Starbucks — Restaurant in Kirkland

After searching all the Starbucks in the northern half of the Eastside, this has become my go-to place to spend a few hours on my laptop. Roomy, fireplace, warm atmosphere, and electrical outlets under all the benches lining the walls, even the big table by the fireplace. Other pros: -Staff is always friendly and although sometimes understaffed (who isn't nowadays?) it has never been a problem. -No drive-through! Starbucks corporation relented to the profit-gods some time ago and every new store has a drive through now; frantic head-set-wearing staff lessen a relaxed coffee-house experience. -Never had a problem getting a drink remade if I thought there was something iffy (even me whining 'it tastes weak for some reason' lol)

Cons: (about this store in particular) -The temps are always a challenge here: too icy AC in the summer and in the winter a cold-draft down your back at the window benches Also, for laptop uses, you are usually sitting with your laptop facing the window behind you so reflections are a problem during daylight hours. -On Weds the local schools let out early so it can be a noisy crowd of kids in the early afternoon. Avoid if you want a quieter coffee-house experience. -Parking can be tight but lots of room right next door if you can handle walking 50'. If you are not elderly or handicapped and this is your biggest complaint then I think you are doing pretty well!

Overall my favorite place in the Eastside of...

I am fine with the service and quality but there are few things I don't like: ---Walking into a playground when I want to do some homework. A dozen kids, yelling at each other, running around, bouncing balls, RIDING BIKES! Of course it is not always like this but it's extremely disruptive and it would be nice if a strong mom-type stepped up and exerted some discipline. There are several schools nearby so these are repeat visitors and they would get the idea if somebody yelled at them to calm down when inside. ---It tends to be cold in the winter and cold in the summer, I guess the workers behind the counter get too hot.

Good things!: ---The service has generally been good and considerate if my coffee doesn't taste right or accidently spill it. ---Every window seat and the big middle table have tons of power outlets. Only the standalone chairs in the middle lack any place for an outlet. (One particular nearby Starbucks, large and open late, literally has NO outlets except built into one long table with hard stools.) ---The seats and benches are still padded! (The same Starbucks mentioned above just 'upgraded' all of their furniture and replaced all the relaxing padded armchairs with hard ones. "No lingering, move along please!") ---Fireplace! (although it is kept really low and has no room for...

I walked in at 6:58 p.m. and was greeted by Tito with a "Sorry, we're closed." I turned around to walk out, looked at the sign, noticed that it says 7:00 p.m., and I was like, "You got 2 minutes to make my drink." His dismissive tone was like, "Sorry, we put all our stuff away already. I can't make any drinks." The manager came out of nowhere and said, "No, we can do that for you," but the sour taste of Tito's attitude had already tainted my need for coffee. As the manager had taken over and was trying to make things right, Tito kept barking out to me, "Goodbye," in a very missive manner, and the manager obviously felt uncomfortable about it, which just added fuel to the fire that Tito needs to go. I would never allow that at any facility I manage. What a horrible example of customer service. I remember a day when Starbucks excelled at customer service. I wonder...