Starbucks Coffee - Shibuya Tsutaya — Restaurant in Tokyo

It's so, so sad to see how far Japan's service has fallen. I used to come to this shop a lot in my student days with many good memories, but I will never come here again and warn everyone to stay away. The service and attitude I received here was shocking.

First of all, my order did not arrive for a long time (about 10 minutes), so I checked and saw it on the counter. Then the staff person said something like "Oops" and took it away and said "we will make another one". I guessed they messed up the order because she checked the drink and noticed something wrong. I thought "that's fine", so I waited patiently again. Almost another 10 minutes passed (I guess they prioritized other guests instead of fixing their initial mistake) and I gave up waiting and instead asked for a refund because by that time I had to leave for my next destination and didn't even have an appetite any longer. What came next was shocking.

They proceeded to argue with me (in Japanese, as I speak fluently) for another 5 minutes claiming I didn't come to the counter to get my drink (that's a lie, I did), and they claimed they took my drink away because it would not "taste good" after only a few minutes passed. First of all, the one that decides if the product "tastes good" is THE CUSTOMER, not the shop. Second of all, if what they claim is true (they took it back because it wasn't "tasty" anymore), then why didn't they explain that to me when they took it back? Thirdly, wouldn't arguing with me for another 5 minutes with the second drunk sitting there ruin the drink again and they would need to make another? Except no, they insisted I take the drink without the refund I requested and drink another "not tasty" drink. Absolutely no logic from these people and instead accusing the customer while being very rude. I asked for a manger and they claimed they WERE the manager (!!) so I asked for a senior manager and they seemed to have realized they would be in trouble so they finally gave me a refund, but I will never come to this place ever again because they seem to care more about saving 500 yen rather than caring about a multi-year long-time customer.

I partly blame this drop in service quality on overtourism, but this level of rudeness I did not expect in Japan (maybe normal in other countries), so it is extremely sad to see how far Japan has fallen over the years passing. The only way it can improve is if we hold them accountable and vote with our...

The Starbucks Coffee Shibuya Tsutaya is extremely popular, not only to the locals but to the foreigners, as well! This place has a good view of the famous Shibuya Crossing! Almost everyone that goes here wanted to sit by the window and have a good look at the crossing, but sadly, you'll realize how almost impossible that is! A lot of locals here doesn't want to leave their spot. Why? Because they know that they won't be able to come back once they leave it. Some of them are just lazing around and sleeping on their sit, some were not even drinking or didn't order anything, and some were not even looking through the window. They don't care about anything else as long as they can secure their window seat. Lol. On the other hand, the foreigners are mostly behind them just taking pictures at the Shibuya Crossing or waiting and hoping for someone to leave their window spot--I didn't see anybody leave, though. Lol. Anyway, My boyfriend saw one foreigner who grew tired of waiting, and just asked one of the people by the window if she can sit on his spot to have her photo taken with the Shibuya Crossing at her back by her boyfriend.

Note: They only serve one size drink--tall, and the restroom is on the...

Today, at this Starbucks overlooking the famous Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, I had the pleasure of witnessing a top tier Starbucks crew unlike any I have seen in all my travels including our sad bunch in the US, sadly. Here, this crew of 15 at a high traffic area was professional, efficient, super pleasant, and engaged. They smile, they look and greet you in the eye, and can communicate in basic English. The volume was crushing (est. 350-400 orders per hour across 4 cashiers with 4 different payment options, and a barista staff of 8), yet, they handled every guest, every order with precision and grace. Watching them for an hour, we did not see a single order returned for inaccuracies. There were no useless chitchatting or banter between teammates, just pure focus and a quiet intensity akin to a professional sports team. Truly impressive.

Average age was 21 ranging from 20 to 28. All Japanese, all smiles. My gosh, how do we replicate that? We do not have that in...