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 Starbucks Employee Pretended We Did Not Exist
Posted Mon March 3, 2008 12:00 pm, by J W. written to Starbucks
Write a Letter to this Company | Rate this Company
Hi. I am not trying to bash Starbucks because I have received outstanding service from other locations. I guess yesterday was just not my day.
My friend and I were in desperate need of coffee. We mostly wanted to sit down and talk for a little while, nothing overbearing. We drove around for a while looking for a Starbucks because we knew they closed at 10:30 PM. We found one near a Tom Thumb, except the outside Starbucks sign was not lit. We drove pass the store and the sign said open. My friend got out of the car to check the hours on the door. It read that it closed at 10:30 PM. The employee walked right up to the door, locked it and then turned off the lit open sign. He gave us no indication of whether they were closed or not. We only had to go by his rude behavior. Obviously he was closed.
I did not understand the logic of this. First of all, the hours on the window were clearly displayed. They should have been open till 10:30 PM. We just wanted quick coffee and a place to sit down till then. My car clock read 10:12 PM. Granted, whenever my friend approached the entrance it was aobut 10:11 PM.
Either way, the employee should have let us know that they had different closing times, but instead, he pretended we did not exist. From the looks of it, I think the employee was trying to close the location earlier than normal, which meant we drove to that Starbucks
for nothing.
We both have worked in retail and know how annoying it is when a customer walks in 5 minutes before you close. In this case, we were a good 20 minutes ahead.
We will still visit Starbucks on a regular basis. I understand that this situation is a little out of the ordinary and is not indicative of the entire business or the employees. I just wanted to let you know about my one experience.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
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by Raychie1121 Posted Mon June 2, 2008 @ 9:15 AM
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I work at Starbucks, mostly as a closer too.
Even as itching as we are to get out some/most nights, we do not lock
that door until 10 p.m. (thats the time my particular store closes)
Like alot of others, I'm glad that you didn't turn sour to the entire
chain. I would definetly say something to that stores' manager,
closing that door even ten minutes before closing time is losing
buisness, and that barista clearly doesn't care for the company he
works for if he can number one be that rude to a customer, and two if
he just wants to rush to get out and doesnt feel the need to do his
job and make what? two lattes or whatever you were planning on
ordering that night?
unacceptable.
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by Gino Posted Tue March 4, 2008 @ 11:47 PM
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Great Letter! I especially like that you're not letting this one
incident sour you against the entire chain. Some people get themselves
so worked up when things like this happen, and I can understand why.
I'm amazed it happened after all the media hype about a chain wide
closing and "pep talk" about customer service. One would think a
company as committed as that would make sure the store is open until
the closing time posted on their door.
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by ♥Venice♥ Posted Wed March 5, 2008 @ 3:27 AM
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Seriously, no one can even speak to me until I have coffee. I cannot
see, think or hear anything before my coffee fix. And as I learned
when my coffee maker broke, it has to be coffee. Tea, hot chocolate
and even Code Red are useless.
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by SuzieCat Posted Wed March 5, 2008 @ 1:12 PM
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I cannot function w/out my coffee in the morning, as well as thru most
of the afternoon.
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I want to believe that the employee couldnt see you - if not, that
would be a blantant act of rudeness. 20 minutes is ample time to get
your coffee - there is no reason that they should have closed shop
THAT early.
I'm glad to read that you do not base your entire opinion of starbucks
on this isolated incident. I've always had great service at starbucks,
and they even sent me my wallet back from halfway across the country
(well... one state over, but still!).
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by ~Fiƒi-la-ƒlea~ Posted Tue March 4, 2008 @ 3:21 PM
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Twenty minutes is early. Like the others said most likely they were
slow and didn't realize anyone was out there in the dark either. But I
understand what you are saying because you are right.
Next time you go there give the door a polite knock if it's dark out.
This way you will know for sure if they can't see you. Of course they
can ignore the knock too though lol.
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by Amanda K. Posted Tue March 4, 2008 @ 1:46 PM
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It was probably that they hadn't had any customers for awhile and so
were ready to close up. They probably figured if they let you in,
then other people would end up coming in as well, holding them up even
longer.
I'm not saying it's right what the employee did, especially if he did
see you. But I've worked in food service and I know how at the end of
the night you just want to get the heck out of there and go home...and
you stop worrying so much about being rude.
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by halah Posted Mon March 3, 2008 @ 9:28 PM
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As an FYI, back when I worked retail, looking outside from a well-lit
store, sometimes it's hard to see if anyone is out there. Unless the
outside is lit.
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