Complaint Review: Starbucks - Laguna Beach California

Vee Birmingham, Alabama U.S.A. My GOD! 'No. The customer is not always right. Sometimes the customer is a self-involved jackass who was never weaned off of the d****e nozzle. Sometimes the customer is a person with a sense of powerlessness that makes the self-loathing kick in, and the only way they can get their kicks is to hassle service workers.' Space filler. Useless. 'The customer is not always right. That's just some BS that marketing people spill out of their mouths to make you want to come into their establishment and give them your money. You're not always right. Get that idiot notion out of your oddly shaped and oily head.' Space filler. Useless. 'I'm waiting for the day when I can go to a restaurant and observe a patron abusing a server. I will request a manager and I will say, 'that man/woman is abusing your server, and if you in any way reward him/her for being an idiot moron, I will never come back to this establishment.' In fact, I want every person who has ever worked in a customer service field to stand up for people like themselves. I don't work for the public anymore, but I still want the idea that the customer is always right abolished. It gives people the excuse to act badly. It gives them some sort of smug god-complex that makes me want to kick their teeth in.' Space filler. Useless. 'This was all bogus and not a valid case for the Rip-off Report. It should go to the Whiny Mama's Boy Report instead. God. Someone grab the violin already. Our pal over here didn't get his free coffee! He wants his free coffee! He was wronged! Someone in the service industry actually called him out!' Space filler. Useless. 'Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!' You misspelled something above Empty Head. Congratulations. Your post was absolutely useless to anyone including you. You need a much larger vocabulary of suitable words to express yourself with.

Peter Pony, Alabama U.S.A. Perhaps .... '.... if you had behaved in a more civilized manner, waited in line like everyone else before tossing your bag on the only available chair, and demonstrated some manners, none of this would have happened.' Irrelevant. Speculation. Space filler. 'Customers like you are NOT always right,' What about all of the other customers who are not just like the author? Are they always right or always wrong? 'nor are they generally welcome in a place of business.' Generalization. Speculation. 'Before you behave like this again in the future,' Behave like what again? 'keep in mind that most any store has the right to refuse service to anyone at any time.' Define 'most any store'. Why not all stores? '.... if you had behaved in a more civilized manner,' From your post, the uncivilized bad attitude winner is you Peter. Your bad attitude and apparent contempt for the author beats the manager attitude and the Author attitude by a long way. See you soon. Clean up your act!

No. The customer is not always right. Sometimes the customer is a self-involved jackass who was never weaned off of the d****e nozzle. Sometimes the customer is a person with a sense of powerlessness that makes the self-loathing kick in, and the only way they can get their kicks is to hassle service workers. The customer is not always right. That's just some BS that marketing people spill out of their mouths to make you want to come into their establishment and give them your money. You're not always right. Get that idiot notion out of your oddly shaped and oily head. I'm waiting for the day when I can go to a restaurant and observe a patron abusing a server. I will request a manager and I will say, "that man/woman is abusing your server, and if you in any way reward him/her for being an idiot moron, I will never come back to this establishment." In fact, I want every person who has ever worked in a customer service field to stand up for people like themselves. I don't work for the public anymore, but I still want the idea that the customer is always right abolished. It gives people the excuse to act badly. It gives them some sort of smug god-complex that makes me want to kick their teeth in. This was all bogus and not a valid case for the Rip-off Report. It should go to the Whiny Mama's Boy Report instead. God. Someone grab the violin already. Our pal over here didn't get his free coffee! He wants his free coffee! He was wronged! Someone in the service industry actually called him out! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

.... if you had behaved in a more civilized manner, waited in line like everyone else before tossing your bag on the only available chair, and demonstrated some manners, none of this would have happened. Customers like you are NOT always right, nor are they generally welcome in a place of business. Before you behave like this again in the future, keep in mind that most any store has the right to refuse service to anyone at any time.

I can't possibly know the circumstances surrounding your claim but I have to be honest when I say I don't believe them at all. Sorry. Perhaps it really did all happen the way you said it did and I don't know the truth or lies of this matter so I can't REALLY tell anyone what happened. But what I can tell you is this: I have worked in food service all my life and I have met and dealt with my fair share of bad employees, customers, etc. I have NEVER EVER heard of a manager walking up to a customer without provocation, without reason, without a hassle and saying "get out." It just doesn't happen unless the manager happens to be a crazed psychopath. I find it VERY hard to believe you were as diplomatic and as nice as your post claims you were. You claim you have been going to this Starbucks for 7 years. You said, quote: "One morning like the last about 7 years of mornings(give or take) I went in to the starbucks to get my coffee. " So when you say that I have to assume you mean you've been going to this particular starbucks shop for 7 years or so. If that's the case I have to assume that most, if not all of the employees know you, know you by name, and that probably includes the manager in question unless he is super new. Your claims and reasons 1. I am a customer, your job is to make me like your attitude, not approve of or disapprove of mine, it is not your concern. Im sure starbucks can find someone else who wants to sell their product with a smile on their face. No. You are wrong. The employees job is NOT to make you "like" their atitude or yours. Your attitude is COMPLETELY their concern. And yes, you're correct, Starbucks could probably replace them with someone else at a moments notice if they so desired. Their JOB is to serve you, to give you what you ask for, and to try to accomodate you whenever possible. It is NOT to take your crap for no reason and no matter how you choose to dish it out. They are servers, employees, humans. Not slaves. 2. Starbucks has always had this incredible image of being a cool place that you just go to and hang out with your friends, it always has. are they moving away from this image? Just because one starbucks store out of 50,000 gave you a problem doesn't mean the entire company is wrong or is moving away from a certain image or stance. File your grievance with THIS store and do not try to understand or anticipate the entire stance of this international corporation based on the activities of one location. Again, I'm not saying you're lying but if your issue is with ONE store then keep it at ONE store and don't presume the entire company is to blame for the actions of one idiot in one store. 3. Promises were made by Starbucks CSR. Where are they?? It would really be in the best intersts of Starbucks to throw you a few coupons, make an appology, etc... and basically do all the damage control you'd expect a large company to do. Why they haven't done so I cannot say. It actually surprises me that they haven't thrown you something. 4. When you have spent $7k in coffee in the last 6-7 years, do you deserve the bad treatment? Recently I read Mc-donalds Beat starbucks in a coffee taste test (kinda like the pepsi-coke challenge of the 80's). Again, just because one store angered you doesn't mean that the whole company is wrong or bad. I personally hate Starbucks coffee and would only drink it if I was desperate for a cup of joe or really tired. AND again, if you've really been going there that long then I find it hard to beleive that the store employees and management don't know you and would give you such a hard time. If you've REALLY been going to this starbucks for 6 or 7 years then the employees should know you, the manager should know you, and no one would give you hard time... IF you were a good customer. 5. THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! No. They're not. That sentiment is a basic marketing/management tool that basically means, in practice, "do whatever you can to please the customer and make them happy with their product, service, experience, etc." It is not the end all/be all of the service industry. It is NOT written in stone. Sometimes the customer is wrong. VERY Wrong. And sometimes there are customers that we'd rather not have and don't care if we anger or alienate. I'll give you an example. Let's say I work in a restaurant and you come in. You order something, get your food and for whatever reason you have a problem with it. Let's say you ordered a steak well done and you get it... and it's rare. That's a problem I can deal with. I'll take that steak back into the kitchen and ask them to cook it longer. Then I'll bring your steak back to you when its cooked as you asked. If you still have an issue, maybe I'll offer you something else, take that steak off your bill, buy you a round of drinks, etc. IF, however, you eat the entire steak and THEN tell me you have a problem with it.. there's nothing I can do for you. You ate the whole steak, you said nothing, you cleaned your plate and NOW you want to take issue with it? Sorry. That's not how things work. you don't accept, take, and (eat) the product and then say you have a grievance. You don't eat the steak and THEN say you didn't like it. You say it at the first bite, when you realize something is wrong. You don't drink the coffee and THEN say you didn't like it. You say it after the first sip when you realize something is not to your liking. You don't buy a pair of shoes, wear them, use them, and then 6 months later try to return them. Address the problem when the problem arises. That's my message. The customer is always right... except when they're wrong. And yes, they are sometimes wrong. Like I said, I can't know exactly what happened that day in the starbucks, but unless the entire staff and management is crazy I find it VERY hard to believe it went down the way you claim it went down. "The manager then told me "I dont like your attitude, you need to leave". I said "you cant do that, i'm a customer". the manager replied with "I can do whatever I want". I was forced to leave." With regard to that exchange... again I don't know the particular circumstances involved and I don't the law in California which is where you are posting from but I DO know that here in New York a food service establishment can refuse service to anyone at anytime for any reason so long as it is not in violation of civil rights. In other words as long as they're not refusing you service because of your race, color, or creed... they can tell you to take off. And let me tell you, no one is going to tell a loyal 7 year long customer to get out unless theres a d**n good reason for it. According to you, you've been going to this store for 6-7 years. And on this particular day, after 6-7 years the manager gave you a problem for sitting and waiting for the line to disperse. After 6-7 years of patronage you were given a bad attitude and asked to leave. After 6-7 years of going to this store EVERY morning you were given a hard time by the staff and management through no fault of your own, no provocation, and no reason.. I'm sorry but I find that VERY hard to believe. I think it's easier to believe that you're not a very good customer. I think it's easier to believe that there's more to this story then you're telling us. I think it's easier to believe that things didn't happen just the way you said without any culpability on your part. Either way... I don't know what happened. But I do know that Starbucks is an international corporation and the fact that one store in one state in one town may have treated you poorly is no reason to smear the entire company. Perhaps this store handled things poorly and its employees behaved badly. But that's no reason to hate on the entire company. And trust me, if I'm defending Starbucks, then something doesn't add up.

Sorry that your issue was not resolved correctly. You can contact me at my at my store in indio (look it up on the web) ask for tinman and I will get your info and give it to my district manager so he can contact that district manager and help you out

Sorry that your issue was not resolved correctly. You can contact me at my at my store in indio (look it up on the web) ask for tinman and I will get your info and give it to my district manager so he can contact that district manager and help you out

Sorry that your issue was not resolved correctly. You can contact me at my at my store in indio (look it up on the web) ask for tinman and I will get your info and give it to my district manager so he can contact that district manager and help you out

Sorry that your issue was not resolved correctly. You can contact me at my at my store in indio (look it up on the web) ask for tinman and I will get your info and give it to my district manager so he can contact that district manager and help you out