Maybe they're finally getting rid of the robotic espresso machines?

@theblackdog: Maybe they are going to learn to throw away the stale coffee while they are at it too?

Coffee should NEVER taste like it was roasted with a butane torch.

The closing shouldn't affect us to much. If they plan it right, we can all just walk across the block to the next one.

"We believe that this is a bold demonstration of our commitment to our core and a reaffirmation of our coffee leadership."

That, and we think $6 for a cup of coffee is a darn good deal.

Starbucks jokes aside, I can comment on this better as a current employee.

The automatic espresso machines only automatically pull shots. You still have to steam a pitcher of milk like a regular machine (even though the steam wands have a different shape and can shut off automatically at 150 degrees). Also, they're training employees on how to tweak the machines, look for quality standards, etc. It's part of Howie's master plan.

@cunnij98: Starbucks espresso based lattes are similar in price to any coffee shop. When you pay for a LATTE, you pay for shots of espresso (which run about 50cents to $1.50 a piece at most places), labor that it takes to steam the milk and pull the shots, flavored syrups, the milk itself, and whipped cream if the drink calls for it. A cup of brewed coffee runs $1.75-$2.07, similar in price to most coffee stores.

You can knock the quality all you want to, but ignorance about pricing schemes and complaining that it's too expensive gets on my nerves.

It will not change a damn thing unless the train their managers to care and enforce policy. Which is a shame.

*they

@jesseraub:

My beef isn't with the corporate stores... It's those damn licensed locations that are always screwing up my drinks! Re-train them!

Can we just have one giant "StaRBuX iz Teh SuX0r!" and get it over with. It's so tiring.

I go to my local Starbucks 2x a day during the week. The staff is friendly,the place is clean, the "fixin's bar" is always stocked, and the coffee is always fresh.

And it's a whopping $0.12 more than the local convienence store glop.

making sure your esperesso shots are poured correctly warrants re-education. making sure your employees don't treat your customers like shit, on the other hand, warrants a "we take this seriously" press release.

They're touting this as a good thing, but this just kinda screams to me, "We screwed up somewhere."

hmm...didn't their profits go down recently? I say P.R. stunt.

@Mojosan: glop? the convenience store coffee is probably of a better quality, and a better roast than starbucks'. starbucks coffee is 'flash' roasted, leaving that delicously burned flavor in your mouth. all for only 12 cents more!

Oh how cute! They're having re-education camp!

Isn't the "distinctive" Starbucks flavor just a byproduct of the, uh, BURNING of the beans?

Can we all agree to shut up about how smart we are about coffee roasting and how dumb Starbucks is about it? They've got 7100 stores... *somebody* must like the stuff.

@jesseraub: At Tim Horton's (which has better coffee and a drive-through), the largest coffee there is only $1.74 w/ tax included, but I'm sure that's due to regional variation. If you get to the 7-Eleven or some of the gas stations at the right time, they have quite excellent coffee for $1.05 -- but, you must know what you're getting.

In all cases, I still prefer my own, self-ground, dark roast, use-lots-of-coffee-to-brew-with approach. It's less than a $0.25 per pot if you don't count labor, advertising, and other overhead that I don't have to pay for.

Yes! Maybe someone will learn how to use those ginormous ice scoopers!

Sounds like a good idea. A retrain to make sure the correct portions are used, which should decrease their cost. Similar to airlines limiting 1 olive in every drink).

Now if it actually helps their quality, who knows.

@balthisar: You must live somewhere without much business because the only Starbucks here that don't have a drive-thru is the one located in the mall. (Tim Hortons has great donuts, yum!)

You sure this isn't just Phase 2: [www.theonion.com]

So where are they going to find 7,100 qualified baristas to do all of that training in a single day?

I admit I like Starbucks for their lattes, although I use my french press at home with a Whole Foods blend if I want regular coffee.

Anyways, I'm glad they are doing the training. It amazes me how different the drink can taste depending on who made it. Sometimes they're nasty enough that I have to ask for a replacement, while other times they taste simply wonderful.

I love Starbucks, but what they really need is to teach their baristas how to stir the drink properly after it's all put together so one doesn't encounter all their raw sugar in the last 2 swallows at the bottom.

@Mojosan: Odds are, if you think Starbucks coffee is good, you have never in your life EVER experienced good coffee, and the taste of such would probably lead you to commit suicide for being so stupid into thinking Starbucks was good coffee.

Starbucks improperly roasts coffee, and uses a mostly low quality canephora/robusta blend. Even Dunkin Donuts uses much higher quality beans and roasting, though their staff have a tendency to not properly clean the oils out of their machines.

I actually think the robotic machines have resulted in less consistent coffee, although service is faster.

When the baristas had to actually be trained how to make espresso and had to focus, most really did learn how to make a decent espresso and could consistently make a decent one.

Now it's basically the equivalent of using a soft-drink fountain machine and no one really puts any effort or focus into making the drink how it's supposed to be made. Even though the machine does the work I am amazed how variable so many drinks are.

@conformco: Darnit , ya beat me to it ;) Life imitates Art , indeed.

@boandmichele: Does convenience store cappuccino have actual caffeine? Serious question, I've always wondered since it uses a powder base.

[www.theonion.com]

Gragh! Well played conformco.

I used to work at a Starbucks, and at the store where I was the employees truly cared about the customers and quality of the product. That was a few years ago. Now Starbucks employees seem like they could be outdone by trained monkeys and never follow guidelines on how to make (and NOT make) drinks. It makes me angry.

The other day an employee actually tried to correct ME about how I ordered my drink, when I was the correct one! It's out of hand, and they DO need retrained.

I truly believe it's the fault of the automatic espresso machines being implemented in the stores; the employees really are no more competent than McDonald's employees and just don't care what they are doing.

I worked at Starbucks about 10 years ago and I was impressed with the fact that we had to go through quite a bit of training before being put in the store.

What drives me crazy now, however, is how many baristas make the drink (latte/mocha/whatever) with all the syrups and milk and THEN pour the shot in after the fact. Aside from the fact that it does not dilute the mocha (especially in an iced mocha) and thus it's all globby at the bottom, it makes for a bitter drink because the espresso and milk are not mixed at all. I've noticed this in several stores, it's not just single place problem.

Also -- will this training be given to all Target Starbucks? Man, I've never gotten worse service and drinks.

for any seattlelites reading, a local coffee shop (i believe caffe vita) is giving out one free drink to any customer who comes in while starbucks is closed for training that day. excellent customer service, and thier coffee is wicked-good too. and no, i'm not an employee.

They would be better off retraining the customers.

Lesson One: Read the fucking menu BEFORE you get to the front of the line.

Lesson Two: If there are fifty people behind you, maybe now isn't the time to start asking a hundred questions about the content of the drinks.

Lesson Three: Order and get the hell out of the way. Pick up your coffee DOWN THERE.

Lesson Four: If you can't control your kid, get the hell out! I don't go to read the paper and relax at the McDonalds Playland. Starbucks used to be an oasis of peace and quiet in the city. Now soccer moms use it as a playground.

@Falconfire: There are only arabica beans used in Starbucks coffee. Learn your facts.

@PatrickIs2Smart:
Seconded!

A friend went into the Starbucks-branded Barnes & Noble with me and mentioned he wanted to try a new coffee drink but couldn't decide which one. I told him to order whatever he usually ordered at a real Starbucks - it would be different there.

IMO Starbucks should retrain their staff on customer service. Over the last year I've noticed my local store has taken a turn towards total apathy. Just the other day I steered clear because I remembered the last time I went and the person who took my order and then gave me the coffee said not one word to me. If I walk up to the counter I expect some acknowledgment that the person is ready to take the order. Instead they just stared at me until I spoke. Wasn't even busy in there. This place is one of the new ones that has a drive thru which I blame for the decline in service. Get rid of them! It literally like going in to a McDonalds now. Drive thru, stupid service, bla bla bla.

@Falconfire: Where I live, there's a very limited amount of places I can obtain espresso. One of them happens to be Starbucks. Now, there is a smaller chain a little further away, but surprisingly enough they're both more expensive and poorer in quality than the Starbucks that I frequent.

Believe it or not, I do know quite a bit about coffee. I frequented the independent coffee houses in and around Seattle quite often, worked as a barista through college at one, and although I will happily admit that Starbucks coffee isn't the best, its not that bad. A plain latte there is plenty suitable for consumption.

@jesseraub: Hate to break it to you but your wrong. Unless they recently changed and never mentioned it, their coffee is a blend thats predominately robusta because its cheap.

You will find that even their website doesn't mention anywhere the beans they use because of the fact its not pure arabica.

@jesseraub: Taking a look again, while they do mention having "single bean" coffees, their normal roasts are all blends which means they all are arabica and robusta.

So where do the employees report for re-education?

i kid, i kid, but seriously, unless they're ripping out those aweful verissmo machines, no amount of "training" is going to do a damn bit of good. Those machines don't make anything approaching esspresso.

As a coffee house proprietor, I've learned that the barista must care or the drink will be an ashtray in a cup, regardless of how well they're trained.

@jesseraub:

Would explain some of the taste issues. Good espresso blend contains some to add body to the blend.

Automatic systems must still have the grinder calibrated to produce the right fineness to give a proper shot. Dosing, tamping, etc are all consistant, the grind is the variable.
My guess is that they dont do that calibration, or they would not pull 8 second shots instead of 25 to 35.

@bdgbill:
Agreed!

Everyone is joking about this, but I really think it's great that they are noticing the decline in their coffee standards, because it certainly is noticeable from the consumer end.

Starbucks used to be a good source for a consistent cup of coffee, mixed with a straightforward atmosphere that you could depend on. And while it may not have been the best-tasting coffee (I actually like slightly over-roasted beans; i.e. burnt haha), and while it may not have been the coolest atmosphere, that's what made them so successful so quickly.

The fact that I could be in New York and be in Los Angeles and get the same drink made to precise specifications so that it tasted exactly the same was a big deal to me, as I like the consistency where everything else in my life is so much more chaotic.

Not so much anymore, however. Now I I go into a Starbucks and I have to beg them to put three FULL pumps of that concentrated chai syrup into my grande chai latte, instead of 10 mini pumps. I'm sure I sound like a jerk, but for $4 a cup, I kind of want it to be the drink I expect.

So while this may seems like a PR stunt, and while the vast majority of employees will think they know everything already and be so "too cool for school" that they don't even listen to the trainer, it will at the very least send a signal to both employee and customer alike.

So there you have it. Let it rip, o' opinionated and often angry online community. I'd like to see where this goes. :-)

BTW, to all those up there who are questioning it, Starbucks in fact only uses arabica beans, even in its blends. That's a fairly easy fact to check.

Also, sorry for the grammatical gaffes in my previous post.

@Gilbert: Then find it, their website doesnt say it anywhere, even in their FAQ, and Coffeegeek did a test of their beans which proved it was not in fact Arabica.

@Falconfire:

They hint in lots of ways:

Starbucks buys only the highest quality arabica coffees available, beans whose flavor develops fully through the Starbucks Roast

[www.starbucks.com]

However, that statement does not preclude buying Robust of any quality. It just says they are picky about the Arabica.

My question is how many of each store's employees are getting trained and are they all getting it done on the clock. This military style stand-down sure seems like a waste of resources.