"From the Comfy Chair": Juan feels truly valued as a customer in the Longview, WA store

From The Comfy Chair
By "JUAN VALDEZ"

Starbucks, 94 Oregon Way, Longview, Washington

I'd stop drinking coffee, but I'm no quitter.  ~Author Unknown

Sometimes you have to go a ways from home to find home. Or at least to find the closest thing to a ten minute lobby I've seen yet at any rate.  Such was the case when I wandered into the Starbucks in Longview, Washington. 

Longview is a working class town of about 35,000 people right on the Columbia River which separates Washington from Oregon. It's about as far from Seattle, metaphorically speaking, as you can get.  Longview is one of the last places you'd expect the Starbucks guiding principles to be in full force but, by golly, there they are, waiting to enrapture any unsuspecting customer who happens to make the wonderful decision to walk through the front door.

This team is GOOD. They were friendly, attentive and connected. They were fast and efficient. Their smiles were genuine and their service awesome. Just like the Burlington Starbucks, the vibe in the store was warm and welcoming and it was a true pleasure to sit and have a conversation with my friend over a cup of coffee. And since my friend isn't as likely to view things as critically as I, she was doubly impressed with our visit. /CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT BELOW

Comments

["JUAN VALDEZ"]

The pastry case was fully stocked and inviting. We were asked if we wanted to order something from the case (we declined). This seems like a small thing but almost every store I've been in so far has not asked. I forgot to test the availability of decaf however our drinks were ready almost by the time we moved to the hand off area. The barista working the bar looked right at us when handing our drinks over, smiled and thanked us. I felt like we were truly valued as customers.

The lobby was spotless. Honest to God, this was the cleanest Starbucks I've been in yet. The bathroom sparkled. The empty tables were clean and organized. And, while we sat there, I could see why all of this was so – there were at least five lobby spins while we were there and every time, the partner went into the bathrooms too. It's clear this team was focused on those things which can make Starbucks successful. Thanks to the Longview team for making our visit a real third place experience.

Time of day: early afternoon



# of partners on the floor: 5



Service time – 1 minute


Was the restroom better than a gas station restroom? - Yes



Busy level – slow


Were they trying to keep the lobby clean? - Yes



Would I recommend to a friend – Yes



Legendary service? - Yes



# of stores reviewed where a partner has tried to connect with a customer – 5 out of 8


# of stores where they've offered samples of anything – 2 out of 8



# of stores that could have been considered "understaffed" - 0 out of 8



# of stores with a clean bathroom – 4 out of 8

"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.

[NOT JUAN]

Perhaps they knew it was you when you tried to bring your mule into the store.

BTW, are you going to add, "Barista was armed" to your summary?

[k]

You should go to a store on a Sunday afternoon. Most should be understaffed and crazy because of the weird times people come in. I want to see a store understaffed for crying out loud!!

[Melody]

Longview, Washington is on the Cowlitz River and not the Columbia River. Thanks for the new report Juan! Another nice one! What did you drink? I'm always curious. :)

[OCStarbucksLegend]

So they have 5 partners on the floor and business was slow. That's why they were able to follow the guiding principles. 2 partners on the floor with moderate traffic flow is what I'm used to. The guiding principles tend to become get people their drinks and fix the lobby when you get time at that point. Great to see some stores can still afford to offer a real experience though.

[green_cup]

I hear a lot of bitter, bitter baristas on these types of posts.

So what if your store only has two people while others have five.

Clearly, they're doing something right to earn five. They're entitled to the extra help, while your store is not.

It could be a couple of things, yes. Drive-through, greater volume/ sales, proximity to Seattle or even the SSC hinting that your store probably will be closing.

Ever think of that? It's probably Seattle SSC setting up your store to fail so in six months time they'll have a reason to close your store for lack of sales when all of your customers left because they were tired of waiting in line for a simple coffee.

... or it could just be the way hours are allocated.

That is all.

[Heidi]

Nice job Longview. Which store is this?

[Heidi]

The Cowlitz and the Columbia both are in Longview.

[Juan Valdez]

@Melody

Actually, Longview is right where the Cowlitz and the Columbia meet. The only bridge over the Columbia between Portland and Astoria is at Longview. And, here's another bit of triva...that bridge is 210 feet above the water at its highest point. I thought the Deception Pass bridge was majestic...this one was pretty cool too. As is the one which crosses the Columbia in Astoria which is 4 miles wide and awesome to behold.

As for my drink, I had a grande latte and the galpal had herself a tall mocha.

[Juan Valdez]

@heidi

This store is on Oregon Way, about a mile before you hit the bridge going over the Columbia river.

[cdn_barista]

@ Spence:

There is. It's called a scroll bar. Get over yourself.

[Melody]

Juan I was thinking of the river separating Kelso from Longview. That is an area of lots of rivers! Sorry. But just generally speaking, having driven up and down that corridor many times, I will say that I have often received fabulous service, no hassle brewing of coffee, everywhere from Vancouver, WA to DuPont, WA. It always makes me eat my words when I post stupid things like, 'the best Starbucks are closest to Seattle'. Definitely not a true statement.

Juan, what do you consider to be 'understaffed'? A fave Starbucks of mine always closes with 3 people, and has 3 people most of the late afternoon, but it looks very understaffed to me because of how busy it is.

[fullcup]

I can't believe that we're still calling the workers by the name of "partners". By now especially, this is simply a mockery.

[fullcup]

Illusions of cleanliness, welcoming, and third place aside, here's some info on the McBux roasting process:

"This dark roast is not just a color; it is the cumulative result of expert roasters... ensuring balance to all of its flavor attributes. Darker roasting releases more of the beans' volatile oils, which gives the brewed cup more flavor and an enticing aroma."
--Starbucks Partner Guide, p.6, Feb. 2007, Starbucks Coffee Company.

The truth:

"Roasting coffee darker can hide the less desirable characteristics of a coffee sample that may not be of the highest quality."
-- The Chocolate and Coffee Bible, p. 327, Annes Publishing Ltd. 2002.

I quit Mcbux in Dec. and did some homework on coffee purchase, growing, and roasting techniques. It has disillusioned me to the many ethical fallacies of the company. In the past three months, I have tasted a truly good cup of coffee, I have experienced a true third place where people actually converse and the smiles aren't for the sake of keeping their job, I have seen an immaculate batch of coffee that was roasted that day. I experienced none of this at the Siren's brothel, but at an independent coffee shop that truly cares about coffee and social/environmental consciousness.

If you truly love coffee and people, then McBux is not the place for you.

If you prefer sacrificing the dignity of the person for the sake of customer satisfaction; if you prefer learning how to sacrifice true quality, while upholding an illusion of quality, for the sake of maximizing profit; if you can justify the utility of false witness for the sake of self-interest, then the Siren's brothel is for you.

[SMJosh]

Thank You. It is great to hear a positive review about my store. My partners are the best I've worked with, and I've worked in seven stores. I would love to know what day you visited so that I can provide some direct recognition.

As for having five partners on the floor, at that time of day we have a little transition, openers going home and closers coming on. It has provided a great mid-day opportunity to recover from the morning and set up for the evening.

And just in case any partners are wondering, we typically come in less than 1% UNDER on labor for the week.

I'm glad your experience at our store was good and I hope you have many more like it.

Oh and I'm just curious, Were you on your way the to beach? Generally speaking if someone from Seattle is at my store, they're headed for cannon beach.

[StLouieDrip]

Re Juan Valdez's article, firstly, good job to SMJosh and co-workers!

The description reminds me of my favorite store here at 234 West Lockwood Ave. I often drove across town passing 3 others to get to it. And it's not like OCStarbucksLegend wrote, only doing good because there are 5 partners when business is slow. They are just good at what they do, and doing that sbux thing in the best way they know how. I've been there when they were slow, and when they were busy, and when they were short-staffed; they seriously rock that place. EVERY TIME. They were all smiles, friendly, connecting, efficient, keep a store sparkling clean. They are the best. I get the feeling they like their jobs, like each other, and like their customers. And if they don't really like those 3 things, they are all darn good actors.

When I go to a store that is short-staffed I don't expect perfection, don't expect special attention, and don't expect the place to sparkle from 10 minute sweeps, but I can always tell when a store is short-staffed but still has a good overall atmosphere. Other times I get a feeling that dirtiness and inefficiency are the normal routine.

BTW unless something has recently changed my favorite store is suppose to close this month. Too bad. :-(

@fullcup Alfred Peet brought the darker roasts to America because that's what he preferred, not because he was trying to hide less desirable characteristics. Coffee that is roasted dark by a highly skilled expert is simply heavenly, and it highlights certain other characteristics that are not so available when only lightly roasted. Coffees are selected for darker roasts because they are better when roasted that way. And those selected for a lighter roast would be less wonderful at a dark level, but are heavenly in a lighter roast. I personally like the darker roasts so much that I would give up coffee if only lighter roasts were available. But that doesn't mean I need to say the lighter roasts are done the wrong way. To each his/her own.

But I do agree that sbux roast quality is not the best. I've had coffee roasted even darker than sbux that was done by a very skilled artisan. Ahh, made me swoon. IMO sbux gives the dark roasts a bad name if people don't know how it is when it's done expertly. And like you I've also been spending more time at the indies where coffee is a deep passion for the people who work there. I agree it does make a difference.

[Juan Valdez]

@melody
The definition of "understaffed" is very subjective and, for better or worse, that will rest on my perception of current business compared to number of people on the floor. So far, there's been no question...NONE of the stores I've visited are anywhere near understaffed.

[Juan Valdez]

@SMJosh

First...great job, sir. You have a nice operation going there.

I'd love to specify the specific dates and times of my visits however I'm sure you can appreciate my desire for anonymity. Just know that your whole team was rocking that day.

We were headed to Seaside, there to stand upon the beach in the pouring rain. It was wonderful. I wanted to go out into the surf but was vetoed by the other half. Sigh...no sense of adventure.

[be_genuine]

I'm not surprised one bit that Juan had a good experience in this store. SMJosh is a natural born leader, as I have worked with him before, and he is definately the most dedicated partner I've ever encountered. His partners are so lucky to have him!

[proud partner]

I am a partner at this particular Starbucks! A proud partner might I add. So proud that when I read this Starbucks experience it gave me the chills and I almost wanted to cry. We all work so hard to create this kind of environment and for this to show up on here really makes me thankful to be a part of this team.

I absolutely love the enthusiasm that is present in our store and love the company. We all feel like this store is ours and are proud to represent each other and the principles that the company sets forth. We have such an awesome team and I am so glad that we can create this environment for our customers.

I absolutely agree that our team is lucky to have such a great SM. He brings the best out in all of us and constantly nurtures our growth.

[TNT]

green_cup:

Are you sure you're not a corporate monitor attempting to defend a faulted company. On one post you pretend to be a customer and now you know how to earn labor. Doesn't really add up.

Maybe it's not about the "bitter baristas". It could be about the poor management in general.

[green_cup]

TNT:

Let me set you straight, as, per your comment, you obviously have no capability to infer or contextualize situations.

But, first, a little history. I rarely defend Starbucks. Rarely. I might suggest you actually do a little research on someone's position before you open your big mouth. It just makes you look far more stupid than you probably already are.

Up next, I am a rare customer. I used to be a once-a-day customer, but Starbucks messed that up pretty big time. It seems bold and decaf on tap are a huge no-no and now we have empty bake cases. Mix in the generally bad service and less-than-clean stores plus long wait times and you basically won't find me in a Starbucks unless it's a one-off.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how a retail food service business doles out labor. Of course, it's based on how many folks visit a store and how much they spend. On top of that, a drive-through would, of course, add an additional source of revenue. Using that CONTEXT, one could INFER that a drive-through store has the potential to earn more payroll. A generally busier store would, again, due to more customers and spending more money, have more labor than a not-so-busy store. A general moron can figure that out.

As for the proximity to Seattle, yeah, that was tongue-in-cheek. I seriously doubt the closer to Utah Avenue South you get, the more staffed a store is. But, hell, it might be, so who knows. (PS: A quick Google Maps search of "Seattle Starbucks Headquarters" gave me the street Starbucks was on. I didn't use my alleged super-secret information to garner this!)

Finally, I'll leave you with this tidbit... reading this site yields lots of information from the people that post here and/ or the posts that get put up. Also, a general study of a newspaper helps, too.

Super secrets exposed! I hope my ability to use higher-brain functions like connecting situations together to detect patterns as well as the aptitude to draw conclusions from those patterns was both an educational experience for you and possibly shed some light on how easy it is to, you know, figure stuff out for yourself.

[mudd]

@ K
This Starbucks is MUCH closer to the Columbia River. Longview is actually located right on both of those rivers.

[(Formerly) SMJosh]

I will always be thankful that at least someone saw that the things that matter most where taken care of in my store. My partners and customer were happy and my store was clean. Goodbye Starbucks!

[be_genuine]

Well said in above post (formerly) SMJosh.
You are missed by many.