Starbucks

Decent coffe + waiting area

I ordered ahead with the Starbucks app. While this app in itself has been well designed, the actual execution is poor. Per app, you are supposed to show receipt at pickup counter and receive product. Baristas at pickup counter had no idea of order. Sent me to the register area. After a couple of attempts, the order was acknowledged by crew. To compensate for wait, crew decided to give an extra product. Was asked to pickup products at pickup counter. The crew then asked me for the size of the drink as ordered! In the meantime, a crew member realized one of the items was waiting for me at the pickup counter already. He gave this to me. The first crew member realized I now had three quantity of item and shouted across saying I could not, repeat "could not have three quantity and walk away with it"! It seemed out of moral indignation that he made such a comment. When I rebutted, he was intimidating and grabbed all three quantity back, only to return two quantity later. Meanwhile, the barista, who did not know the size of the drink earlier, returned with the drink substituted with a different base which I had acceded to earlier. In addition to this agonizing experience, I had to wait a long time to get a seat. It should also be noted that this Starbucks, like several others, is notorious for "customers" camping out for hours. (I must admit that I have also camped out at Starbucks before, but have bought product periodically to compensate for duration). All in all, this was a very poor, un-American experience. For, we Americans pride ourselves in quality of service and product. This sentiment and American quality seems to have been diluted in recent years. Especially at notable locations such as New York Times Square. It should be noted that whilst American ingenuity as reflected in the app design is good, if not at a high, it is at the human resources that we seem to fail. Perhaps a thorough vetting is in order. Good design, poor execution by staff of questionable learnings.

Pleasant place, some how I got relax and drink my coffee in peace.