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.
More details
Cleanliness
Good
Family Friendly
Excellent
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