I used to work at Starbucks when I was younger and still pop in every now and again to grab a coffee so I thought I would share my views on this company from both sides of the coin!
The company:
Starbucks is an American company and was first opened in 1971. A man named Howard Schultz purchased ... Read review
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Advantages: Nice food and drink Disadvantages: Cost
I used to work at Starbucks when I was younger and still pop in every now and again to grab a coffee so I thought I would share my views on this company from both sides of the coin!
The company:
Starbucks is an American company and was first opened in 1971. A man named Howard Schultz purchased the company in 1987 and he was the one who brought the company to the global success it is today when he realised on a business trip ... ...drinks what I like about Starbucks is that they use whole milk for all their drinks as standard so they are lovely and creamy but, if customers want them made with skimmed milk then they can do that too - this is what's known as a skinny latte when a customer asks for it. They can even do semi skimmed and soya milk too so are pretty flexible. The only one you pay more for is the soya milk. They do a really large range of hot and cold drinks and constantly ... more
I used to work at Starbucks when I was younger and still pop in every now and again to grab a coffee so I thought I would share my views on this company from both sides of the coin!
The company: Starbucks is an American company and was first opened in 1971. A man named Howard Schultz purchased the company in 1987 and he was the one who brought the company to the global success it is today when he realised on a business trip to Italy how profitable Espresso could be! Since then the company has grown and grown with now over 15,000 stores and not far off 16,000! The company has branches in 43 countries including America, Thailand, Turkey, Kuwait, England, Australia and Bahamas to name some of them!
What do they sell? Well for the obvious item it's a coffee shop so they sell coffee but, they also do a wide range of teas, cold drinks, hot and cold sandwiches and a variety of deserts and little snacks. They also sell a range of merchandise too ranging from mugs ands cd's through to espresso machines and other coffee makers. What is the food and drink like? The food they sell is in my opinion pretty nice for the coffee shop variety. The main food items they sell are Panini's, muffins and sandwiches and they are always quite filling with a lot of filling in them - the Panini's I love especially the chicken and pastrami one they do as when they heat it up all the cheese on it is melted and it taste's delicious! They do a variety of vegetarian and low fat types so it is easy to find something to suit. As regards to the drinks what I like about Starbucks is that they use whole milk for all their drinks as standard so they are lovely and creamy but, if customers want them made with skimmed milk then they can do that too - this is what's known as a skinny latte when a customer asks for it. They can even do semi skimmed and soya milk too so are pretty flexible. The only one you pay more for is the soya milk. They do a really large range of hot and cold drinks and constantly have limited edition types or summer or winter drinks that regular customers look forward too! My favourites are the Valencia orange hot chocolate and the Gingerbread latte they bring out at Christmas time. Yummy!
My local store: I visit quite a few of the Manchester branches as they are the ones most local to me but, my preferred one is the one just off Piccadilly gardens as it's not too big and has a nice position to people watch in the city centre - plus it's right across from Primark so after a heavy bit of shopping I can just nip across to get a hot chocolate and chill out for a while. The staff in this store are very nice and always chatty and are always on top of what they are doing as they have to be in such a busy location! The food shelves are always fully stocked so you can nearly always get the item you want which is a good thing as I hate it when you go in a coffee shop and there is nothing you like to eat!
Training: The best thing I've found about Starbucks and this is the same from when I was working there as well is that the staff are all trained to a set standard and even have to do little exams before becoming a fully trained 'Barista' which is the official name for a coffee maker. They have to try all new products and have to do a drinks test to make sure they know all the drinks. All drinks are made to a set standard and the staff are taught how to 'steam' milk properly without burning it. I used to love the fact that when I worked there they were very consistent in sending me on up to date training for first aid and whenever new drinks came out the store would receive a 'how to' guide for it and the manager would always make sure everyone was shown properly before they were put on sale. I enjoyed my time working at Starbucks as I always felt that it was one of those companies that appreciated it's staff - it sounds cheesy but, it is very true as I never had those days where I actually hated the idea of going in work so from a working aspect they are very good to with for!
Overall opinion: I love Starbucks for a meeting point with friends as I enjoy their food and drinks and I always love the atmosphere in the branches too as they play nice music and they always have the gorgeous smell of the coffee floating around! I may be a bit biased because I used to work at Starbucks but, I really do prefer it over any other Coffee shop chain. The drinks are price compared to some of the other coffee shops around but I persoanlly think the food and drink is better so think it is worth paying more for.
Advantages: Great tatsing coffee Disadvantages: Everyday becomes expensive
Starbucks is one of the most popular coffee house chains and I have one of these by work which is a favourite haunt of mine. Our local Starbucks opens at seven am which is great as that is when I get to work. I regularly pop in there on the way to the office to top up on energy before a busy day....so what do I choose? One Soya latte - a great tasting drink that in my opinion is worth paying the extra thirty pence for...soya drinks have come a long ... ...The staff at our local Starbucks are mostly foreign exchange students who are here to learn to speak better English...it is great and I often start the day with civil conversations about the weather, traffic or transport system as they are keen to try out their language skills upon me! If I have a very long day I will sometimes go to Starbucks to also grab a sandwich. As a vegetarian, they provide me with a good range of fresh sandwiches, my favourites ...
excelsior81 29.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Starbucks
Advantages: Good coffee, relaxed atmosphere and freindly service Disadvantages: The food isn't as fresh as it looks.
...Consistency is, in my mind, starbucks success although others may argue that agressive opening strategies are more to credit. If I can walk in to a coffee house in London and get the same good coffee as I do in Glasgow, manchester, bath, strattford and many others then I'm a happy man.
Go there at lesuire on sundays and sit or rush in on your way to work ... the coffee works and it's great. Keep it up you wonderfull people. ...
tombarnes 01.07.2002 (03.03.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Starbucks
Value for Money
Standard of Menu
Atmosphere
Standard of Service
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Advantages: Competitive priced Coffee Disadvantages: Taste and Priced not as good as Caffee Nero
Starbucks is a well known, almost global coffee brand. This chain of coffee shops are fully company owned. The price of coffee per metric tonne is approximately £883 a tonne. So for coffee shop stores there is a very high profit margin to be made.
I was travelling on my way to Crawley and as i was in London Victoria i noticed a burger type van advertising Starbucks. I thought to myself i have been to Starbucks before lets see how they fare.
Firstly i was not impressed with the service here. There were 2 staff in the van, no customers in the queue, and dispite this it took me 2 minutes to get served.
I noticed the bin they were using was full up with some plastic rubbish. Certainly not inviting for regular customers or great first impressions here.
The display of my coffee money was in a take away Starbucks plastic cup ...
costas1234 09.01.2008 (31.03.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Starbucks (London)
I've been addicted to Starbucks for years. I worship Starbucks. Starbucks is the very example of everything I love about city living. I first discovered this international shrine to coffee in Canada (Vancouver, to be precise - the city of 1,000,000 Starbucks stores. (Well, nearly)). The first time I walked into a Starbucks I was bowled over by the extensive range of coffees. While this seems to be most people's complaint about the store ("I just want a *plain* coffee - what's a plain coffee?" "Well madam, that depends on how you like your coffee - would you like a latte or an americano or a cappuccino, or maybe a chocolatey mocha, or possibly just an espresso, and would you like flavoured syrup and/or whipped cream with that?"), I love experimenting with my coffee and this was like a dream come true. Admittedly, it took me half an hour ...
louiseypees 11.08.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Starbucks, Leeds
Advantages: Comfy, excellent service, fantastic choice of drinks and snacks. seasonal drinks are amazing. Disadvantages: can be crowded and busy if you go at the wrong time, e.g. saturday afternoons!
Don't you hate it when it gets to winter time and you find that Christmas has crept up on you yet again this year? It seems to start earlier each year! You always seem to find yourself cold, stressed, laden with bags and frequenting large queues outside department stores and you just feel like screaming "Bahhh Humbug!' to anyone who's near you.
Well I have eventually found the ideal cure to what I call 'The Christmas Crisis'. When you just want to give up and go home and think 'oh forget that last present, i'll get him some socks instead'. Instead of abandoning ship and sludging home in your winter boots deflated and stressed, I urge you to find a Starbucks! There is truly nothing more satisfying than collapsing into one of their cosy leather couches with a caramel latter and a 'too-good-to-be-allowed' piece of cake. I guarantee you ...
