Since late 1997 I have been a daily visitor to Starbucks… And since 2000 I have gotten the exact same drink every day, once at 6:30 AM and once at 1:30 PM… A “5 shot Vente (large) Americano with no room”.
For those of you who do not drink espresso, an Americano is espresso and hot water.. Very basic.
I was so constant with the drink that the baristas wouldn’t even wait for me to order, when they saw my car pull up they began making the drink and there it sat on the counter waiting for me. I will admit that over the last 10 years Starbucks has been good too me, but I have been even better to them. On average, I spend just about 400 dollars on coffee in a months time…
Today I announce that Starbucks is dead to me… Because of our long standing relationship I have given them three months to get their business in order, but alas, they have rejected me.. In the last three months, my Americano’s have been warm (not hot) and the new baristas are not making any effort to get to know me or my drink, and worst of all, they use machines to pull their shots now, so the Americano tastes like water.
Today.. I took my Starbucks card into Starbucks (still with 50some dollars on it) … Showed it to the manager, who knows me, and informed her that she would not see me in her store, or any other Starbucks again. I am OFFICIALLY done..
As of today, I am also announcing a full-time partnership with Coffee Bean… I went over to the coffee bean and loaded up my new coffee bean card with a few hundred dollars and settled in to a tasty toasted bagel (which Starbucks won’t serve), and a gloriously hot and strong Americano with 5 shots, and best of all, free wi-fi service…
Will my departure from Starbucks hurt them… Not in the grand scheme of things, but for them, I leave this thought… If your bad service, and lowered standard of coffee excellence was enough to drive away someone like me, who has always been the ultimate defender of Starbucks, how long will it take before you begin to lose your customers en masse….
You are just a two-timing hussy.
Actually, that is the only way some companies will listen is when you speak to them through your wallet. I would also write a letter to the Starbucks HQ, they might whip those baristas in to shape and send you a nice gift card to give them a second chance. (Hey, it’s free coffee!!)