Dear Starbucks
Call me a hopeless romantic…
Call me a man of tradition…
Call me a metrosexual worship leader for drinking a Venti Skinny Hazelnut Latte…
But don’t call me “Carlis”
But my real beef with the sticker, besides the misfortune of my name, is the sticker itself.
Starbucks…
There is not a lot that is “homey” about your stores.
They get it done.
They give me the coffee that I want.
They are very efficient machines.
And I am assuming that is why you went to the sticker.
But let me tell you something about the sticker.
You just took one of the only “human” things away from my experience.
There was something human about seeing that black sharpie code scribbled on the side of my cup.
I have no idea how to decipher your code.
But it was the only “personal touch” I could expect from a store.
And now I get a sticker slapped on the side of my cup that still has the boxes you used to scribble your coffee love note to me.
Only to cover it with that God awful sticker.
I know in the end it makes you faster.
But that scribble, now that it’s gone…
Takes you one step closer to McCafe.
Sincerely,
Metrosexual Skinny Hazlenut Latte Drinking Customer…
Carlos
RAIN IT DOWN
You said it. Amen.
And what’s up with the instant coffee!? Oh, Starbucks, your siren song entraps me no more.
That’s funny.
My Starbucks is falling apart. I am TOTALLY confused and sad. Carlis? No, no, no.
From a Short Drip Hazelnut Drinking Barista
My favorite Sbux (West 7th in Fort Worth) has the best baristas ever.
Not only do they still rock the sharpie but while they are waiting for the espresso, some of them will write notes or draw little pictures on the bottom of the cup.
It is sad. I’m glad my Starbucks is still small. And like the “Cheers” show from yester-year, “Everybody knows my name”. Hm, which brings up the question, “Is Starbucks the Christian bar?” Hmph.
Say it ain’t so Carlis, say it ain’t so.
I feel like there are some biblical principles inside of this post about the church etc…
but I am just going to let it sit as starbucks and a personal touch for carlis
I don’t think I have laughed so hard in my life!!!! LOVED IT! still laughing…
As a former Barita I personally miss when we used to “call” out drink to the bar and they would write them down. It made it much more fun that way. You won’t get a little smile face or heart from a sticker!
Haha This is good.
the code…
3 = number of expresssooo shots
SFV = sugar free vanilla syrup
N = nonfat milk
EHW = extra hot w/ whip (not sure on that one)
L = latte
fortunately my st. arbucks has not gone to the sticker yet…and they write out “extra hot” on my cup…which of course makes me feel good!
i don’t drink a lot of starbucks, i’m a little too poor for it… but i got my traditional pumpkin spice latte the other day. i too, was upset by the sticker.
I love the N. White Chapel Starbucks in Southlake, TX. They know me by name, write on the cups and have some of the best baristas in the world. There is no doubt that Starbucks fuels the Christian world.
That sticker almost looks like a prescription drug label. True.
Interesting… I only get the cold impersonal sticker when I go through the drive-thru. (and I only do that if I’m feeling cold and impersonal myself. It’s not as much fun as going inside and smelling the coffee though.) I assumed they do that to keep the orders from getting confused.
My current pen organizer is a Starbucks cup by one of my favorite baristas that says “London Fog like what!” It’s the little touches. Please don’t let the sharpies go away Starbucks!
I gave up on the bucks a long time ago. GO LOCAL!!!
my handwritten cup even had a smiley on it the other day.
i’d hate to give that up.
Yeah, definitely had name issues there. Check out this post of mine: http://samuelfebres.com/blog/my-name-is-what/
I think I’ve decided I will start collecting cups with every wrong variation of my name on them from Starbucks. The last one was Sammy, which I guess is more excusable, but I said Samuel.
Our starbucks is still awesome! We have one of the 24 hour Starbucks…that alone is praise worthy!!! They do use the stickers for the drive thru, which doesn’t bother me at all. Inside they still use the sharpie, and put names on the cups, =)
confession: I’ve never tasted coffee (of any kind) in my life.
But, I do see the problem you’re dealing with, Carlis.
Oh man! Sorry your store has “gone machine” on you. My starbucks has started a facebook group where “us regulars” can connect and all that. All the baristas know my name and know my drink. They haven’t switched to the sticker yet…
….this is tragic. and thankfully hasn’t happened at my starbucks yet.
i used to work at a starbucks, and even though i could easily see beyond the “we just want to make you feel at home” exterior to the “really we’re just trying to make you belive that while we try to be as much of a fast-moving machine as possible” reality, i still can’t belive they’ve actually taken it so far as to start using stickers. i agree, it was pretty much the one human part of the experience left.
also, i can’t believe they’ve begun to use the term “skinny” instead of nonfat. our baristas used to get corrected for that because it was not the correct terminology. the times they are a changin…
So sad. Today my Starbucks barista actually brought me a carafe full of hot coffee for my very own refills! I was just a lil’ closer to heaven…
I work at Starbucks…..we still use a Sharpie and skinny only refers to a latte with sugar free syrup AND skim (nonfat) milk. Otherwise its skim (at my store) or nonfat. The sticker, I belive, is just for drive thru. And…….we baristas are still trained to be friendly and personable to connect with customers, so find a new Starbucks if yours isn’t like that
*gasp!* I’ve never seen that! I hope my Starbucks hasn’t been infected …
I’m a Barista at a SBUX in the Dallas area… and my favorite part of my job is making it personal! I would be sad if we went to stickers… I’ve even been known to write cheesy rhyming poems on the sides of cups!
it is totally impersonal. my husband and I used to play a game where whatever the barista’s name was who was taking our order, we had to think of fake names that started with the letter of their name or famous couples. dorky but it was a fun little thing and no more. thanks to computerized labels, ours don’t even ask for a name any more.
This is why I go to Octane Coffee on Howell Mill in Atlanta. Besides being my favorite coffee in Atlanta (try their breve) I don’t get a sticker. I don’t even get a scribble. Depending on who’s working it’s somewhere between a familiar “hey” to “hey Daniel.” Now that’s a personal touch.
Just like Daniel said above, that’s why you go to a LOCAL coffee shop. It has many benefits:
1.) Truly good coffee shops roast their beans locally. You get the freshest possible coffee and you support 2 local businesses
2.) Local coffee shops generally have the time to be more selective about what kind of coffee they buy. That means, better quality beans and typically, beans that were ethically farmed
3.) The owner of Caffeine Coffee Cafe near my house says “Hey what’s up J. You want your usually no fat, sugar free, medium Caramela today? By they way, we’re supporting a local mountain bike race this weekend, you should enter.” How’s that for personal. It’s takes me a little longer to get my order and I might pay a few cents more, but I also get to stand around and have a conversation with a person…in my community. How about that.
4.) Most local coffee shops have FREE wifi. In your face AT&T Hotspot.
Support local business. Find a local coffee shop/pub/restaurant and make it your home. You’ll never go back, I promise.
This will make you happy again http://rickwsmith.posterous.com/awesome-office-karaoke-cubicle-video-or-the-f
As long as my drink is made the way I like it, then I could care less if a sticker or sharpie is used!
That is ridiculous. Talk about waste – paper & ink.
I got slapped with this when I visited a Starbucks other than my usual St. Arbucks…I felt so cold…so alone…so shafted…I’m dumb
but I’m with you! Hahaha.
I’m so glad MY St. Arbucks doesn’t do that to me and still put sill smiley faces on it and such.
I agree, the sticker sucks! let’s bombarde their site with pics of when they were actually human-like: http://twitpic.com/84mry
interesting, but isn’t this what we do to our kids in the nursery?
“child’s name, parents name, child’s code, special instructions (potty or diaper, bottle or not, nap or not) allergies.”
Carlos, you drink skinny hazelnut latte’s and now you’re whining about a sticker? major loss in man points.
hey, Jason B! If I had a local coffee shop like that, I would totally go there. Especially cause I love to mountain bike. There is one called Bike & Brew in Sedona, AZ. Its a bike shop that sells great coffee. The only thing better in life would be a Bike, Bean, & Brew. I go every time I go to Sedona. But other than that, every local spot I’ve tried is a disappointment- nasty coffee and some incompetent teenager ruining my day. Starbucks guarantees me that I will enjoy my coffee- in the airport, at truckstops around the nation, and on my way to work, where they know my name and hook me up regularly.
you’re right about the wifi though. Any place w/ free wifi has a special place in my heart.
Still not a coffee drinker, but I love me some Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider. Yum!
(I really just wanted to see if my pic would show up on your site for my comment, but dunno if you have intensedebate and openid stuff all setup…)
I only get the sticker on my cup if I go through the Starbucks drive thru… which is what I do for my mental sanity on mornings when my children wake up TOO early then expect me to have sympathy when they are tired… silly toddlers!
Headed to Starbucks today to check it out. I know…Pumpkin Spiced Lattes are not organic but allow me this indulgence.
WOW…your very sensitive!!
Hiya, Im actually pretty new to the starbucks team. We have the sticker, But only for drivethru. The people whom come into the store, which i find more deserving anyway [They give us the time of day apon coming into the store, we give them the time of day, with the sharpie]
From what I understand it makes the drive through move a little quicker, But I too, am a sucker for a handwritten smiley face. just feels like there’s more love in the cup.