Starbucks — Restaurant in Livingston

I am writing to share a deeply troubling experience my family and I had today at the Starbucks location in Livingston, CA (on our way from Sacramento to Fresno). We stopped in briefly to use the restroom and order coffee, but what followed was one of the most disappointing and uncomfortable customer service experiences we’ve ever encountered at a Starbucks.

From the moment we walked in, there was no greeting or acknowledgment from the staff. We placed our order and were not given a receipt, despite requesting one. The barista, whose name was Jocylene, was noticeably rude throughout the interaction. As we waited, she aggressively tossed our food onto the counter without a word and began speaking to my wife in an extremely confrontational and disrespectful tone.

The situation escalated when we asked for clarification, and instead of de-escalating the situation, the manager on duty, named Veah, appeared to defend the employee’s behavior rather than address our concerns professionally. Jocylene became so hostile that the manager had to send her to the back, yet even then, the manager continued to suggest we were the problem. Both the employee and manager repeatedly asked us if we wanted a refund — something we never requested — which only added to the confusion and discomfort.

What’s most concerning is the manager’s attitude and implication that their area supervisor is already aware of these behaviors, suggesting that this may not be an isolated incident. If that is the case, it raises serious concerns about the culture and standards at this location.

I strongly urge Starbucks to review the store’s security footage from today and evaluate the professionalism, conduct, and customer service training of the employees involved. Starbucks has long been known for prioritizing customer experience, but today’s encounter failed to reflect those values on every level.

I hope appropriate steps are taken to ensure that no other customer has to go through something similar at this...

Never go through the drive thru here. Not once has one of my drive thru orders been correct. First it was a trenta black iced tea with 4 sweet n low... they put in Splenda. Not okay. This weekend I ordered a vente black English breakfast tea. I suppose I should have known it was going to go wrong when I was asked what size... I specifically asked for the 4 honey in the drive through while ordering, but due to my past experience with their taking liberties with changing the sweeteners out, I waited until I was at the window before I asked for sweet n low on the side. I finally get my drink (it is honey packets, hot water and a tea bag... how long could this possibly take) and I am told they put the sweet n low in my drink.... despite me specifically asking for it on the side. Thinking I have a tea bag in the cup, I opened the cup to remove it when I got to my destination... there was foam in my tea.... Went back to my card and found out that I had just essentially lit a $5 bill on fire and they put milk in my tea. gags I went back later (5 hours later, when I finally had the chance) still not caffeinated and went inside. As Starbucks does, they took (and threw away) the black tea latte... because I brought that thing back to them (this is a thing? gags Why?), refunded the price of that atrocity and provided me the tea I actually ordered. 1st caffeine of the day at nearly 5 p.m. Go inside here... ALWAYS, so they can get things right and can correct it if they don't. Never the drive through... EVER. If they had just read back the order or used the huge screen that the speaker is attached to, this entire situation could have been avoided.... well I still wouldn't have trusted them with using the appropriate sweetener, but I would not have spent quality time livid and surrounded by small children will not...

Today at about 1:50pm(ish) there was an incident with one of the crew - there was a flamboyant boy with short black hair - brown skin tone - who was wearing a headset - no name tags were worn. Not sure if he’s in management but if he is - he is not a good manager. What manager argues with a customer and tells them that waiting for over 10 minutes for our order “is not a big deal” ? They must also not care about their sales and time management. anyway, he was extremely inappropriate and rude. He was not apologetic for making us wait so long and still forgetting half of our order - he had caught a huge attitude and told me to “have a good day” while still forgetting a couple of my items LOL I don’t think he should have a job in customer service at all. I honestly hope he will get fired. That Starbucks is not good....