Fun at Starbucks

[sdelmonte]

Am I being unfair in expecting that if I order an iced tea at Starbucks, it should come in less than seven minutes? (It usually comes in less than three.)

And am I being unfair in thinking that making me wait that long to get the simplest drink they have because there are people who ordered more complex drinks ahead of me is silly?

And was it silly of me to give someone else the coupon for a free drink I was handed because that coupon only meant that I still didn't have my drink and was late getting to the office and that I'd just have to potentially wait seven minutes again for a drink?

Because I did all of the above.

Comments

[cassildra.livejournal.com]

No, that's patently ridiculous.

[aisforamy]

No, not silly of you, at all. I was offered a free meal once by the manager of a restaurant where the service is consistently poor, and he was baffles when I told him I didn't need a free meal, because I would not be returning. A free meal with poor service isn't any better than one I pay for. Poor service is a deal breaker for me; I expect to get what I ordered within a reasonable amount of time. When my order is incorrect, I would like to get the correct one before the rest of my party is through eating their meal.

I don't know if it's that they don't get paid enough to care that the customer is unhappy, or they figure that Starbucks is the only game in town, so people will be happy to wait for however long it takes to get their drink?

[sdelmonte]

Starbucks is not the only game in town, given that we have nearly as many Dunkin Donuts outlets in NYC now, and they began selling iced tea this year. I went to this Starbucks because my route today to the office from the subway included a stop to drop off a library book, and thus passed by this branch and not by the Dunkin Donuts. (For the record, the iced tea at both chains is always inferior to what could make for myself, but the office has a tiny freezer and I can't make iced tea at work without depleting the ice supply.)

I think that the barista did care that I was unhappy. I just don't know for sure if she was really contrite or merely concerned at losing a customer. Either way, I have found that Starbucks service is hit and miss, and I suspect some of it is that the job is really brutal - which is why I really shouldn't give the baristas too hard a time, having worked the front desk here more than a few times and having been treated badly - and that some of is dictated by the corporation. It's just I have never heard that this is how they work, and never would have guessed that by the speed at which I usually get my iced tea.

Also, and unrelated, how is your computer doing?

[aisforamy]

I never give anyone who handles my food or beverages a hard time--too many people are sick and vindictive enough to tamper with it in some way. I save may complaints for management after the fact. This gives me time to mull it over and decide how upset I really am, and if it warrants a talk with the manager. I tend to be quick to annoyance, but also quick to forget all about it in a very short space of time.

My computer has decided to work again, for reasons I can't fathom. I have no wireless, because the driver keeps uninstalling itself, but I can get online by plugging in the ethernet cable, so I'm not TOO upset. I will call the support people again in a day or two when I have a couple of hours to sit on the phone with someone.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

There's unfairness here, but you weren't the source thereof.

[drcpunk.livejournal.com]

I would probably have kept the free drink coupon, but this is because, in my experience, service is good, and the exceptions are rare.

One such exception was when I ordered some kind of holiday season hot chocolate from one Starbucks. I think they were out of milk. The coupon was an apology for this. The service was not generally poor, and, as time was not of the essence, I did get the drink I'd ordered, just not quickly.

Also, the coupon was good at any Starbucks.

But, it's your coupon to do with as you wish, including giving it away.

It is clearly not unfair or unreasonable to expect your drink faster -- this is, after all, why you were given the coupon.

I do not know whether it's unfair to expect your drink before more complex ones whose orders were placed earlier. The people who ordered those drinks want their drinks promptly too. Will putting your drink first make theirs take longer? If so, then yes, you have to wait your turn.

I do wonder why it took so long to make your drink. Was the place unusually crowded? Had the Starbucks laid off someone so that it was now understaffed? Or is it a no fault situation, just an irritating one? If so, really, what can one do?

[sdelmonte]

It was very crowded, moreso than usual for this branch. But there have been times that I've been in other branches that were just as packed and where I got my drink in less time. My sense is that as Starbucks go, this one needs more staff and much more room.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

And am I being unfair in thinking that making me wait that long to get the simplest drink they have because there are people who ordered more complex drinks ahead of me is silly?

Actually, this is a difficult question to answer correctly. On the one hand, your drink might take about twenty seconds to put together, and then you're out of there.

On the other hand, if people did place their orders before yours, general fairness would usually dictate that their orders get taken care of first.

It's like if I'm on line at a supermarket with only one line that leads to two registers (such as the Butcherie). Even if I have only one item, but I get on line behind someone with twenty items, that person was on line first and does deserve to be taken first.

(As for your other two questions, I agree with you completely.)

[sdelmonte]

That's why supermarkets have express lanes. Ideally, a place like Starbucks could have the same thing, with proper staffing.

Which is unlikely.