Starbucks

So I came here for a coffee fix and its a nice starbucks but I was surprised to see the ‘communal’ table, I have only seen this in St Pancras station. I ended up getting a mulled fruit drink instead which was more festive. It is quite spacious, was not too busy when I went so not much waiting around for drinks and I got a comfy sofa as well. I would come back if I was in the area.

Wow, I can’t say that I had Jane’s experience at all. But then, I am a pretty simple «Bizzle» customer. In the afternoon, usually a bottle of water from one of the coolers. In the morning, unless it’s *my* Starbucks, it’s a simple tall latte. Now at *my* Starbucks in Norwich, I’m a regular. So regular that when one of my coworkers does the coffee run, he just asks for «the American’s weird drink please.» It’s short double skinny latte with sugar free hazelnut. It’s not that weird is it? Any weirder than an «iced quad venti espresso»?
Anyway, this Starbucks has a different seating setup than any of the other 30 or so *$ I’ve been to in London. In addition to the usual comfy chairs and small tables, there are three «booth» seats too. Check the picture. I know something like this wouldn’t work in the States where we all like our personal space and personal table. But maybe in Europe where we’re used to sharing tables it would work.
Otherwise, the same coolers of sandwiches and pastries and drinks.
I managed to find a table with a nearby power outlet and enjoyed my cool fizzy water while my iPhone charged back up.

Starbucks is one of the easiest businesses for me to review. Having worked in a Starbucks («Starbeezy» or «The Bizzle» as I preferred to call it) for three years while in Uni, I have gotten pretty well-​acquainted with the intricacies and culture of the world’s most self-​important coffee chain. For a company which prides itself on «standard of service» that should be identical in each and every store – the philosophy is that each Starbucks should be as friendly, accommodating, and knowledgeable as the next – the branch just across from my office fails on so many levels. Yes, I left with an identical product in my hand to what I would get from my usual Bizzle, but the service and the experience of visiting was a world apart. In a bad way.
Having been the head new-​hire trainer in my Starbeezy days, I am pretty adept at spotting where the weak links are in the Starbucks line-​of-​service. The problem with this particular store is that the whole outfit is lacking, as below:
1) The employees have no sense of urgency, plodding along, taking their time, and being quite unpleasant all the while.
2) The floor was woefully understaffed with these un-​smiling, slow-​motion animatrons, but rather than picking up the pace themselves, both the barista and register girl abandoned their stations in front of a long queue to try and track down a third employee on her break.
3) Their training was painfully lacking, in that I counted the number of times I explained my (outrageously simple) drink and came up with a total of SEVEN. SEVEN TIMES I explained my drink. Yes it is unusual and unexpected, but I ordered it in «Starbuck-​ese» and then explained the three step process of making it SEVEN TIMES.
Me: «An iced quad venti espresso, please.»
Register girl: *blank stare*
Me: «It is just an iced Venti cup filled to the top with ice, 4 shots of espresso poured over the ice, then topped back up with ice again. Lid, that’s it.»
RG: «Ok, so a black-​and-​white?»
Me: «Um, I don’t know what that is, sorry! *apologetic smile* Literally, just ice, espresso, more ice, done.»
RG: «Ok, so like a latte over ice.»
Me: «No, no milk. Honestly, just take an iced Venti cup, fill it up with ice, pour four shots of espresso over the ice, and we’re done. That’s it.»
RG: «Ok.» *goes and fills an iced Venti cup with water and gives it to the barista*
Me: «Hiya, sorry, is that mine? No water in mine, just start with the whole cup of ice, thanks.»
RG: «Ok, so what did you want?»
Me: «…»
Having spent three years training new-​hires, I know how confusing and overwhelming things can be for a brand new employee, so I am always extraordinarily patient with baristas who appear to be just starting out. The employees in this Starbucks were clearly poorly-​trained rather than new, and didn’t care enough to work faster than a snail’s pace or listen to what the customers were actually saying. The guy in front of me in the queue had a similar unusual-​but-​completely-​simple special request to mine, and they required three or four explanations then looked at him like he was crazy when they finally got it. They were the antithesis of how corporate Starbucks hopes to portray itself, and I’ll be damned if this store ever serves as my «Third Place» as they tell me it should.
The silver lining, though, is that it made me appreciate the smiling, chatty, expeditious, WONDERFUL employees at my normal Bizzle at the foot of Carnaby St. even more. That’ll show me for branching out and visiting a different store again!