Starbucks — Restaurant in California

Sadly, this place is not a starbucks I would recommend. I understand people are only human and make mistakes but it’s every time I come through. I used to work at Starbucks and we were held accountable for what we did and how treated our customers. For example: The cup is to not go out messy, remakes made properly (not use the same cup and just scoop the foam out knowing you are not supposed to do that and to use a new cup especially while covid is going on) and not just foam scooped out with 2 inches of room left when people ask for no foam. People pay $6 for these drinks. It’s one thing to do it one time or occasionally mess up but to do it everyday but then to get annoyed is another. Like we have called and spoken to many people regarding the way the baristas are trained and the person who answered even went out of there way to say, “yes, this isn’t the first time we have gotten a call about this.” Just for it to keep happening and us to have to keep calling. Like come on guys if your job is that miserable don’t work there or at least follow the guidelines and proper procedures. It’s just disappointing. It also shows the lack of knowledge on the trainers part and also shows how much the manager cares to run their store. I did report them to corporate and hopefully the message gets passed to the district manager.

Also a side note to the barista who told me that foam gets worse the longer it sits… like where were you trained 🤦‍♀️ Ummm like that made me laugh so hard. Remember foam occurs when the milk is frothed not sitting and getting cold. But nice try with the...

I came in today just to get a cup of tap water and was told that Starbucks doesn’t provide tap water to non-paying customers. It was over 85 degrees outside with no breeze, so I politely asked if I could have a small cup due to the heat. The employee insisted that I had to buy something first, so I reluctantly purchased an avocado just to get the water. After that, she informed me there were many orders ahead, meaning I’d have to wait quite a while for the toast. Ultimately, I didn’t want to wait for the item I bought just to get water, which means food went to waste simply because of this policy.

I don’t mind paying for a cup water, and I even told the employee that, but she still insisted on a purchase. What concerns me most is customer retention—I've been a Gold member for over 10 years and have never been refused tap water before. If there’s a policy against giving free water, there should be an option to buy tap water without wasting food or resorting to expensive bottled water. This also opens the company up to more bad experiences where the level of customer satisfaction decreases.

After more than 20 years as a customer, this experience left a bad impression, and I’m unlikely to return anytime soon. Denying tap water to anyone when it’s readily available at a business open to the public feels like a delicate and unfair line to cross, especially when people are willing to pay for it and simply want to stay hydrated.

I hope management can find a way to implement a water purchase if a customer...

Aug 28, 2025: I asked for a simple hot brewed coffee refill while seated in the café. Barista Morgan said refills require a “for-here” cup. I called Starbucks Customer Care on speaker to verify; Morgan replied, “I work for my manager Lindsay, NOT the customer,” and refused to speak with Customer Care. I then spent about 45 minutes with Customer Care and the District Manager, who confirmed the “for-here” requirement is canceled and this store was wrong.

Aug 29, 2025: Manager Lindsay apologized. Fine — but it was her failure as a manager that caused the issue to begin with. Instead of staff gossiping about me and pointing me out to the manager today, they could have simply provided correct service yesterday and spared all the wasted time.

The core issue is the store management: partners acted like the manager is the final authority instead of following Customer Care/DM guidance. That’s a training and environment problem. Partners should feel empowered to call the DM or accept Customer Care’s direction on policy.

Please train the team and follow the actual refill policy: brewed coffee/tea refills during the same café visit. No “for-here cup” requirement. Be thankful to your loyal customers instead of allowing rogue employees to demonstrate a hostile attitude, and don’t wait until after a complaint to step in with damage control once you’re told the customer was correct.

Positives: new location, very clean and an excellent scenic view from the outside...