Forget Starbucks. You deserve a better experience.
It’s official: I am done with Starbucks. Until now, I occasionally visited Starbucks because they are easy to find, have a consistent quality, and you know what to expect. Is this enough to make the Starbucks experience a good customer experience?
One of the reasons people go to Stabucks is that they offer wireless internet. Are Starbucks cybercafes? In theory most of them are hotspots but in practices one has to pay for wireless. A lot. Unless you want to get a monthly and automatically renewed annual subscription with T-Mobile, you’ll have to pay $10 dollars for a day pass or $7 for the first hour of wireless connection. Most cybercafes offer unlimited wireless access for $2 and the fee is often waived if you purchase something.
At Starbucks, drinks and food are good, but they are also so pricey that you would expect your espresso to walk on water, tell you funny jokes, and take your calls when you are out. They only provide paper cups, even when you want to drink your cappuccino on the premises (so much for the flavor and the sustainability). The Starbucks experience seems to assume that you are always on the run, rushing in and out in a cloud of dust (perhaps accurate for most of their customers, but so far from my idea of coffee shop experience).
So, I was never a true Starbucks fanatic. I hang out at Starbucks against my best judgment, the same way you would stick with a boyfriend that cheated on you knowing that it’s bad for you. Starbucks is easy. Just look for the green sign, get in, order your grande caramel skim double expresso with whipped cream and run out with your paper cup.
But this is not why I am done with Starbucks. Not for the price, the lack of generosity, the limitations. If you know me even a little bit, you already know what happened: what made me decide to cross out Starbucks from now on was the bad customer service experience - the same reason I left Sprint after 9 years of wireless customership and why I hope to never buy a Dell computer.
Here is the final example, the straw that broke the camel’s back. Every couple of weeks, I find myself wandering the Main Line (for the non-local: a wealthy western suburb of Philadelphia) with 45 minutes of free time between engagements. So, until a week ago, often I ended up spending some time in a local Starbucks. I got a decaf latte or a tea and a sandwich, read a book or worked on my iBook.
Last week, I asked the guy behind the counter what type of decaf teas they had. Ooops… Wrong question! He looked at me with an incredulous look on his face and told me articulating every syl-la-ble: "We ha-ve lots of de-caf teas." Duh! I took a deep breath, smiled and said: "OK, I think you guys have a decaf green tea. I’ll get that." Again the same look, the type you would use for somebody that shows up at a Grad Gala dressed in a pajama. He shook his head, put something in a paper cup, and handed it to me.
I went back to my table, got my laptop out and started typing (remember: no free Internet access, no power outlets). After a few minutes I grabbed the paper cup with the $3 tea. I looked puzzled at label on the tea bag. It seemed the wrong color. I drank the first sip and almost spit it out. He gave me ginger green tea! I hate ginger (I know it’s good for you; still hate it). I checked online: Starbucks offers a Tazo decaf green tea called Lotus. No ginger, just decaf green tea. But the Starbucks guy was too irritated by my ignorance of Starbucks tea offering to waste his time asking or investigating.
So, here I am, with my laptop battery draining, on the verge of a nervous breakdown for lack of wireless connection, with a ginger green tea in a paper cup I won’t drink and I paid too much for, asking myself: "What I am doing here? Where is the love?" Do the Starbucks people love their brand, their coffee, and teas more than their customers? My steamy relationship with Starbucks was over.
Contrast this with the experience I had had in other cafes. I have already mentioned the Gryphon Cafe. It’s a great place, with a real pleasant atmosphere, outstanding food (only 12:00 to 4:00 PM, unfortunately), and fairly good beverages. It’s expensive, but worth every penny. Alas, the Gryphon is not a cybercafe. No wireless service, no power outlet. Still, an outstanding coffee shop experience if you are not prone to panic attacks any time you are not web connected.
Still in Wayne, there is the Cafe Procopio. It’s not great, but it’s good enough. The location, just in front of the Wayne train station, is convenient and you can get unlimited daily wireless for two bucks. They could make a great place out of it, if they improved the selection of food and beverages and dusted up the interior a bit.
When I am in Philadelphia in the afternoon (alas, too infrequently), I always try to spend some time at Joe Coffee Bar. They serve fair trade organic teas and coffees, offer unlimited free Internet if you buy something, have good music, and are in the perfect location at Walnut & 11th Street. (Disclosure: this is where I wrote most of this post). Owner Joe Cesi is the the nicest person: laid back, accommodating, he really seems to enjoy his customers.
Last week I was in Alpena, Michigan for a week and I found another great cybercafe, called Surf’s Cafe. Again, for 2 bucks you get unlimited wireless access (or fast Ethernet, or Internet access on a couple of computers), a friendly environment, and good beverages. My last day in Alpena, incredibly friendly owner Joe Prevost and his brother Paul didn’t allow me to leave without a free drink and some great tips on how to manage a cybercafe. Alpena is not San Francisco or NYC, but hey, when you are at the Surf’s Cafe you won’t be able to tell the difference.
The Surf’s Cafe in Alpena, MI
In Norristown (and many other locations around the US) there is Panera Bread. It’s a chain, but it seems to provide a better experience than Starbucks: free wireless, a great variety of food and beverages, spacious and welcoming. And hey, it’s a bakery!
So, don’t be lazy and forget about Starbucks. There are so many places that offer a much more pleasant and friendly experience. Go to a local cybercafe; when the owners manage the place, you would be surprised to notice that customers are actually welcome. And send me a note if you know of a good cybercafe in your neighborhood. I’ve started a list of friendly cybercafes on my site(here is a similar list).
Tags: coffee shop, starbucks, cybercafe, good experience, customer experience, Philadelphia
Comments
16 Responses to “Forget Starbucks. You deserve a better experience.”
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In all honesty, I rarely frequent Starbucks unless I’m with one of my daughters…Julie or Jory. My other daughter Jenna never goes there and either does my son, Joe. But both Julie and Jory go there to work, read, etc. But actually, they go to a lot of different coffee shops. It seems like there is a Starbucks on every corner….at least around our area.
antonella, you inspire me so much! Every time I check out your blog, I’m amazed at how much you care and how much you do to have an impact in this crazy world.
And why didn’t you call me when you were hanging out at Joe’s Coffee house? I would have met you there!
Keep up the good work and let’s get together at one of these cool coffee places soon!
eddie
Ha ha!
Starbucks sales leap 10%
Still, I do not totally agree with everything Starbucks. I will post more later.
Excuseme~ im a vietnamese student and im doing a marketing project of Starbucks.im stuck at the question”What’s meant by Starbucks Experience?”.Plz help me!Thanx alot.
WOW! What a compliment you paid my business. Thanks for the kind words, and I’ll pass your words to my staff. That’s the stuff that keeps us going! xo Joe
Listen lady. Calm down. So what maybe that guy had a family memeber die, yes he shouldnt express it towards you, but give him a break. Have you thought that maybe you should have been more specific about your choice…no. You were caught up in your fantasy world thinking you were the only one that mattered. Well, you need to realize that you are so small in this world that it doesnt really matter. I am doing research on coffee shops and ACCIDENTALY came across your pathetic article. Just calm down, and leave him alone.
Mmmhhh… Same rude and patronizing tone (and slightly misogynist, with all that “Lady, calm down” nonsense). No wonder Steve understands the Starbucks guy so well. It was all my fault: I did not explain well enough what I wanted. Do you see what I mean?
Thank you for commenting my pathetic article and making what I was trying to express clearer than I would have ever been able to do on my own.
But Steve ACCIDENTALLY makes a couple of good points that require some clarifications. First, no Starbucks employee was harmed in the writing of this post. You may have noticed that I didn’t mention which Starbucks I was in, nor the name of the person who served me. And I declare that my behavior during this entire episode was kind and professional. The point of this post was not to rant about a Starbucks employee, but to discuss the customer experience of a company that has built its fortune and its good name on customer experience. The behavior of the Starbucks employee had just a limited but revealing impact on the experience.
Second, I want to emphasize that, compared to other retail chains, Starbucks’ corporate culture is impressive (isn’t it always true that we bitch louder about the things we have the highest hopes for?). For one, it pays its employees decent salaries and offers good benefits; it devotes a sizable amount of its employees’ time to community service; it servers organic and fair trade products. All great stuff I need to mention.
This said, I maintain that it’s all about the experience and not about how many types of green tea you offer.
Better than the Starbucks Experience?…
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Does One Bad Apple Ruin It For the Bunch?…
Oh, wow. I just read Phil Gerbyshak’s thoughts about Antonella Pavese’s Starbucks experience. Some of you who are regular readers of this blog know that I love Starbucks, so it was a little heartbreaking to find out that someone out….
Interesting post and I tend to agree with all of it. And my reading of it coincides with two events.
One is my having just read “The Starbuck’s Experience - 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary” and bein the midst of posting a note regarding the book on my blog (www.the proposalguys.com, a blog dedicated to proposals.)
Two is my being in a Panera Bread Shop (Nashua, New Hampshire) while writing this comment. (And yes, they do have free wireless internet and I’ll use it to send this shortly.)
Regarding the book and your comments. According to the book, the ‘partners’ (the term used for all employees), at any level would want to hear and would very quickly act on your comments. It would be interesting to know what, if any, response you would recieve if you offered your comments to Starbuck’s either directly in a shop or via mail to corporate.
As to Panera. I agree with and can confirm your comments. Good service, friendly atmosphere, reasonable prices and as stated previously, free internet (including help munbers to assist if you have trouble connecting. I didn’t.)
I would offer that I don’t find Panera to be as ‘cozy’ as a Starbuck’s, but I’ll take the more accomodating space, friendlier service and free internet over ‘cozy’.
You’re comments will, no doubt, cause me to consider my options rather than default to Starbuck’s merel because they are everywhere and perhaps slightly more convenient.
Keep up the good work.
I am so sorry about your experience at Starbucks. I am an employee and your experience goes against everything Starbucks tries to instile into their employees. First off though, the Barista should have told you Lotus is no longer available in-store. Lotus has actually been discontinued for over a year, which was no fault of Starbucks, as Tazo (our tea provider) ripped it from our shelves. As for the internet site you got you information from, it must have been quite outdated. I am again sorry about your poor lack of customer service experience and I hope you know that it goes against the Starbucks culture. Secondly if you are still against Starbucks, you can purchase Lotus and a numerous amount of other decaf tea’s at your local grocerey. Also, Starbucks will give you a free cup of hot water if you have your own tea bags. So you may consider carrying around your favorite type that we unfortunantly can not offer to you, and just asking for the cup at any store. Thank you for your time.
In Ireland, I have had nothing but excellent service from Starbucks. The coffee has been consistently good and the premises clean and pleasant. Of course, the coffee is not cheap, but I actually think it is worth it. One thing I do not like is the pay-for wireless internet service.
In Ireland, one is served proper mugs when on the premises; not paper cups. If you are taking out, then you are given paper cups. Also here, every barista I’ve spoken to has been delighted to talk about the coffee and to show off their knowledge, in an unhurried way, and any mistakes made are quickly and properly remedied (and there are not many mistakes). Starbucks is one of the better companies I’ve come across.
I can see where you are coming from. I’m a Starbucks employee and everyone at my store is really friendly to customers. We have a lot of regulars who we joke around with a lot and it’s a fun place to work. I hardly ever drink coffee but after working there I go once in a while to get some coffee with my sister or boyfriend and use my discount.
I assumed all Starbucks were as friendly as my store. WRONG. Me and my little sister (who’s 11) went to a Starbucks on a friday night. We got a couple frappucinos and as the cashier was ringing me up he asked, “So what else are you doing tonight?” (He didn’t know I was an Sbux employee and he wasn’t hitting on me because he said it rudely.) I just amswered friendly, “Oh not much just hanging out with my sister.” And he gave me this look like I was a loser. I wish i could go back in time and say so,ething clever and rude back to him. I mean why can’t someone just hang out with their sister? Am I supposed to have some cool plans or something.
Anyway I won’t ever go back to that one again.
At my store we have regulars who tell us they don’t go to certain ones too because of how rude they were treated. I personally don’t see how hard it is to be friendly. Any time someone asks me about a drink or just looks puzzled about what to get, I help them out and explain stuff. It’s not that hard!
(Ps. We don’t get paid well. But we do get benefits that are really good.)
Dear Kris,
Too bad to know that Tazo Tea has been ripped off SB selves, here in Jakarta, just experience to have a different excellent green tea, mint, chai, passion.
I love Starbucks and make it at home with various quality beam we can brew by ourselves. So you told that the series of Tazo will be withdrew? if I am not mistaken your words.
For this article, I think Antonella has different perspective and to appeal or not the comment is her own right. This big corporation is employeed thousand of workers, and worthy to be praised that’s why I keep buying. ]
Good for the tounge and soul, and keep the world greener.
thanks
I am a new employee of Starbucks, and I have also witnessed first hand contradictory behavior to the Starbucks culture. I don’t blame you at all for not wanting to go back. For as much emphasis as they put on the treatment of customers, it irks me that I know several people at my store have been complained about for being rude, and they’re STILL working. I don’t think it’s acceptable anywhere… especially in a place where it’s supposedly so important. I know not everyone can be perfect all the time, but c’mon.
most of the time, rudeness does not come from companies– it comes from individuals.