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Fairfax Underground
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My dad lives in Florida and thoughtfully sent me a coupon good for a free Starbucks beverage but the coupon is only good at a Starbucks location inside a Target.
Are there any such stores in this area? I'm thinking this may be something other parts of the country have and we don't.
eesh Wrote:
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> The Starbucks in Targets are awful, they are just
> like the Starbucks in Safeways.
They aren't real Starbuck's. They are like licensed franchises of sort. The one at Tyson's I inside Barnes and Noble is the same way.
I think all the Target stores around here have them. I know for a fact skyline, sterling, fair lakes all have them. Even the one in Columbia Heights in DC has one...
eesh Wrote:
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> The Starbucks in Targets are awful, they are just
> like the Starbucks in Safeways.
I don't drink coffee so I'm a little ignorant to that subculture, but how can they be worse than a regular Starbucks? It's the same coffee, same machines, same syrups and its not like it's brain surgery to prepare a cup of whatever.
__________________________________ That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.
Warhawk Wrote:
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>
> I don't drink coffee so I'm a little ignorant to
> that subculture, but how can they be worse than a
> regular Starbucks? It's the same coffee, same
> machines, same syrups and its not like it's brain
> surgery to prepare a cup of whatever.
They're usually understaffed and have slow/poor customer service. I've been to a Safeway one more than once that was "out of coffee". I mean seriously- you're a fuckin Starbucks, it shouldn't be too hard to keep a pot of coffee on hand, ya know, in case a customer shows up. And sometimes there's ten minute long line with only one person working, someone who's not really trained on their menu and takes forever to make drinks.
Regular Starbucks locations are usually well staffed and pretty efficient.
What Meeper said, basically the grocery store and retail store Starbucks are always understaffed, and what staff they do have is never trained on all the items.
eesh Wrote:
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> What Meeper said, basically the grocery store and
> retail store Starbucks are always understaffed,
> and what staff they do have is never trained on
> all the items.
Ahhh...
I will say that the Union Station Starbucks operates like a well-oiled machine. As does then one at the Federal Center metro stop. Lines 30 people deep and you're through it in less than 5 minutes.
__________________________________ That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.
The Starbucks inside a BN is going to be less similar to a stand alone franchise than a SBX in a Target will be...the food and the drink menu is more in line in Target with the national chain...at Barnes they basically just have cups with the logo and that's it, everything else is run by the bookstore.
Used to work at BN Wrote:
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> The Starbucks inside a BN is going to be less
> similar to a stand alone franchise than a SBX in a
> Target will be...the food and the drink menu is
> more in line in Target with the national
> chain...at Barnes they basically just have cups
> with the logo and that's it, everything else is
> run by the bookstore.
I always assumed the starbucks inside other shops were staffed by employees of those shops, not starbucks employees. They may get "training" from starbucks, but I'm sure that training is nothing more than some schmuck hired by starbucks to show the person how to use a coffee machine.
I use the starbucks at Giant and Safeway as my own private express checkout if there's a line at the normal checkout. Same POS systems. Which is why I'm sure it's just a branding thing.
TheMeeper Wrote:
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> They're usually understaffed and have slow/poor
> customer service. I've been to a Safeway one more
> than once that was "out of coffee". I mean
> seriously- you're a fuckin Starbucks, it shouldn't
> be too hard to keep a pot of coffee on hand, ya
> know, in case a customer shows up. And sometimes
> there's ten minute long line with only one person
> working, someone who's not really trained on their
> menu and takes forever to make drinks.
>
Yet all they have to do is walk over to the aisles and pick a bag of starbucks beans off the shelf.
Love Corporate Chains Wrote:
> I always assumed the starbucks inside other shops
> were staffed by employees of those shops, not
> starbucks employees. They may get "training" from
> starbucks, but I'm sure that training is nothing
> more than some schmuck hired by starbucks to show
> the person how to use a coffee machine.
Ha we didn't even get that! We just had "best practice" guides from starbucks and recipe cards to make the drinks to starbucks standards...most of the time we would tweak them though, or make custom drinks/recipes.
All of our equipement was independent too, i.e. the ovens, blenders, dishwashers etc.