Starbucks Gossip

SF columnist says "hooray for Peet's" (but throws a kiss to Starbucks, too)

Remember the days when Starbucks faced opposition when it tried to move into some new communities? Peet's apparently has the same problem, too. It wants to open a store in Sausalito, California and many of the residents are opposing it because it's a "formula retail" shop. || Read "Hooray for Peets"

How did your weekend Christmas Blend sales go?

The highest figure I've seen on the Open Thread was 130 pounds of beans. How did your store do? (Somebody please explain the competition for readers who aren't SBUX employees.)

Weekend OPEN THREAD: Let's get the discussion going!

Shares of Starbucks hit a 52-week high this week, which means Wall Street is upbeat about the coffee chain's near-future. Talk about that or anything else Starbucks-related. (Avoid being banned by staying civil; no personal attacks.) || Jump to the second page of comments.

Guess who won the battle of Wall Street vs. quality at Starbucks

Wall Street. "Starbucks was locked in its own kind of internal battle between two imaginings of the corporation," says Bryant Simon, who has written a book about Starbucks. (The cover is on the left.) "One that Wall Street had, about endless growth, and the other, in the company, that it would become and remain this bastion of authenticity and good coffee. In the end, the Wall Street people won out and sort of stretched the brand." || Read "Coffeenomics"

"From the Comfy Chair": Juan reviews his 48th Starbucks store (only two more to go before he retires)

Starbucks
1524 7th Ave.
Seattle

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"

Well, since we spent the the last column amidst the gleaming skyscrapers of Bellevue, we thought it would be fun to do the same in this week's column only in downtown Seattle, instead.

And what better place to do so than the middle of 7th avenue, right on the edge of the Elliott Hotel?

In fact, this store is close enough to the hotel that the Starbucks patrons have to use the hotel's facilities if they want to go to the bathroom. Therefore, there will not be an evaluation of the bathroom in this review much to the chagrin of at least some of the loyal readers.

This is a deceptively large store. From the outside, it looks like a normal hole in the wall Starbucks but, once inside, it's rather roomy. I liked the tile wall along the back and the friendly mix of tables, counter space and comfy chairs.

The pastry/cold cases were clean and stocked although the cold case part was apparently not in use for some unknown reason; instead there was a stand up case nearby which held all the cold items. There was some sort of board placed over the empty cold case and, while I was there, at least two people picked it up to see what was going on which had to be irritating to the three partners on duty.

Because we're reaching the end of this little journey, I decided to shake things up a bit and had a signature hot chocolate, the first time I've done so during one of my visits. I have to say I found it to be delicious...a really pleasing blend of chocolate. Yummy.

The partners were pleasant and friendly and efficient. Unfortunately, that efficiency didn't extend past the front counter. Business was steady but came in a couple of waves. In between the waves, there was time to clean the dirty lobby and condiment stand yet no one did. It was discouraging to see a good visit ruined by the lack of attention to detail.

48 down...two more to go...

Grade: B

* 

Time of day: morning

* Number of partners on the floor: 3






* Service time: 5 minutes






* Business level: steady






* Was the bathroom cleaner than a gas station bathroom?: No bathroom





* Legendary service: No






* Would I recommend to a friend: Yes

COLUMN STATS








* # of stores reviewed where a partner has tried to connect with a customer – 23 out of 48
* # of stores where they've offered samples of anything – 4 out of 48






* # of stores that could have been considered "understaffed" - 2 out of 48

* # of stores with a clean bathroom – 26 out of 46



* # of stores with a chair sitting in the bathroom – 1 out of 46




"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 juanvaldezsbux@gmail.com

"Drama" at Brooklyn Heights Starbucks results in a really long blog post

A summary of the incident, which probably goes down every day at least one Starbucks across the country: A Brooklyn Heights Dad got a smack on the head from another Starbucks patron. Allegedly, the smacker felt that the smackee was not parenting properly by ignoring his fidgety baby while waiting on a latte. (Slow news day? Yes.) || Read "Dad slapped at Starbucks; Brooklyn Heights justice or just plain crazy?"

Starbucks gave Martin Coles some goodies after letting him go as head of its international division

He gets one year's salary plus a year of medical and dental insurance and job hunting services worth up to $14,000, Starbucks revealed in an SEC filing. Martin Coles' salary was $725,000 in fiscal 2008, the last year for which data are available. Read "Starbucks releases golden parachute for former international chief"

Starbucks barista reprimanded for chasing tip-jar thief

Austin, Texas barista Laura Palawski, 24, saw a man stuff his hand into the tip jar and pull out all the bills. He ran and she followed. Police eventually arrested the guy. Palawski says she was written up and reprimanded for her actions. "I wouldn't do this again, but I can't believe I ran after him in the first place. He just didn't seem that threatening," she says. || Read "Starbucks barista helps nab man accused of taking tip jar"

Weekend OPEN THREAD: Another chance for you to take the stage

Get up and discuss anything Starbucks-related. (Conversation-starter: Does your store let customers give Christmas tips to individual baristas? Or do those tips have to be tossed into the group jar?) || Jump to the second page of comments.

"From the Comfy Chair": What happened to Juan in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas (too bad for a Starbucks store)

Starbucks
500 108th AVE NE
Bellevue, Washington

Starbucks
Harrah's Casino
Las Vegas

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"

So, here I sit, in the concrete jungle otherwise known as downtown Bellevue. Bellvue is due east from Seattle across Lake Washington. Amidst the gleaming half filled office towers (damn you recession), sits several Starbucks. This particular one is a stand alone unit that clearly serves the surrounding buildings as well as the Bellevue transit center. Almost directly across the street is another Starbucks which presumably serves the same function for the buildings on that side of the street. Thanks to a maniacal need in the early 2000s to jack up the number of stores, folks in this part of Bellevue don't have to walk across the street to get their SBUX fix. Although I have to say parking in this area is a bitch.

The four partners on duty at this cafe-store were just outright nice. No pushiness, just sweet, well intentioned folks who did their job in an efficient manner. Smiles were the order of the day and there was actual conversation going on between the partners and their customers. The pastry case had a few holes in it when I walked in but they got those filled quickly enough. The lobby was clean except for the walk off mat near the front door which was capturing dried leaves from customer shoes. This particular store didn't appear to have a bathroom so I am unable to give you the normal snarky evaluation of the bathroom's cleanliness. /CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT

Your thoughts on the holiday music selection at Starbucks?

FROM THE STARBUCKS GOSSIP MAILBAG: "I was wondering if you would post something about how we are no longer carrying some of our best music including A Charlie Brown Christmas as well as many other seasonal or not." I'm no music critic -- I rarely notice what's being played -- so I'll leave it up to you to critique the selections.

Martin Coles resigns as Starbucks international president

He's leaving "to pursue new opportunities," and is being replaced by John Culver, who was just named president of global consumer products and food service in September. || Read "Starbucks named Culver as international president" || Here's SBUX's press release

Starbucks manager thwarts robbery by disarming gunman, slashing him with box cutter

Good for the manager! But good luck with him keeping his job because he probably violated Starbucks rules by not rolling over for the robber. If you're from this store, please let us know what happens to your boss. || Read "Armed robber loses fight with Starbucks manager"

Have any interesting things happened in your Starbucks drive-thru?

A jeep somehow landed on top of a car in the Cheektowaga, NY Starbucks drive-thru lane. (There are three photos with the linked story.) If anyone from that store reads Starbucks Gossip, please give us details. As for others, can you top that drive-thru drama? Read "Jeep ends up on top of car at Starbucks"

Post-Thanksgiving OPEN THREAD: Talk about the holiday, or anything else Starbucks-related

Ask questions, make comments, vent a little (but don't cuss or attack others, please). || Jump to the second page of comments.

Are Starbucks customers thankful that you're working on Thanksgiving Day?

Thanksgiving and Christmas are the days when I really make a point to tip at Starbucks. I'm happy to have a place to work/relax before family activities -- and I suspect other customers are too. Hopefully it's a day when they're not in gripe mode. Is it a good day to be a barista? || Jump to the second page of comments.

Weekend OPEN THREAD: Let's get the chatter going!

Take a break from peddling (or drinking) Decaf VIA and post your questions, comments, and deep thoughts about Starbucks. Civility is not only encouraged; it's required. Thank you for following that rule. || Jump to the fourth page of comments.

Do you think the Starbucks Gossip tweets show up on this screen at Starbucks headquarters?

Brad Nelson of the Starbucks online strategy group writes: I'm really excited about this. Now when your tweet includes Starbucks, it shows up on a screen in the office." Will one of our spies at HQ please let us know if some Starbucks tweets are blocked? Thanks for checking. Check out the "tweet screen" at Starbucks headquarters

Howard Schultz's base salary raised to $1.3 million for fiscal 2010

The Starbucks CEO's salary for the previous few years had been $1.2 million.|| Read "Schultz's salary raised to $1.3 million"

"From the Comfy Chair": Juan finally has a legendary Starbucks experience!

Starbucks
4208 196th St.
Lynnwood, Washington

BY JUAN VALDEZ

A couple of columns ago, the headline was "Juan needs a legendary experience before he goes away." Well, guess what? Juan found his legendary experience.

It was at a store on 196th ST SW in Lynnwood, one of the busiest streets you're ever gonna find. Because there is so much traffic in this general area, there are Starbucks galore. About a mile and a half northeast from this location are three Starbucks within the confines of the Alderwood Mall. A half a mile due west from this store is another Starbucks and another mile and a half or so is yet another one with yet another one another mile further down that road.

Lynnwood is a veritable cornucopia of Starbucks goodness; especially for a town that only has maybe 30,000 inhabitants. /CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT BELOW