"From the Comfy Chair": No spark at the Sparks, Nevada Starbucks

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"

Starbucks
Pyramid and C Streets
Sparks, Nevada

VIA –   1.  By way of:  (example) I went to Best Buy via Starbucks
By means of : (example)  Starbucks sent me free coffee via the mail

Well, yesterday was the big launch of VIA, Starbuck's answer to instant coffee. And if I didn't know it beforehand, I certainly found out while trying to navigate the narrow confines of the Starbucks in Sparks Nevada.

What a weird, strange layout. The store is right on the street but it's not very visible nor clearly marked; I nearly drove past and I knew where I was headed. The interior is very narrow with the comfy chairs at the front, the retail in the middle and some other tables at the rear. What little space there is to maneuver is taken up by a rather large display of..you guessed it...VIA. //CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT

Comments

[JUAN VALDEZ]

They weren't very busy in this drive-thru store when I walked in during the afternoon. That didn't mean I got my drink very fast...it took four minutes. And what is the deal with not calling the drink? I've seen this more and more and I can't figure it out. Is there some new standard which says it's perfectly ok to plop the drink onto the handoff plane and wander off with no drink call, no greeting and no salutation? Sure, there wasn't a huge line in front of me but, for Christ's sakes, isn't that more of a reason to be nice and friendly and accommodating and all of that?

I sat in one of the comfy chairs at the front of the restaurant and pondered the all but empty pastry case. Honest to God, there were maybe five pastries total in the case. And there were holes in the cold case. Either they were really busy earlier or someone doesn't know how to order.

The partners were nice enough, overall and I did hear some mention of the big VIA promotion to customers who came in after me but it was very hit and miss and one of the people who got missed was me. I didn't see any sampling nor was there any great level of excitement about the new product. And yeah, the bathroom was dirty. And, yeah, no one made any attempt to spin the lobby or check the bathrooms.

Overall, a completely uninspiring visit.

Grade: C-

* 

Time of day: afternoon








* Number of partners on the floor: 3 or 4...I couldn't tell for sure because people kept wandering back and forth from behind the counter

* Service time: 4 minutes
* Business level: slow



* Was the bathroom cleaner than a gas station bathroom?: No
* Legendary service: No
* Would I recommend to a friend: No

COLUMN STATS


* # of stores reviewed where a partner has tried to connect with a customer – 19 out of 40




* # of stores where they've offered samples of anything – 3 out of 40
* # of stores that could have been considered "understaffed" - 0 out of 40




* # of stores with a clean bathroom – 23 out of 40


"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, he can be reached at [email protected].

[CamSpi]

All the furniture in my store was rearranged to accommodate the Via display. That thing takes up a lot of space! (I don't like the way the furniture was rearranged and neither do virtually all of our customers).

[Barista Ben]

Not calling out the drink is lazy. Not getting a name and calling out the name to create some pseudo "here's your latte, Bill" is just as lazy. We are trying to get back to getting and calling names but we've _always_ called out a drink. How the hell are you supposed to know when your drink is ready?

[Catherine]

I live in the Reno/Sparks area and I think that the Pyramid/C St location is ridiculous. It is on a very nary street and you can't leave the store and drive both directions and I agree with you that it definitely is not clearly marked. I have only been once or twice.

[Kat]

Now that it's mentioned, I've noticed the local Starbucks have gotten lax about taking my name when they get my order...even when it's busy. They are still pretty good about calling out a drink when it's ready, but if a store is busy (there were about twenty people waiting at one store I went to), how am I supposed to know if that Americano is mine or someone that ordered before me, if you don't call my name too? They definitely need to get back to using names.

[Cake crazy mom]

A really great idea.

Please share this new outlet with the bizymoms Sparks community, that I am a part of.

[buy aion item]

Nice article.....I very much crazy about this......We are waiting your next article....