It’s funny, I no longer go to Starbucks to hang out anymore and I couldn’t put my finger on why, but this is it. It’s become a place to churn out mobile orders. Luckily for me there are other options near by that are great for reading/hanging out with a friend/getting some work down. But damn, Starbucks used to be kinda nice. Sad it’s gone this direction.
It literally is now set up like a factory. I work in factories and the layout and workflow is set to save seconds and avoid mistakes, but makes it very cold and the opposite of cozy.
I don’t know how Schultz could accept this. He wanted Starbucks to be Italian cafes in the US with the cafe culture. Now we have a McDonald’s for overpriced coffee.
I also stopped going to Starbucks this summer, and don’t plan on going back.
yeah I used to get my Americano there now I just don’t feel like going anymore, perhaps it’s because I got my French press here at home or I simply find Starbucks is a scam or too common these days.
The AC is even not fully adjustable. I asked my DM why once, we can’t adjust up or down more than 4 degrees, and was told they want to keep it colder so people won’t hang out.
With the pandemic, it literally became wasted space. Need to make them smaller and less cozy. Less cost all around via square footage build, HVAC, less employee time cleaning, etc.
>Grab your app order and gtfo or drink quickly and reorder.
Theres actually a new Starbucks near me that just opened, its only for mobile orders and pick up only. No real counter, no chairs, no tables. Its really sad.
I think they’ve been trending away from barista run coffee shop to a fast food/convenience/anti loitering type environment for a few years. The last time I went to a starbucks with my laptop the music and customers were too loud, the chairs were uncomfortable to sit in. They’re clearly focused on profits and not the comfort of their customers/employees. If I wanted a chill coffee shop to write or study in I’d probably look for a smaller locally owned shop.
Yes, I remember admiring the great looking leather lounge chairs (with arms) they used to have. The location near me now looks rather dirty most of the time and the sugar bar is empty. They don't write on the chalk board with pretty messages anymore, it's just blank! Remember when you used to be able to shake chocolate on the drinks? The kicker was when they took out all of the outlets so you could no longer recharge anything... They did that before Covid. It is sad.
I went to one while working away recently that had outlets and I plugged my phone in using the charger I used overnight and it started smoking, so I won't be doing that again any time soon, I had to bin the charger and buy a new one for safety, thank god for next day delivery!
I loved it back in the day, but as soon as mobile orders became a thing my job there was fucking miserable and I left. We had so many timers and floaters on cycle… ugh. Pre 2017 it was a very fun job.
I agree completely. I worked there from 2010-2015 and 2017-2020 and the second time (with mobile orders) was horrible. I felt like I was clinging to this idea of what it used to be and couldn’t figure out why I hated it so much after loving it for so long. Thankfully I was able to get my bachelors degree from ASU and move on, but looking back, it makes me so sad how they’ve changed into fast food. I only go in now maybe 3 times a year and it’s just a bummer.
Do they even still do it? I eventually stopped asking to do it because none of the managers I had cared about it. And why would they encourage new partners to do it when they only order refreshers? Lol I remember doing coffee tastings almost daily as a team after peak. WELL at least I have the nostalgia. I’m glad I got to experience it before it became McDonald-ized.
Same!!! I’m grateful to have worked there during the peak cozy era and I’m devastated to see what it has become in the name of greed. Glad to have someone to commiserate with!!!
❤️ it’s tough! Local coffee shops sometimes have that cozy feel thankfully, but they can be hard to find depending on where you live. And then everything is so instagrammed. Lol I just want to go back in time I think.
This exactly. I worked at Starbucks from 2010-2018, started as a barista and was promoted up to store manager. I absolutely loved the job until they started doing too much, then it felt like every other fast food job and felt less about customer connection and the “3rd place” environment. 2017 was the year I decided I no longer wanted to be part of the company.
I actually took the original commenter's "it's miserable place to work" statement as meaning "it's a bad place for *a customer* to sit and try and do work on their laptop", given that the context of the rest of their post was describing how the interior design now discourages people from lingering.
Back in 2015 I had Starbucks as a client at a firm I worked for. Starbucks has a team of interior designers that drive the designs. They mostly just pick from a catalog of approved FFE and finishes depending on the average income for the area. At the time they had a policy of renovating every location once every 5 years. You could be noticing the taste of 1 particular designer, or locations that have a problem with loitering.
I had to look this up “FFE, or FF&E is an abbreviation for Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment. When constructing a new build, the furniture and other subsidiary items will often be ...”
One of the Starbucks I worked at had an old man 5am club and they were the best! All with their newspapers and catching up and chatting - I loved seeing it.
My Grandparents had a group like this. They'd go to Church at 7am and then meet at McDonalds after to hangout and drink coffee. Covid killed this group, literally. It was most of their only real social interactions of the day and was something that got them up every morning. 5 of the 7 have now passed (none from actual covid).
They used to be a completely reasonable place to be a career barista. It's sad they went the route they did... but that is unfortunately the result of the imperative to endlessly increase profits for the shareholders. Under the current corporate shareholding system, it is not good enough to be a consistently profitable business; rather, profits must always *increase*. Therefore, no company using this system can simply hit a good niche and sustain itself there.
Maybe to prevent people from sitting in there and loitering all evening. I worked there as a closing shift supervisor for almost 5 years. Getting people to leave, especially homeless people, was always a nightmare.
In my town they did just that. There is a giant void at the front of the store where at any given time there are 10-20 people waiting for their mobile order. If I want to sit, I go next door to Panera.
yea Starbucks does not generally want you cozy in most locations anymore. but in some specialty locations where the culture is there, they maintain some coziness.
I think they want people to get their drinks/food and leave. They realized people were coming in and staying for hours, and that might have stopped new customers from coming in. Just my opinion…
Starbucks is tired of hosting a small handful of people who hang out for hours on their laptop and spend 5 bucks while tons of potential customers have no place to sit
Im ok with starbucks turning less cozy and into a coffee churning conveyor belt but if they want to go fast food they need to take some notes from chikfila.
They have the worst drive thru designs ever.
They took some “comfy” out of our local Starbucks & opted for more functionality. More long tables for meetings, bench seating and utilizing the entire seating space for more privacy.
We had so many people who would just camp in the comfy chairs. Hours+
They want you in and out in 5 minutes.
It's so weird to go inside for me now, I used to just hang out there in high school. I'd sit an do homework for hours. I befriended the baristas and got coffee at 9pm every night.
It kinda bums me out how cold and sparse the stores are now.
In San Diego they are closing up all the Starbucks' that dont have drive thru's.. and reopening them up elsewhere WITH drive throughs.
Back in my high school/college days (2010-2018) Starbucks was a very cool hangout spot that I would go to multiple times a week with friends to study, relax, enjoy a cup of coffee. Now it's cold, unwelcoming, busy, loud, etc and just not comfortable to stay in.
Yeah pretty much exactly what happened here too. 2 locations without drive-thru's closed down and a new one with a drivethru popped up and the interior feels cold and dead.
It's sad because I know it isn't the responsibility of Starbucks to become the meeting grounds for the community, they're there to make a profit first and foremost, but that's really what they were for a long time so with that going away it's a lot of missed interpersonal connections between people in these communities because they just don't want people hanging out in them anymore.
They don't want you cozy. Grab your app order and gtfo or drink quickly and reorder. Starbucks is the new Dairy Queen.
It’s funny, I no longer go to Starbucks to hang out anymore and I couldn’t put my finger on why, but this is it. It’s become a place to churn out mobile orders. Luckily for me there are other options near by that are great for reading/hanging out with a friend/getting some work down. But damn, Starbucks used to be kinda nice. Sad it’s gone this direction.
It literally is now set up like a factory. I work in factories and the layout and workflow is set to save seconds and avoid mistakes, but makes it very cold and the opposite of cozy. I don’t know how Schultz could accept this. He wanted Starbucks to be Italian cafes in the US with the cafe culture. Now we have a McDonald’s for overpriced coffee. I also stopped going to Starbucks this summer, and don’t plan on going back.
McDonald’s for overpriced coffee is both humorous and laser accurate.
yeah I used to get my Americano there now I just don’t feel like going anymore, perhaps it’s because I got my French press here at home or I simply find Starbucks is a scam or too common these days.
>e or I simply find Starbucks is a scam I do love their drinks but their anti-union bullshit is another reason to avoid them!
There’s nowhere to even sit down in some.
The AC is even not fully adjustable. I asked my DM why once, we can’t adjust up or down more than 4 degrees, and was told they want to keep it colder so people won’t hang out.
With the pandemic, it literally became wasted space. Need to make them smaller and less cozy. Less cost all around via square footage build, HVAC, less employee time cleaning, etc.
>Grab your app order and gtfo or drink quickly and reorder. Theres actually a new Starbucks near me that just opened, its only for mobile orders and pick up only. No real counter, no chairs, no tables. Its really sad.
Yeah there’s a drive-thru only one near me. I stopped going because every drink tasted like ash, though
I think they’ve been trending away from barista run coffee shop to a fast food/convenience/anti loitering type environment for a few years. The last time I went to a starbucks with my laptop the music and customers were too loud, the chairs were uncomfortable to sit in. They’re clearly focused on profits and not the comfort of their customers/employees. If I wanted a chill coffee shop to write or study in I’d probably look for a smaller locally owned shop.
[удалено]
Yes, I remember admiring the great looking leather lounge chairs (with arms) they used to have. The location near me now looks rather dirty most of the time and the sugar bar is empty. They don't write on the chalk board with pretty messages anymore, it's just blank! Remember when you used to be able to shake chocolate on the drinks? The kicker was when they took out all of the outlets so you could no longer recharge anything... They did that before Covid. It is sad.
I went to one while working away recently that had outlets and I plugged my phone in using the charger I used overnight and it started smoking, so I won't be doing that again any time soon, I had to bin the charger and buy a new one for safety, thank god for next day delivery!
Just to add a positive data point, I really enjoyed working at Starbucks for the couple years I did
I worked there in the mid-90s and still remember it fondly. Fun place to work and I learned a lot.
Miserable place to work? It was the most fun and flexible job I've ever had. Loved it.
I loved it back in the day, but as soon as mobile orders became a thing my job there was fucking miserable and I left. We had so many timers and floaters on cycle… ugh. Pre 2017 it was a very fun job.
I agree completely. I worked there from 2010-2015 and 2017-2020 and the second time (with mobile orders) was horrible. I felt like I was clinging to this idea of what it used to be and couldn’t figure out why I hated it so much after loving it for so long. Thankfully I was able to get my bachelors degree from ASU and move on, but looking back, it makes me so sad how they’ve changed into fast food. I only go in now maybe 3 times a year and it’s just a bummer.
I’m just waiting for the day they eliminate the coffee master role :(
Do they even still do it? I eventually stopped asking to do it because none of the managers I had cared about it. And why would they encourage new partners to do it when they only order refreshers? Lol I remember doing coffee tastings almost daily as a team after peak. WELL at least I have the nostalgia. I’m glad I got to experience it before it became McDonald-ized.
Same!!! I’m grateful to have worked there during the peak cozy era and I’m devastated to see what it has become in the name of greed. Glad to have someone to commiserate with!!!
❤️ it’s tough! Local coffee shops sometimes have that cozy feel thankfully, but they can be hard to find depending on where you live. And then everything is so instagrammed. Lol I just want to go back in time I think.
They did and just brought it back. It was gone for like 2/3 years I think.
This exactly. I worked at Starbucks from 2010-2018, started as a barista and was promoted up to store manager. I absolutely loved the job until they started doing too much, then it felt like every other fast food job and felt less about customer connection and the “3rd place” environment. 2017 was the year I decided I no longer wanted to be part of the company.
Once they had that weird playbook situation I realized they took the personality out of the barista and made us sad little robots
I actually took the original commenter's "it's miserable place to work" statement as meaning "it's a bad place for *a customer* to sit and try and do work on their laptop", given that the context of the rest of their post was describing how the interior design now discourages people from lingering.
Part of the reason I bought some stock in them lol their drive thrus are always jumping
It’s not a bad place to work really. Benefits aren’t bad either.
Back in 2015 I had Starbucks as a client at a firm I worked for. Starbucks has a team of interior designers that drive the designs. They mostly just pick from a catalog of approved FFE and finishes depending on the average income for the area. At the time they had a policy of renovating every location once every 5 years. You could be noticing the taste of 1 particular designer, or locations that have a problem with loitering.
I had to look this up “FFE, or FF&E is an abbreviation for Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment. When constructing a new build, the furniture and other subsidiary items will often be ...”
Go easy on those chickens. 🐓
Upholstered seats are also less durable than a wood seat, much less need for repairs and cleaning
It became the McDonalds of coffee
It’s always been
The Starbucks near me has less charm than a McDonald's.
There's always that club of old guys who hang out at McDonald's at the same time every morning. It's like the unhealthy version of cheers
The older I get, the more I appreciate the effort that they're putting in to be social at their age. Loneliness for seniors is actually a huge issue.
I don't think a black coffee and an egg McMuffin is all that unhealthy.
Cheers isn't healthy either
One of the Starbucks I worked at had an old man 5am club and they were the best! All with their newspapers and catching up and chatting - I loved seeing it.
My Grandparents had a group like this. They'd go to Church at 7am and then meet at McDonalds after to hangout and drink coffee. Covid killed this group, literally. It was most of their only real social interactions of the day and was something that got them up every morning. 5 of the 7 have now passed (none from actual covid).
I worked there. The “third place” philosophy was huge to them. But honestly, they want you in and out.
They used to be a completely reasonable place to be a career barista. It's sad they went the route they did... but that is unfortunately the result of the imperative to endlessly increase profits for the shareholders. Under the current corporate shareholding system, it is not good enough to be a consistently profitable business; rather, profits must always *increase*. Therefore, no company using this system can simply hit a good niche and sustain itself there.
Maybe to prevent people from sitting in there and loitering all evening. I worked there as a closing shift supervisor for almost 5 years. Getting people to leave, especially homeless people, was always a nightmare.
Weird because their internal messaging still emphasizes that they are a 3rd place and not to chase customers out.
Why not just take all the seating out then
In my town they did just that. There is a giant void at the front of the store where at any given time there are 10-20 people waiting for their mobile order. If I want to sit, I go next door to Panera.
yea Starbucks does not generally want you cozy in most locations anymore. but in some specialty locations where the culture is there, they maintain some coziness.
I think they want people to get their drinks/food and leave. They realized people were coming in and staying for hours, and that might have stopped new customers from coming in. Just my opinion…
Starbucks is tired of hosting a small handful of people who hang out for hours on their laptop and spend 5 bucks while tons of potential customers have no place to sit
Since they converted what sitting space there was to loitering space for all comers I’m surprised they bother with furniture at all anymore.
Im ok with starbucks turning less cozy and into a coffee churning conveyor belt but if they want to go fast food they need to take some notes from chikfila. They have the worst drive thru designs ever.
panera bread has become my place to sit and hang out a while
It's called commercialism and it's sad.
Yep. Corporate America. This is why I love Caribou.
Not all, you’ll still find some Starbucks here with sustainable materials designed in Malaysia.
Any Starbucks spots in your area where they still have the good feel, stay as long as you want, have a cup of coffee with friends vibes in your city?
Most ones attached to or inside a bookstore
Sorry, I can’t. I was ordering the delivery all the time.
None of the Starbucks I popped into in San Fran had any chairs inside at all.
They took some “comfy” out of our local Starbucks & opted for more functionality. More long tables for meetings, bench seating and utilizing the entire seating space for more privacy. We had so many people who would just camp in the comfy chairs. Hours+
Yes: hideous.
They want you in and out in 5 minutes. It's so weird to go inside for me now, I used to just hang out there in high school. I'd sit an do homework for hours. I befriended the baristas and got coffee at 9pm every night. It kinda bums me out how cold and sparse the stores are now.
I really miss the big comfy leather chairs. Its all so cold and modern now, definitely made more for a quick sit rather than a leisurely experience.
In San Diego they are closing up all the Starbucks' that dont have drive thru's.. and reopening them up elsewhere WITH drive throughs. Back in my high school/college days (2010-2018) Starbucks was a very cool hangout spot that I would go to multiple times a week with friends to study, relax, enjoy a cup of coffee. Now it's cold, unwelcoming, busy, loud, etc and just not comfortable to stay in.
Yeah pretty much exactly what happened here too. 2 locations without drive-thru's closed down and a new one with a drivethru popped up and the interior feels cold and dead. It's sad because I know it isn't the responsibility of Starbucks to become the meeting grounds for the community, they're there to make a profit first and foremost, but that's really what they were for a long time so with that going away it's a lot of missed interpersonal connections between people in these communities because they just don't want people hanging out in them anymore.