say that regardless of when it was added, so it doesnt really matter. simple. just ask. if they dont want it rinsed then dont rinse it. if they lied about the contents then they lied. not gonna be your problem in that case.

[anonymous]

There's this amazing product you can get for about a dollar at any grocery store that once you sprinkle it in your dirty, nasty, built-up coffee mug, the grime goes away.
What is this miracle substance?
Simple baking soda. :)

[dharmacup]

Baking soda will get rid of those nasty brown stains from coffee and tea. Take your stained cup/pot, wet it down, pour in some baking soda and scrub.

It comes right off. No toxic mess or off-flavors of cleaning chemicals to worry about. Cheap and available anywhere.

[Daniel]

How is washing out a customers cup any different from washing a "For Here" mug? I don't understand how the health dept could shut someone down for that.

Seems like it'd take a little more than 90 seconds to do this, i think i'd rather keep it overnight!

[Matt]

Grossest cup? The guy that brought one in half filled with vomit.

By the way, Urnex is safe for use on thin walled vessels. It doesn't strip the metal away, it just removes the deposits from them.

[Couldn't take it anymore]

Torontodude:
I loved seeing the j-cloth comment! I havent heard that term in so long even tho they sell them here in the US. :)

Way back in the 90's, Starbucks used to give us huge tubs of baking soda to use for cleaning lots of our equipment. Take a small handfull and add a tiny bit of water so that you create a paste of it then use it to clean just about anything that needs a slight abrasive. We used to use this to clean the urns before Urnex and it works like a charm. :)

[starbucks regular]

After reading these comments, I'm never buying a cup of starbucks drip coffee again! Ugh... Just got an americano, seems like a fine deal.

[mapunx]

i can assure you that not only is the drip coffee at my sbux coming from a cleaner piece of equipment than just about anything you're going to get at any other restaurant, but it's definitely cleaner than 90% of people's home equipment..

[mapunx]

ps: you will know if your coffee has urnex in it.

[mapunx]

ps: you will know if your coffee has urnex in it.

[QCBC]

Hmm I remember last year a customer came in our store and had a personal mug and I went to rinse it because there was something in nit, and he never said anything and he tried to stop me but it was too late.. yeah found out it was alcohol lol.. whiskey maybe? well I thought it was funny :)

[Tim]

"Couldn't take it anymore", we still do that. My manager doesn't order Urnex, he just orders the tablets for the Verismos and, on the urns and anything else that repeatedly comes in contact with coffee, we use baking soda and a brush.

[Rachel]

Ha ha ha ha ha! The active ingredient in Urnex IS baking soda! Anyone who has ever taken a high school chemistry course should be able to figure that out from the ingredients label.

[that girl]

Ok let's get this cleared up, if you pick up a package of Urnex, similar to Purocafe from when we had the old La Marzzoco bars or the tablets we drop in the current bars to clean them, the ingredient list reads one thing : citric acid powder. Citric acid powder is basically lemon and lime juice dehydrated into a powder form which creates a strong natural acid. Just like running white vinegar through your coffee maker at home to clean out the build up, this is a food safe way of cleaning the oil build up left over from the coffee without needing as much rinsing to remove the vinegar taste. Citric acid is the most common food preservative there is. Open your fridge and start looking, its in almost anything that comes in a jar. And yes I have drank from a cup of what someone thought was weak coffee and was actually Urnex water that was dark brown from the ick in the urn. It doesn't taste very nice, but it won't make you sick from just a sip, but then if you drank an entire grande cup of pure lemon juice i am willing to bet you'd have a belly ache, so I am sure an entire grande of urnex would give you one too. Starbucks has very high standards of cleanliness and food safe compared to the average coffee shop, do you really think they would allow us to clean urns with a lethal or toxic chemical? Not to mention that the health board and food safe are all recommending this product.
But if you want a stunningly clean stainless steal cup and don't have citric acid or even straight lemon juice to use, try a scrubby and some baking powder. Works on kitchen sinks and thermal coffee urns too, and if you forget to rinse it out... well it kinda tastes like Urnex.

[that girl]

To the store that got the urn brush and the toilet brush mixed up; why are you keeping the two anywhere NEAR each other? Most stores have a bucket or caddy with all their bathroom cleaning items, including the toilet brush in some sort of designated toilet brush holding container like a yogurt container or cut up pop bottle which is more often then not kept somewhere in the back room near your mop sink and other nasty cleaning stuff. In every store I have worked in the urn brush has been in the front under a sink near the coffee brewer. And if you are keeping your bathroom cleaning kit near things that sanitize urns or dishes... umm.. eww.

[BooneInGA]

"so much so that they had to add blue dye to it to prevent people from accidentally ingesting it."

I wondered why Urnex all of a sudden turned blue when used. It was never like that before.

As for washing personal mugs, I never ask. They hand me the mug, I clean it out without asking. SOmetimes there's leftover coffee or something in the bottom. I don't care. I rinse it out.

[omg]

i wonder how you could use just baking soda on urns in sbux, when your not supposed to have anything that is not on the ordering list in your store right down to bandaid's and hand lotion?

[omg]

and we use a new blus scrubbie everytime we do the urns so that we dont get any brush mixed up with a toilet brush

[omg]

i meant blue scrubbie

[hhs]

i always use the blender sprayer (i don't know the technical name for it) to clean the personal cups. i worked in a store before where it wasn't hooked up to hot water, but the store i'm at now, the sprayer is hooked up to some scalding hot water. at home, my parents clean out their personal cups. so i wouldn't even think to offer to clean someone else's. unless it was really THAT bad.
and also, i've heard the customers accidentally getting a cup full of urnex instead of coffee too, and i think you either have to have it out to make the customer sick, or be severely zoning out in order to hand it off.
there's been times where i've started to pour a drink and realized the brewer was being cleaned and dumped the cup.
do people just not watch when they're pouring? room for cream? spillage? with such a hot drink, you should be watching what you're doing.