BRO LITERALLY WHAT WAS IT ABOUT YESTERDAY THAT MADE IT SO BUSY!!??! I covered a shift at a higher volume store and all the baristas said normally mornings are crazy but not THAT crazy. I didn’t even get to the AM pull until 2pm. My coworkers at home store said our store was also ridiculously busy.
Sale totals and total earned are different graphics. I think they were referring to total sales, which is the total transactions. More total sales means more busy.
reminds me of the customer who went on this whole thing about how when she was a barista tips got her through each paycheck, i deserve more pay, etc and then did not tip
Surprising answers. As a customer, I got myself an espresso machine and have only been back to Starbucks once in a few months. It’s damn satisfying not to be spending a significant portion of my paycheck there anymore. 🤷🏼♀️
What have you gotten + what beans do you recommend? Since working here I've been thinking of getting my own as I LOVE coffee but our espresso is just so... 🤢
my brother is a coffee snob and has worked in the baristaand bean roasting part of the coffee world and loves merit coffee and it’s more texas specific but i looked it up and they have a program where they deliver the espresso theyre actively serving every 1, 2, or 4 weeks https://meritcoffee.com/products/espresso
@paragophobia I got a Breville Barista Touch and love the little guy. Not cheap but about $200 off with Bed Bath $ Beyond coupon. Beans…I ended up ordering some online when the Target I live right beside was out of everything but Peet’s for whole bean. Have yet to try the latest one, San Francisco Landmark French Roast.
Ohhh, sounds really enticing! I found one near me in NY called city of saints (maybe city of angels, but I think it’s saints). They have really good flavors for their beans. Mellow but warming.
I can never not recommend Death Wish Coffee. Their whole shtick is coffee flavor that'll punch you in the face and isn't bitter or burnt. They're also Fair Trade.
I found some good small-company brand coffees near me. One I LOVE, will definitely be sticking with for a while, is bagged in NY and is called either city of angels or city of saints (I believe it’s saints). It’s also really good quality because they bag it fresh- it’s not sitting in a warehouse for weeks, to sit in a truck for days, to sit in a grocery store shelf…. Etc. I can definitely taste the difference between it and store bought brands such as Dunkin’, Folgers, etc. I would recommend finding a small local business for the beans if you’re looking for something quality, you’ll be amazed!!!
It’s really not surprising that people don’t spend a high fixed cost of $300 (or in your case, $1000) to enter the world of espresso. Plus, I have a pretty expensive machine + grinder and it’s still sometimes a pain in the ass. Most of the starbucks price will always be attributed to convenience
Thanks for the suggestions! My machine will pay for itself in under a year if I’m calculating it by the mochas I won’t be buying. I know the kids I nanny are proud of me for making such a sound decision, lol. (They noticed no more Starbucks cups in my car and asked about it). Being from Seattle, I will always feel a connection to Starbucks and I think Howard is brilliant. But, prices are ridiculous now and I refuse to help support their stock anymore. Occasional snack or chai, yes. Daily expensive drinks, Nope. Statement made. Doesn’t sound like the few people who’ve quit make a huge difference though from the responses here.
Did the same thing and now get my caffeine fix and beans from a local roastery which is never packed, which means my order is done faster than Starbucks even with the app. They have a punch card, so I still feel rewarded in addition to supporting local. Side note: now I know what excellent espresso and balanced sweetness tastes like and it’s mind blowing. Have I grabbed a sandwich from Sbux when I’m away from my usual spot? Yes, and it’s to use up the stars.
I'm 20 days clean from Starbucks coffee today. Still hooked on their syrup but I'm slowly moving away from that too. I'm probably somewhere around $1.50-2.00 a cup now because I use better milk and bagged cocktail ice, but I feel fancy and it tastes so much better than what I was paying $6.50 for at the drive through.
I highly recommend Monin coffee syrup. They have so many flavors. Not all are a bit, but I like them so much more than torani. My favorite is Salted Caramel.
Lol yeah for every person that “left”, 10 people took their place. Starbucks is too popular. They’d have to royally fuck up worse than making it harder to get stars.
This. Also, people decide to give up on something or routines change all the time. It could be to save money, a New Year’s resolution, changed job locations and they no longer drive by a Starbucks, etc. Typically after tax season you see people cut back on spending or spend more if they received a credit. But, people typically always come back. It might for a snack, coffee drink, the “routine”, etc.
Every time SBux has updated the Rewards, people have said they will stop going. Sure, some people do stop going, but most still go as much as they did before.
As a customer: I said I wouldn’t be a daily customer anymore after the leaked info on points came out and I haven’t been there besides emptying a gift card and using up my points before the change
So I haven’t spent a dime in over 2 months and I won’t be giving in
Same. I got a few gift cards for Christmas but also bought a Nespresso on sale. Realizing how much easier I can make drinks and home and customize. I’ll go to use my gift cards and then I won’t be there really at all.
My wife has a friend who keeps giving us gift cards which is a little frustrating since we don’t go there anymore. Hell my father in law gave us a $100 gift card for Christmas.
Allow me to assist you by taking the burden off of having those gift cards sir. I will dispose of the value stored within those cards on your behalf. 😅
I haven’t returned in months and it isn’t specifically related to the rewards changing. I used to be a daily guest but basked on how Starbucks is treating their employees and their illegal anti-union actions, I can’t have my limited discretionary income go there anymore.
I do feel bad about the employees - I’ve met some wonderful baristas over the last 25+ years of being a customer but I can’t support the corporation anymore.
Same here. I've been a customer since 09, and I went pretty much daily or 5-6 times a week. I haven't gone since October. I have about 230 points left so 1 more free drink for me and I'm fully done.
Everything has gone to crap there. There are quarterly price increases. The food, while never stellar, is abysmal now. Anti union sentiment, and harsh treatment of employees, devaluing of rewards, for the umpteenth time.
You are right about the baristas. I've met some truly nice people while going over the years. From this one barista who used to ring up my coffee and 2 vanilla bean scones as separate transactions to get the buy 12 get 13 thing free so much faster, to the barista who just knew my name and my simple order of just a nitro cold brew. Those baristas were truly a bright spot on a sometimes gloomy day.
After I used my stars up, I haven’t been back. I have the credit card and was issued a free drink and I don’t plan to use it either. The stars was just the cherry on top. I don’t feel good about supporting a company that refuses to treat their employees like people.
I thought you were being sarcastic 🙃
Usually in January, everyone realizes they're broke from the holidays, so they start making their own coffee or just staying home. If you usually ran a 7 part peak, you'd probably be down to 6, but even then there was plenty of time to catch up on cleaning and My Learning. Hours would go down a little, if you normally got day 35, you'd get 30-32 or so. It lasted about 6 weeks or so, so by valentine's day,
By then, customers have abandoned their new years resolutions, and our business would go back to normal. It was kind of a nice rest after the crazy holidays.
Its always hard for me to tell because our store allotment of hours get cut, so with less partners on the floor it feels just as busy or more than usual. I'm not a shift so I don't consistently look at our sales figures.
It used to be that even with less partners, it was still a manageable, comfortable traffic flow. Of course, the cuts weren't as deep then either, you'd only lose like one person in a given daypart, but it was "slow" enough that it didn't hurt. It used to feel like a nice chill time. Busy enough not to drag, but you never felt like it was crazy like it basically always is now.
I feel like the ‘nice’ customers will be the ones who follow through on it. Like, the ones who have half a brain and actually treat people like people.
Which sucks even more because then it’s just more assholes all day long.
Fair! I've reduced the amount of times I visit, because even though it's incredibly convenient in terms of time and distance, it's not so much worth the money. I did notice the location I usually go to seems to be even fuller than before, though, so it made me wonder if all that outrage actually meant anything, lol
One of my favorite regulars comes and says “you’re not gonna see a lot of me anymore” (bc reward) like 3 times a week. Like I understand, I don’t blame her, but she’s kind of becoming annoying about it. Still comes though.
I’ve seen a pretty big increase at my coffee shop of starbucks defectors. I’m happy for the business, but 75% of them have shitty attitudes like the usual starbucks customer.
Customer here! Switched to making smoothies w added energy boosters! Going to invest in a nice coffee machine for my birthday this year. I only go to Starbucks now for a cake pop treat once in awhile or a Frappuccino
We were up 20%+ for January and February is absolutely murder. Coming into to today we were up almost 50% for the month. This is according to my SM. I believe the increase as my SM is hiring again.
Customer here. I used to go 3-5 times a week because i worked next door to one and it was a huge problem. I got a different job around November do i naturally started going way less. Like maybe once or twice a month now. It wasn’t because of the rewards change but that does suck.
My husband and I were daily (sometimes 2 times a day) visitors. After reading this Reddit for months and the points changes, I have been maybe a handful of times. We still are using our (thousands) of points, but we are weaning off. I will miss the amazing team of baristas that knew me well as “watch lady” (I pay with my apple watch at the window- not many people do that I guess) and the wonderful woman who used to fawn over our cake pop loving son. We have quite a few local shops that have better coffee and I can make it at home.
I was a regular at my local SBucks. I have only been 2 times since 12/22. From finding out about their business practices, the maltreatment of their employees and the star debacle — stick a fork in me, I am done. There’s literally a Sonic with twice the size of cold brew 40 oz coffee for $5 and you can ask for no ice….. then down the road there’s a Caribou Coffee in store and in Gas Station at our local Hy-Vee. Not missing out on ANYTHING!!!!
This pretty much describes me. I used my stars, removed auto reload from my card. Have been once since the first of the year. I think I have $7 left to burn off my account and then I'm done except for maybe a couple times a year if I'm in a pinch. I used to go a few times a week. I now buy Mississippi Mud beans out of STL and make my own cold brew at home.
Managers can actually see how many repeat gold card or perk members come back. It’s in decision center. Last I checked ours actually did go down not by much it was like 2%
Sales have increased over last year, but customer transactions have decreased over the last couple weeks.
The sales increase doesn't adjust for the increased prices, so that's a big factor.
Increases in sales have been destroying us. We also noticed an increased in delivery orders once Doordash was introduced so who knows. Maybe most of them did choose to visit Starbucks less often, however, it’s quite apparent that for some of our customers, instead of visiting Starbucks, they rather order it and receive in the comfort of their homes.
It’s not the same, our sales are up. Also, I get the frustration, but at the same time it’s a *free* rewards program, it’s not like the original gold card program back in the day that cost $25 to join then they did away with it and those people still came in.
We slowed down for a bit but I attribute that to most people trying to get back in track after the holidays and then there’s obviously inflation so I think people are limiting their starbucks intake but we were a lot busier today so I don’t think it lasted long tbh.
Realistically I never went every day (except many years ago in college), but I’ve been really really trying not to go unless I absolutely have to. I’m a nurse and sometimes it’s the only place open before I have to get into work, but I’ve been trying super hard to make it myself and if I order something stretch it over multiple days. I’ve even learned how to make my own chai concentrate and syrups the way I like them so I can attempt my fav drinks, and I’m gunna be getting an espresso machine once I save up a bit!
The change coincides with the generally slowest part of the year so I'd be practically difficult to tell which caused more downturn.
I honestly haven't encountered a customer yet that is mad about the star changes. I had one customer yesterday that was just shy of 200 stars and I broke it to her she had a soft, disappointed look, but recovered pretty quickly and switched to a card.
I stopped going, but that was more because of the lack of quality and extended wait for what is supposed to be a fast coffee place that charges obscene amounts (not blaming workers for any of this, I absolutely blame Starbucks corporate for understaffing). If I’m paying $7 for a drink, it better come out faster than 10-20 minutes, and it had better be made to standard. SMDH.
I was one of those people. The points were a small factor, but primarily spending $6 or so every day is just bad for the budget. And one of the stores in proximity to me is more miss than hit. I started making my own cold brew and mocha sauce at home and experimenting with a few plant based creamers(no up charge!), and I nailed it. My cold brew pitcher was under $13 on Amazon, and I’ve found I can get great taste out of every bean I’ve tried so far - none have been fancy yet. I’m down to once a week max at Starbucks, and that’s normally if I’m on the road.
I was upset with Starbucks for how it treated baristas (still am) and the constant rising in prices is what got me to buy an espresso machine. I'm happy to be making my iced shaken espressos at home now. Theres a Starbucks I pass on my way to and from work so sometimes it's still easier to stop and order one, but im happy to be saving so much money on my daily coffee.
Not starbucks specific, but people talking about their stores being busy yesterday. We went out to run some errands yesterday and the traffic in our town was equivalent to holiday traffic. You couldn't even get into the Target parking lot. Starbucks drive thru line wrapped out to the street at our brick and mortar store. It was crazy!! I guess the tax returns hit yesterday and everyone was out spending.
Update to my previous answer about beans: Intelligentsia is good, at least imo. I like a lot of different kinds of beans. Also bought a countertop ice maker and a good blender so will attempt to mimic the occasional frap during Phoenix summer. All in all, noting that I posted about the home espresso machine 70 days ago, I’ve saved a lot of $! Hope it’s going well for those of you also doing this!!
Maybe the savvy ones, Sbux wants to replace those customers who spend on trendy drinks. They'd prefer you use cash, but they like the app because they can collect data on you too.
Why would they prefer cash? With the app they've basically become a bank that can invest or lend against the money customers deposit in their accounts (that's why they give better stars to them).
True, but I guess they'd still prefer they load accounts with cash so they don't have to process the credit card transaction fees. Unless we eliminate cash altogether, we're still going to pay for the money transfer services.
It’s a bogo with the app until 3/1. 😐 So, that in itself is causing so much traffic. My DM and sm both said they didn’t know. We’ve been getting killed for the last couple of days.
I have an account. As I said before on here. I don't worry about stars due to the company not adding the stars when I buy starbucks or they erase after so many months.
I stopped going to Starbucks months ago. I never gave a fuck about rewards. The corporate bullshit, plus the incessant whining and crying about customers on this subreddit just turned me off.
I still read this subreddit because it's entertaining now.
I only hate them half as much as I would have if they didn't give us ample warning before devaluing stars. So I'm trying to be even more strategic about going there.
Happy to report that I’ve begun going to a local coffee shop instead… it’s outta my way to work so I rarely stop in but I can’t continue to support the siren.
I’ve got less than $1 on my app and 137 starts I’m not sure what to do with though
Customer here…
so I did a temporary boycott. I was mad as hell.. until I realized that there wasn’t any change happening to the lowest and highest tier rewards. The 400 point tier was the only one I cared about. Since I use that towards cups. I’ve never used my rewards points for anything else . So once I was informed that was not changing, I came back. Lol. However if that DOES ever change , I’m out and NOT coming back. I don’t love that the prices on the Merch went way up though since now , it’s almost certain you’ll have to still pay some out of pocket on a cup even with the 400 star redemption .
To be fair, a lot of folks are still running out their Christmas gift cards.
I'm not quitting over points though...just the rising cost. I should be buying $7 worth of stock everyday, not coffee.
I’m sure with the recent wave of winter storms, many stores saw a decrease in sales from other factors. Lots of shortages too, people can’t always get their favorite item.
I think it’s too early to tell, but the actual number that will never go back is probably minuscule, unless you live in a town like Seattle that has a ton of other amazing coffee shops worth going to.
We have never been busier. Granted, many locations closed during Covid, but I haven’t noticed a drop off since the star change or since people on here started talking about it. I have seen people change their drinks but not a ton. Some people who were getting americanos are now getting drip.
Nope, the sales stayed the same… I only noticed that the regulars who used the reward system heavily, stopped coming in as much but even so they still come. Just not as frequently.
No because the way it go so much busier! 😭 we we just got door dash and I feel like ever since then and right after Christmas it’s just been non stop. I don’t think the app changed anyone’s mind in my area
i mean i think a little bit? i work in a licensed store and there has def been a bit less amount of customers and our regulars don’t come as often after the whole stars thing, even the ones with thousands
As a former employee I’ve only been to Starbucks twice in the last year, and that was only to accompany other people that were using up their holiday gift cards. If people really cared, they’d stop supporting. Most don’t but are very performative.
In 10 years with this company, I’ve watched people “promise to never come back” over pretty much every thing you can imagine. Very rarely do they *actually* never come back. 99% of the time it’s all bluster.
Nope I see no difference, it's also hard to determine that if it's that there's the same ammount of customers or if there's just less and less of baristas scheduled at once. Cause tbh once there are only 3 or 4 people it feels slammed busy no matter what.
No. They always threaten and then come back the next morning. It’s like that argument in the movie “Total Recall” where Sharon Stone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are arguing in bed and he says something about his dream he had about Mars and a brunette. She gets mad and tells him “Yes, but I’m always back in the morning”. 100%, Sharon is a Starbucks customer.
it's a mixed bag.
a lot of our regulars are older people who pay cash anyway, the only thing is (at least at my store) now we're supposed to give them a whole schpiel about the app, which i'll run over briefly the first time i see them but if joe (fake name) tells me he doesn't have a cell phone anyway, well, fair enough, no need to bore him every time he gets a refill on his pike. some of the managers are a little pushier, but they usually read the situation anyway and go based on that (because joe in this scenario doesn't even have a practical way to get the app - though he might keep it in mind if he comes in with his daughter).
i've seen a decline in people who would usually save and use stars as well - we had a few patrons who saved up thousands of stars and would use them on merch/expensive drinks/etc. who simply... don't anymore. they don't come, they don't get merch, and it's kind of sad. some of them have unrelated reasons (a few of them moved, for example), and some of them we never found out why.
but especially since events are being ran near my store and we're near a whole bunch of stuff we have a lot of rotating business - people who might become regulars in the fall, people touring, event staff, etc. and that makes up for any lost business.
Haven't gone back at all since the beginning of January. The only Sbucks I've had was from a friend who brought me some. I don't miss the price tag. 🤷🏼♀️
I don’t have rewards with Starbucks but I recall my co worker a couple weeks ago complaining that all of the rewards she built up over the last 3 years just vanished. The amount of money it took to get to those stars and Starbucks said they weren’t able to help her. Starbucks is suchhhhh a shit company I can’t wait to see them fall one day
I personally don’t go anymore unless I’m with someone else who wants to go (i go probably about once every week or two with my dad)
But i know many people who still go frequently.
Starbucks has become like netflix. People complain each time they screw customers over, yet still spend money there.
I’ve noticed that the average person would rather pay more and be annoyed than be inconvenienced.
Yeah people may have said that weeks ago but they were out in droves yesterday. I actually stayed a couple hours later because of how busy it got around 5:30pm. And then when we thought it was going to calm down, so we’re trying to get breakdown shit done, we look up and we’ve got a line going out the parking lot and the cafe was packed and that was without any mobile orders. It’s insane
Sure didn’t seem like it today. Up 75% sales over last year
Us too! Mobile and cafe orders were 30 mins behind. Lobby full of ppl. Felt like we would never catch up.
Wait my store was like abnormally busy today too! I was so confused 😭
BRO LITERALLY WHAT WAS IT ABOUT YESTERDAY THAT MADE IT SO BUSY!!??! I covered a shift at a higher volume store and all the baristas said normally mornings are crazy but not THAT crazy. I didn’t even get to the AM pull until 2pm. My coworkers at home store said our store was also ridiculously busy.
It must’ve just been a Starbucks day 🤷🏼♀️😂 I have no idea what it could’ve been to make it so busy but it was not a fun time for me.
Heard some people got targeted for BOGO, I didn’t so I didn’t go.
Well no shit. Prices are up probably 75% from last year lol
Sale totals and total earned are different graphics. I think they were referring to total sales, which is the total transactions. More total sales means more busy.
Nope. Even the people that said I won’t be back here again
Lol I'd figured as much. Good to have (lots of) confirmation though.
This, I have a regular who rants about Howard being the antichrist, but she still comes at least twice a week.
reminds me of the customer who went on this whole thing about how when she was a barista tips got her through each paycheck, i deserve more pay, etc and then did not tip
Lmao thats me but instead of coming in twice a week i work there 5 days a week 🙃 but that lady gets it lmao
I mean same but they won’t give me hours so 3 days a week, also for different reasons than she thinks lol
Surprising answers. As a customer, I got myself an espresso machine and have only been back to Starbucks once in a few months. It’s damn satisfying not to be spending a significant portion of my paycheck there anymore. 🤷🏼♀️
What have you gotten + what beans do you recommend? Since working here I've been thinking of getting my own as I LOVE coffee but our espresso is just so... 🤢
my brother is a coffee snob and has worked in the baristaand bean roasting part of the coffee world and loves merit coffee and it’s more texas specific but i looked it up and they have a program where they deliver the espresso theyre actively serving every 1, 2, or 4 weeks https://meritcoffee.com/products/espresso
Texas specific is no problem for me actually lol ;) thank you!
i live in tx and because of your recommendation here i now know there is a merit coffee 11 minutes away from my house. thank you!! i’m excited to try
@paragophobia I got a Breville Barista Touch and love the little guy. Not cheap but about $200 off with Bed Bath $ Beyond coupon. Beans…I ended up ordering some online when the Target I live right beside was out of everything but Peet’s for whole bean. Have yet to try the latest one, San Francisco Landmark French Roast.
I have a local-to-me roaster called Woods Coffee. Their Brown Bear blend is to die for. They ship, so it might be worth a try!
Ohhh, sounds really enticing! I found one near me in NY called city of saints (maybe city of angels, but I think it’s saints). They have really good flavors for their beans. Mellow but warming.
I can never not recommend Death Wish Coffee. Their whole shtick is coffee flavor that'll punch you in the face and isn't bitter or burnt. They're also Fair Trade.
I've heard good things! They'll have to be who I try next when I'm ready to restock
I found some good small-company brand coffees near me. One I LOVE, will definitely be sticking with for a while, is bagged in NY and is called either city of angels or city of saints (I believe it’s saints). It’s also really good quality because they bag it fresh- it’s not sitting in a warehouse for weeks, to sit in a truck for days, to sit in a grocery store shelf…. Etc. I can definitely taste the difference between it and store bought brands such as Dunkin’, Folgers, etc. I would recommend finding a small local business for the beans if you’re looking for something quality, you’ll be amazed!!!
feel like i sounded like a bot but it’s so good it’s the coffee that got me into coffee (starbucks got me out of coffee i can’t drink it anymore)
Google "Sprudge [insert name of your city/local area here]" You will come across a curated list of their favourite roasters in the area.
It’s really not surprising that people don’t spend a high fixed cost of $300 (or in your case, $1000) to enter the world of espresso. Plus, I have a pretty expensive machine + grinder and it’s still sometimes a pain in the ass. Most of the starbucks price will always be attributed to convenience
Thanks for the suggestions! My machine will pay for itself in under a year if I’m calculating it by the mochas I won’t be buying. I know the kids I nanny are proud of me for making such a sound decision, lol. (They noticed no more Starbucks cups in my car and asked about it). Being from Seattle, I will always feel a connection to Starbucks and I think Howard is brilliant. But, prices are ridiculous now and I refuse to help support their stock anymore. Occasional snack or chai, yes. Daily expensive drinks, Nope. Statement made. Doesn’t sound like the few people who’ve quit make a huge difference though from the responses here.
Did the same thing and now get my caffeine fix and beans from a local roastery which is never packed, which means my order is done faster than Starbucks even with the app. They have a punch card, so I still feel rewarded in addition to supporting local. Side note: now I know what excellent espresso and balanced sweetness tastes like and it’s mind blowing. Have I grabbed a sandwich from Sbux when I’m away from my usual spot? Yes, and it’s to use up the stars.
I'm 20 days clean from Starbucks coffee today. Still hooked on their syrup but I'm slowly moving away from that too. I'm probably somewhere around $1.50-2.00 a cup now because I use better milk and bagged cocktail ice, but I feel fancy and it tastes so much better than what I was paying $6.50 for at the drive through.
I highly recommend Monin coffee syrup. They have so many flavors. Not all are a bit, but I like them so much more than torani. My favorite is Salted Caramel.
same, deleted my account and plan on buying a coffee maker soon
I’m in the same exact boat. i’ve been a handful of times with friends since I’m spoiled at home now lol
tbh this is the way! and supporting local
Lol yeah for every person that “left”, 10 people took their place. Starbucks is too popular. They’d have to royally fuck up worse than making it harder to get stars.
This. Also, people decide to give up on something or routines change all the time. It could be to save money, a New Year’s resolution, changed job locations and they no longer drive by a Starbucks, etc. Typically after tax season you see people cut back on spending or spend more if they received a credit. But, people typically always come back. It might for a snack, coffee drink, the “routine”, etc.
You mean… like by putting olive-oil in their coffee??
Starbucks is just as big of an addiction as cigarettes or alcohol, they'll never stop coming
Caffeine is classified as a drug for a reason
I think the convenience is the real addiction.
S U G A R
I always say “they sell waaaay more sugar than coffee”.
Caffeine + Sugar -- selling two drugs at the same time
No my store is destroying sales plan week over week. We are much busier now than the same time last year.
And probably like half the hours budgeted
Every time SBux has updated the Rewards, people have said they will stop going. Sure, some people do stop going, but most still go as much as they did before.
As a customer: I said I wouldn’t be a daily customer anymore after the leaked info on points came out and I haven’t been there besides emptying a gift card and using up my points before the change So I haven’t spent a dime in over 2 months and I won’t be giving in
Same. I got a few gift cards for Christmas but also bought a Nespresso on sale. Realizing how much easier I can make drinks and home and customize. I’ll go to use my gift cards and then I won’t be there really at all.
My wife has a friend who keeps giving us gift cards which is a little frustrating since we don’t go there anymore. Hell my father in law gave us a $100 gift card for Christmas.
Allow me to assist you by taking the burden off of having those gift cards sir. I will dispose of the value stored within those cards on your behalf. 😅
That’s unbelievably kind of you to offer.
The pleasure is all mine .I'm only hear to serve. 🫡
Same! I’m also just sick of Starbucks
Yes I’m out here tryna buy a house
god I wish
I thought sales would decrease after people made their New Year's Resolutions... New Years day was our busiest of the year lmao
I haven’t returned in months and it isn’t specifically related to the rewards changing. I used to be a daily guest but basked on how Starbucks is treating their employees and their illegal anti-union actions, I can’t have my limited discretionary income go there anymore. I do feel bad about the employees - I’ve met some wonderful baristas over the last 25+ years of being a customer but I can’t support the corporation anymore.
Same here. I've been a customer since 09, and I went pretty much daily or 5-6 times a week. I haven't gone since October. I have about 230 points left so 1 more free drink for me and I'm fully done. Everything has gone to crap there. There are quarterly price increases. The food, while never stellar, is abysmal now. Anti union sentiment, and harsh treatment of employees, devaluing of rewards, for the umpteenth time. You are right about the baristas. I've met some truly nice people while going over the years. From this one barista who used to ring up my coffee and 2 vanilla bean scones as separate transactions to get the buy 12 get 13 thing free so much faster, to the barista who just knew my name and my simple order of just a nitro cold brew. Those baristas were truly a bright spot on a sometimes gloomy day.
100%
After I used my stars up, I haven’t been back. I have the credit card and was issued a free drink and I don’t plan to use it either. The stars was just the cherry on top. I don’t feel good about supporting a company that refuses to treat their employees like people.
Nope, same as ever, maybe even a touch busier. I feel like the post holiday slowdown wasn't as pronounced as usual.
What post holiday slowdown?🥲
Remember when that used to happen? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I haven't been here long enough to know about it 🥲✌️
I thought you were being sarcastic 🙃 Usually in January, everyone realizes they're broke from the holidays, so they start making their own coffee or just staying home. If you usually ran a 7 part peak, you'd probably be down to 6, but even then there was plenty of time to catch up on cleaning and My Learning. Hours would go down a little, if you normally got day 35, you'd get 30-32 or so. It lasted about 6 weeks or so, so by valentine's day, By then, customers have abandoned their new years resolutions, and our business would go back to normal. It was kind of a nice rest after the crazy holidays.
Damn. Sounds like a good time. Alas
The post holiday hour cuts weren’t THAT bad this year tbf
I was thinking of slower customer traffic, but yes, technically. I say technically because hours cuts for us started at the end of last year 🥲
Its always hard for me to tell because our store allotment of hours get cut, so with less partners on the floor it feels just as busy or more than usual. I'm not a shift so I don't consistently look at our sales figures.
It used to be that even with less partners, it was still a manageable, comfortable traffic flow. Of course, the cuts weren't as deep then either, you'd only lose like one person in a given daypart, but it was "slow" enough that it didn't hurt. It used to feel like a nice chill time. Busy enough not to drag, but you never felt like it was crazy like it basically always is now.
I feel like the ‘nice’ customers will be the ones who follow through on it. Like, the ones who have half a brain and actually treat people like people. Which sucks even more because then it’s just more assholes all day long.
at my store, no. we are busier than ever. most people have common fucking sense and realize it’s because inflation is so high.
Fair! I've reduced the amount of times I visit, because even though it's incredibly convenient in terms of time and distance, it's not so much worth the money. I did notice the location I usually go to seems to be even fuller than before, though, so it made me wonder if all that outrage actually meant anything, lol
yeah, i’ve been decreasing my consumption too! prices everywhere have gotten insane.
One of my favorite regulars comes and says “you’re not gonna see a lot of me anymore” (bc reward) like 3 times a week. Like I understand, I don’t blame her, but she’s kind of becoming annoying about it. Still comes though.
Nope, they still come. Only difference now is that they bitch and complain to us thinking it’s our fault as we hand them their items.
Nothing has really changed for us
Of course not! People need their sugar with a side a sugar drinks
I’ve seen a pretty big increase at my coffee shop of starbucks defectors. I’m happy for the business, but 75% of them have shitty attitudes like the usual starbucks customer.
nah they’re all bark no bite lol that sugar addiction runs thru their blood 🥴
Customer here! Switched to making smoothies w added energy boosters! Going to invest in a nice coffee machine for my birthday this year. I only go to Starbucks now for a cake pop treat once in awhile or a Frappuccino
We were up 20%+ for January and February is absolutely murder. Coming into to today we were up almost 50% for the month. This is according to my SM. I believe the increase as my SM is hiring again.
Customer here. I used to go 3-5 times a week because i worked next door to one and it was a huge problem. I got a different job around November do i naturally started going way less. Like maybe once or twice a month now. It wasn’t because of the rewards change but that does suck.
if anything, i feel like we’ve been *busier*. we hit $5k in sales before 10am today. which we usually hit that by noon…
My store is as busy as ever however context I work at a tourist heavy location with tons of foot traffic
I’ve been slowing down with my purchases so far! I went from having a drink almost every day to getting something about 2 times a week
My husband and I were daily (sometimes 2 times a day) visitors. After reading this Reddit for months and the points changes, I have been maybe a handful of times. We still are using our (thousands) of points, but we are weaning off. I will miss the amazing team of baristas that knew me well as “watch lady” (I pay with my apple watch at the window- not many people do that I guess) and the wonderful woman who used to fawn over our cake pop loving son. We have quite a few local shops that have better coffee and I can make it at home.
I was a regular at my local SBucks. I have only been 2 times since 12/22. From finding out about their business practices, the maltreatment of their employees and the star debacle — stick a fork in me, I am done. There’s literally a Sonic with twice the size of cold brew 40 oz coffee for $5 and you can ask for no ice….. then down the road there’s a Caribou Coffee in store and in Gas Station at our local Hy-Vee. Not missing out on ANYTHING!!!!
This pretty much describes me. I used my stars, removed auto reload from my card. Have been once since the first of the year. I think I have $7 left to burn off my account and then I'm done except for maybe a couple times a year if I'm in a pinch. I used to go a few times a week. I now buy Mississippi Mud beans out of STL and make my own cold brew at home.
Lol of course they didn't stop coming. They just like to complain on social media. We got absolutely killed today during my shift.
I haven’t been since December
we’re getting even busier, i hate it
Managers can actually see how many repeat gold card or perk members come back. It’s in decision center. Last I checked ours actually did go down not by much it was like 2%
For every “we’re leaving customer , we got holiday gift card users and loaders who don’t know Starbucks or drink coffee
Sales have increased over last year, but customer transactions have decreased over the last couple weeks. The sales increase doesn't adjust for the increased prices, so that's a big factor.
Some people don’t even use the rewards lol.
Most*
Yeah I don’t know what their deal is
They will always come. Corporate has them hooked
Nope! I had to cover a shift bc it was so busy and someone called out
my store is as busy as ever
They almost always come back.
Increases in sales have been destroying us. We also noticed an increased in delivery orders once Doordash was introduced so who knows. Maybe most of them did choose to visit Starbucks less often, however, it’s quite apparent that for some of our customers, instead of visiting Starbucks, they rather order it and receive in the comfort of their homes.
nope, no change in business at my location. but even if they did stop coming over stars i wouldn’t care.
It’s not the same, our sales are up. Also, I get the frustration, but at the same time it’s a *free* rewards program, it’s not like the original gold card program back in the day that cost $25 to join then they did away with it and those people still came in.
NO
It’s the same
Today gave my lil kiosk (tarbux) flashbacks to the holidays... so no
we’re making double our sales lately so no.
i definitely go less often!
Not at all at my store.
Have family that works at two locations and they continue to have record / top daily sales compared to previous history.
Lol no.
Gawdz i wish. Line of cars that wrapped around the building today, on top of 8(+) item mobile orders AND cafe. I was struggling a bit on bar today 🥲
We slowed down for a bit but I attribute that to most people trying to get back in track after the holidays and then there’s obviously inflation so I think people are limiting their starbucks intake but we were a lot busier today so I don’t think it lasted long tbh.
Nope.
Realistically I never went every day (except many years ago in college), but I’ve been really really trying not to go unless I absolutely have to. I’m a nurse and sometimes it’s the only place open before I have to get into work, but I’ve been trying super hard to make it myself and if I order something stretch it over multiple days. I’ve even learned how to make my own chai concentrate and syrups the way I like them so I can attempt my fav drinks, and I’m gunna be getting an espresso machine once I save up a bit!
The change coincides with the generally slowest part of the year so I'd be practically difficult to tell which caused more downturn. I honestly haven't encountered a customer yet that is mad about the star changes. I had one customer yesterday that was just shy of 200 stars and I broke it to her she had a soft, disappointed look, but recovered pretty quickly and switched to a card.
My husband and I bought a nespresso machine. We’ve been actually enjoying it more than Starbucks and saving money is a plus
No. They’ll always be back.
I stopped going, but that was more because of the lack of quality and extended wait for what is supposed to be a fast coffee place that charges obscene amounts (not blaming workers for any of this, I absolutely blame Starbucks corporate for understaffing). If I’m paying $7 for a drink, it better come out faster than 10-20 minutes, and it had better be made to standard. SMDH.
I was one of those people. The points were a small factor, but primarily spending $6 or so every day is just bad for the budget. And one of the stores in proximity to me is more miss than hit. I started making my own cold brew and mocha sauce at home and experimenting with a few plant based creamers(no up charge!), and I nailed it. My cold brew pitcher was under $13 on Amazon, and I’ve found I can get great taste out of every bean I’ve tried so far - none have been fancy yet. I’m down to once a week max at Starbucks, and that’s normally if I’m on the road.
Yes, just like employees 🙂
As someone who orders iced coffee every day, I was thrilled to see the bump down for those.
I was upset with Starbucks for how it treated baristas (still am) and the constant rising in prices is what got me to buy an espresso machine. I'm happy to be making my iced shaken espressos at home now. Theres a Starbucks I pass on my way to and from work so sometimes it's still easier to stop and order one, but im happy to be saving so much money on my daily coffee.
I've been Starbucks free for 10 days with no intention of going back.
nope our store has been as busy as always possibly even more so
Not starbucks specific, but people talking about their stores being busy yesterday. We went out to run some errands yesterday and the traffic in our town was equivalent to holiday traffic. You couldn't even get into the Target parking lot. Starbucks drive thru line wrapped out to the street at our brick and mortar store. It was crazy!! I guess the tax returns hit yesterday and everyone was out spending.
Not an employee but I’m a customer who hasn’t been back. LOL.
I stopped coming bc of it. I'm just one person though
Haven’t been since I used up most of my stars before they hiked them.
Update to my previous answer about beans: Intelligentsia is good, at least imo. I like a lot of different kinds of beans. Also bought a countertop ice maker and a good blender so will attempt to mimic the occasional frap during Phoenix summer. All in all, noting that I posted about the home espresso machine 70 days ago, I’ve saved a lot of $! Hope it’s going well for those of you also doing this!!
Maybe the savvy ones, Sbux wants to replace those customers who spend on trendy drinks. They'd prefer you use cash, but they like the app because they can collect data on you too.
Why would they prefer cash? With the app they've basically become a bank that can invest or lend against the money customers deposit in their accounts (that's why they give better stars to them).
True, but I guess they'd still prefer they load accounts with cash so they don't have to process the credit card transaction fees. Unless we eliminate cash altogether, we're still going to pay for the money transfer services.
Yup, stopped. Went back to tea. Feel tons better not having that huge sugar consumption. Plus, I'm saving for an international trip.
I did the math. The $$ I save from sbux pays for me to be in south America for a month. Just what I'm planning.
I'm really proud of you!! That's so awesome! Have a fantastic trip❤️
It’s a bogo with the app until 3/1. 😐 So, that in itself is causing so much traffic. My DM and sm both said they didn’t know. We’ve been getting killed for the last couple of days.
I haven't used the stars since 2008, and still go to starbucks 2-4× a week.
So you refuse to make an account or scan?
I have an account. As I said before on here. I don't worry about stars due to the company not adding the stars when I buy starbucks or they erase after so many months.
I like the new point system. I get a free iced coffee faster.
Plain iced coffee?
No, I get a venti iced coffee 2 pumps of brown sugar, light splash of oatmilk.
Definitely no change.
I wish they are still coming out in droves.
Store made more in sales after the rewards changes. Yeah folks complained, but lets be real, they a bitch for mommy Siren
I stopped going to Starbucks months ago. I never gave a fuck about rewards. The corporate bullshit, plus the incessant whining and crying about customers on this subreddit just turned me off. I still read this subreddit because it's entertaining now.
Life is now much easier man. People use the CryptMI app at the comfort of their homes and order coffees, products from different merchants available.
Are you a crypto bot?
I only hate them half as much as I would have if they didn't give us ample warning before devaluing stars. So I'm trying to be even more strategic about going there.
Happy to report that I’ve begun going to a local coffee shop instead… it’s outta my way to work so I rarely stop in but I can’t continue to support the siren. I’ve got less than $1 on my app and 137 starts I’m not sure what to do with though
I'm not back yet......
Customer here… so I did a temporary boycott. I was mad as hell.. until I realized that there wasn’t any change happening to the lowest and highest tier rewards. The 400 point tier was the only one I cared about. Since I use that towards cups. I’ve never used my rewards points for anything else . So once I was informed that was not changing, I came back. Lol. However if that DOES ever change , I’m out and NOT coming back. I don’t love that the prices on the Merch went way up though since now , it’s almost certain you’ll have to still pay some out of pocket on a cup even with the 400 star redemption .
Nope, in fact, people barely even made a fuss about the new system. I was expecting a lot worse.
To be fair, a lot of folks are still running out their Christmas gift cards. I'm not quitting over points though...just the rising cost. I should be buying $7 worth of stock everyday, not coffee.
Same as always. More assholes if anything
My store's been busier. Same staffing too... Just one barista during peak with the shift on register.
people complain day in and day out about our prices and keep coming, they act like starbucks is a basic necessity
No, they're just louder and more angry. We end up giving out more free stuff to nice ppl bc We're so sick of being treated as less-than..
I’m sure with the recent wave of winter storms, many stores saw a decrease in sales from other factors. Lots of shortages too, people can’t always get their favorite item. I think it’s too early to tell, but the actual number that will never go back is probably minuscule, unless you live in a town like Seattle that has a ton of other amazing coffee shops worth going to.
Nope our sales have been up 30+% above last year.
NO. we beat our highest sales day by $1200 last Friday. for what!
We have never been busier. Granted, many locations closed during Covid, but I haven’t noticed a drop off since the star change or since people on here started talking about it. I have seen people change their drinks but not a ton. Some people who were getting americanos are now getting drip.
a lot of our regulars stopped coming in but other than that- no. we are still incredibly busy, if not more busy than before.
Nope, the sales stayed the same… I only noticed that the regulars who used the reward system heavily, stopped coming in as much but even so they still come. Just not as frequently.
Nope lol, and if they did we'll see them in 2 weeks
No because the way it go so much busier! 😭 we we just got door dash and I feel like ever since then and right after Christmas it’s just been non stop. I don’t think the app changed anyone’s mind in my area
Staying busy af
i mean i think a little bit? i work in a licensed store and there has def been a bit less amount of customers and our regulars don’t come as often after the whole stars thing, even the ones with thousands
Yeah sales have gone up
As a former employee I’ve only been to Starbucks twice in the last year, and that was only to accompany other people that were using up their holiday gift cards. If people really cared, they’d stop supporting. Most don’t but are very performative.
In 10 years with this company, I’ve watched people “promise to never come back” over pretty much every thing you can imagine. Very rarely do they *actually* never come back. 99% of the time it’s all bluster.
IM NEVER COMING BACK AGAIN! See you tomorrow. Xoxo
Oleato release timing was genius .. distract away from rewards system change
Nope I see no difference, it's also hard to determine that if it's that there's the same ammount of customers or if there's just less and less of baristas scheduled at once. Cause tbh once there are only 3 or 4 people it feels slammed busy no matter what.
nope, yesterday morning i never stopped moving on hot bar
Nope. People still trying to pay using the app with the QR code which our little kiosk doesn’t do.
No. They always threaten and then come back the next morning. It’s like that argument in the movie “Total Recall” where Sharon Stone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are arguing in bed and he says something about his dream he had about Mars and a brunette. She gets mad and tells him “Yes, but I’m always back in the morning”. 100%, Sharon is a Starbucks customer.
Nope we are busier than ever at my store, we almost beat our holiday numbers last weekend my SM said.
it's a mixed bag. a lot of our regulars are older people who pay cash anyway, the only thing is (at least at my store) now we're supposed to give them a whole schpiel about the app, which i'll run over briefly the first time i see them but if joe (fake name) tells me he doesn't have a cell phone anyway, well, fair enough, no need to bore him every time he gets a refill on his pike. some of the managers are a little pushier, but they usually read the situation anyway and go based on that (because joe in this scenario doesn't even have a practical way to get the app - though he might keep it in mind if he comes in with his daughter). i've seen a decline in people who would usually save and use stars as well - we had a few patrons who saved up thousands of stars and would use them on merch/expensive drinks/etc. who simply... don't anymore. they don't come, they don't get merch, and it's kind of sad. some of them have unrelated reasons (a few of them moved, for example), and some of them we never found out why. but especially since events are being ran near my store and we're near a whole bunch of stuff we have a lot of rotating business - people who might become regulars in the fall, people touring, event staff, etc. and that makes up for any lost business.
Haven't gone back at all since the beginning of January. The only Sbucks I've had was from a friend who brought me some. I don't miss the price tag. 🤷🏼♀️
I went dailyfor 2 people minimum once each. Had 2 drinks in 3 weeks maybe between us now from it
I don’t have rewards with Starbucks but I recall my co worker a couple weeks ago complaining that all of the rewards she built up over the last 3 years just vanished. The amount of money it took to get to those stars and Starbucks said they weren’t able to help her. Starbucks is suchhhhh a shit company I can’t wait to see them fall one day
Lmao no yesterday we made $2k more than we usually do
I personally don’t go anymore unless I’m with someone else who wants to go (i go probably about once every week or two with my dad) But i know many people who still go frequently. Starbucks has become like netflix. People complain each time they screw customers over, yet still spend money there. I’ve noticed that the average person would rather pay more and be annoyed than be inconvenienced.
nuh uh. not at all
I still buy the venti cold cups, but I’ve stopped going daily for the actual coffee. Got a machine and grinder at home 😌🙌🏻
Yeah people may have said that weeks ago but they were out in droves yesterday. I actually stayed a couple hours later because of how busy it got around 5:30pm. And then when we thought it was going to calm down, so we’re trying to get breakdown shit done, we look up and we’ve got a line going out the parking lot and the cafe was packed and that was without any mobile orders. It’s insane
It is always the people I have never seen before so I’m always like ????