Starbucks — Restaurant in Florida

TL;DR ("too long; didn't read" for those who don't know): I don't recommend this location. Terrible parking lot/drive-thru set up, long wait times despite number of staff, employees who don't even give you the time of day, subpar drinks on average.

Just moved into this side of town and was looking to make this our local Starbucks. First visit, my girlfriend and I made a mobile order that she went inside to pick up after parking in a terribly planned parking lot. Took about 10 minutes for her to come back out which I thought nothing of at the time, drinks were mediocre at best. We were then stuck in the parking spot as the drive-thru line bled into the parking lot, where cars of people waiting blocked off parking, which took about another 5-10 minutes to clear out and make room for us to leave. Wrote it off as a busy day.

Our next visit, we put in another mobile order which we planned to get through drive-thru as we had errands to run. We got up to the order kiosk fairly quick as there weren't many cars and told them we had a mobile order for pick up. They acknowledged us quickly, and we pulled up a bit to make room for someone else to order behind us. With only three cars ahead of us, we assumed it would be quick. We were then stuck in the drive-thru line for about 15 minutes not moving an inch before the line started moving again, with two of the three cars ahead of us also having mobile orders judging how they were able to pull up quick, get handed their drink, then proceed. We finally got our order, which were also subpar, and wrote this off as a customer with a large order, but vowed not to use drive-thru again.

Next visit (day before this review was written), I put in a mobile order for a coffee for myself and a coffee for my girlfriend to have waiting for her once she came home from work. I arrived fairly quickly and parked outside again, noticing a few cars in drive-thru but nothing crazy, so I went into the GameStop next door to spend a couple of minutes to allow them time to finish making my order, which were two drinks. Once about 5 minutes or so had passed, I went ahead and made my way back over to the Starbucks to pick up my order, which was the first time I had been inside myself at this point. There were 5-6 employees I could see, with a few patrons inside social distancing. I made my way up to the counter where mobile orders were designated for pick-up. Now, I really try not to be a rude customer having worked in the service industry myself, and I noticed they were busy...but. I stood there a good 8-10 minutes before I was acknowledged by any of the staff there. I even turned to look at one of the other waiting patrons, gesturing to the staff a bit in confusion, to which they chuckled and shook their head. Eventually, the staff member who had been manning the cashier at the drive-thru window bug was now wandering area behind the counter aimlessly, made eye contact with me and handed me my drinks after I told him what I was there for. My coffee wasn't too bad that time, however my girlfriend mentioned it was made wrong once she took a sip.

Needless to say at this point, but I will not be returning to this location. Even if the staff become more diligent, the simple nature of the location and how it's set up is headache-inducing. I'd rather the Starbucks in the Target up the road than this, which is a shame because the one in question here is the closest. I do not recommend this location to anyone wanting a...

Probably the worst Java Chip Frappe I've ever had, I am still currently sitting here and trying to sip it down, but like their coffee usually is, it tastes incredibly burnt, and it's over syruped. But mostly, I can't get over this burnt coffee taste, and as I sit here writing this, the entire coffee shop has the "SOMETHING IS BURNING!" odor, and we are leaving soon. My husband and I ordered a Tall (12 oz. these size names, still are so ridiculous) Java Chip Frappuccino, a Venti (20 oz.) cold brew, an old fashion donut, an apple fritter donut, and a tiny oatmeal. I've had a few bites and a few sips of my apple fritter & JCF, I am already struck with a nauseas wave & syrupy burnt taste in my mouth and my wallet is about $20 lighter. I instantly regret coming here instead of Black Crow Coffee in St. Pete, but we needed something in the Tampa area quick.

Alas, we are still in search of a decent coffee place up in the Tampa Bay Area.

Laura served us and she was helpful, no notorious Starbuck 'tude, friendly service on this late Tuesday morning. We wished we could have just paid after we ordered but she didn't tell us the total & take our card until after everything was made, warmed up, and served, but we were holding a lot of items and even though it's a small detail... we wanted to just pay after we ordered and sit down to wait for our names to be hollared out like normal.

We almost left due to lack of parking, there are barely a few people in here but the lot was completely full.

Still searching for a better place, but it's hard to come by in this area, so we settled for this Starbucks.

Meh, me thinks not for next time.

Update:been here twice this week in December, both disappointing times.. out of my sausage sandwich, so I left. Then came back on Wed the 21st and they took a seriously long time to give us 2 drinks at 4:30p, omggggg, 5 people waiting in cars behind us.. so slow. And forgot...

The parking has always been terrible, as well as the drive through, due to location limitations. Still, I used to come here every morning due to proximity to my home and the fact that the staff used to be great, but a few years ago there was a management change that just destroyed this location. I've legitimately never left with a correct coffee the first time, despite my very specific instructions (down to the number of pumps, in an effort to get a decent cup of coffee). I don't know why I bother to come through the drive through. You'd think I would know that they were going to get it wrong and I'd have to walk inside to have it remade by now. The staff plays favorites with their customers, to the point where they have an actual "customer of the week" board. If you aren't one of their favorites, they are dismissive at best and rude at worst. The old staff there was phenomenal, and many of them have relocated to other local area starbucks due to the management. (I've spoken with several of them when I run into them at other locations, and each of them tell the same story.) Luckily, the new location that opened at Race Track and Hillsborough has some of the old staff members and a few new ones. The management at that location is phenomenal and the staff and drinks are excellent. This location could use a bootcamp at the Racetrack store, because it's just terrible at this point. There's an old saying "A players hire A players". Clearly this management team are not "A players" because this staff needs a serious...