Starbucks — Restaurant in Lake Charles

I visited this Starbucks on August 31 around the afternoon, and I couldn’t help but notice the baristas were clearly short-staffed and overwhelmed with orders. There was no dedicated person at the front register, which meant the barista on bar had to occasionally step away to take orders, causing further delays.

When it was finally my turn, I had waited about 15 minutes just to place my order. I want to emphasize that I don’t hold the baristas responsible for this. They were doing their absolute best under challenging circumstances. As someone who has worked in the service industry, I completely understand what they were going through. After another 10 minutes, my drink was ready, and the barista apologized for the wait. I reassured them that they did a great job given the situation.

My hot pumpkin spice latte with almond milk was made perfectly—no complaints about the drink itself. However, I believe management needs to step up and ensure better staffing levels. No service worker should have to endure the stress I witnessed that day.

As a regular Starbucks customer, I’ve noticed a decline in the overall quality of service, not just at this location but company-wide. Before the pandemic, Starbucks was known for its focus on quality and customer service. Now, it seems to be more about speed and efficiency, often at the expense of both employees and customers.

This isn’t a criticism of the workers, who are doing the best they can; it’s a call to the company to do better. Management needs to prioritize adequate staffing and treat their workers better, and return to the values that made Starbucks a...

Skip this one. Workers are not friendly or trained well. Needs a good cleaning (chairs were grimey).

Location: across from the mall in a shopping center. Shared parking lot. Parking can be a pain.

Atmosphere: typical Starbucks look. Smelled like coffee. Chairs were not clean and felt gross. Does also have a drive-thru.

Service: the lady who took the order was nice but seemed new as she didn't know dairy substitutes or sugar free options. Got the order (sugar free mocha coffee with almond milk) and they didnt do the mocha. Went to the pickup counter and told them it was missing the mocha, the lady very abruptly stated they don't do sugar free mocha, they only have sugar free vanilla, as if I should have known better. I asked if they could add the vanilla to the drink since it was paid for and she, without ever once looking at me, pointed and said "go over there for that" at the ordering counter. They literally handed me a small cup with vanilla syrup poured in it for me to fix myself. They also had at least 5 other ppl waiting on orders and 2 others...

I want to start off with saying what a breath of fresh air this location is. Let’s be real— I’m a local coffee shop girlie. I only go to Starbucks when I’m traveling because it’s a safe bet and everywhere. But t-mobile said if I downloaded the app, I would get a free coffee… then Starbucks had this holiday game where you would open gifts every time you made a purchase so I started coming to this sbux ALL. THE. TIME. The reason this place is a breath of fresh air is because every single person is so personable, kind, and genuine. From the baristas to the general manager, they all treat me like I’m their BFF. I know there are some changes that were announced in the way Starbucks is running the company and it’s working! I REALLY enjoy coming here and now I understand the Starbucks hype. Your holiday game roped me in, but the staff is what made me a...