Starbucks — Restaurant in Maryland

A Hollow Grind on Buckeystown Pike

If I could give zero stars on Google, which for me takes some doing, I’d need a shovel—because that rating doesn’t go deep enough.

Stopped by the Starbucks located inside Barnes & Noble at 5500 Buckeystown Pike, Suite 200, Frederick, MD 21703. Dropped $22 on two drinks that tasted like someone whispered the word “coffee” over a cup of melted ice and unresolved disappointment. We waited 10–15 minutes—not for craftsmanship or care, but for something that barely qualified as finished.

In addition, the barista had to throw out the first set of drinks from what we observed, we think she might have put the wrong milk in, but we are unsure. The workspace was not tidy nor clean, and the sink was very, very filthy. On another note, we noticed that when those drinks were replaced, the cups were only dumped out and rinsed with a spray nozzle not replaced, which should’ve been a red flag for me right there since I’m a food Inspector.

I couldn’t even drink mine my fiancé threw hers out too. To boot mine was not filled the whole way. One sip, and it felt like the barista had a personal vendetta against flavor because it had none

In America, where every dollar now limps out of your wallet, $22 isn’t just money—it’s tradeable hope. And today, I traded mine for a cup of liquid nothing.

No apology. No urgency. Just the dull hum of apathy behind the counter.

This wasn’t just a bad coffee run. It was a quiet lesson in lowered expectations. A reminder that mediocrity is expensive, and refunds don’t exist for...

Just a little bit ago, I placed an order at the Urbana Starbucks to get coffee before going to a late night shift at work. I got to the store and found out they'd changed their hours but forgot to reflect that on the online system. I called the store hoping to leave a message and got a message telling me the mailbox was full. With no idea what else to do, I called the closest Starbucks still open - the one at Westview. I spoke with a lovely individual going by the name of Alex who told me I could go to that store, show what my order had been at Urbana, and they would take care of it. Upon getting to Westview and letting them know I had just called about 10 minutes prior, I was told to pull forward and show what I ordered. I did so and fully prepared to give a cash tip as a thank you for taking care of me when there store had nothing to do with what happened at Urbana and was merely another locatiom of the same brand and when I received my order, they made it a point to try and load a card with some money on it as compensation for what I paid to get at Urbana. Alex told me the card was an apology and I attempted to refuse but was told to take it anyway. I had to insist Alex at least take the tip from me as Westview's store did absolutely 0 wrong and went above and beyond by simply making the order, let alone feeling like they had to compensate me at all. Alex's level of customer service goes above and beyond most people I have ever met in food serviceand I am forever grateful for the experience Alex provided...

Busy, most of the time, but has a 24/7 drive through window- this can also get busy: if so, might want to go inside-can sometimes be a lot less crowded As busy as they get, staff are usually pretty friendly, and try remembering who their repeat customers are, what their preferences are... Problems in past usually addressed by store manager (they want repeat customer satisfaction!) However, on one Sat afternoon, witnessed manager dealing with a couple very unreasonable customers, trying to satisfy them (to no avail)- unfortunately, this held up all the customers after them (ie. yours truly and 6-7 other customers, for like 20+ min extra, (this for an order I preordered online , just so I wouldn't be waiting for coffee At this point, the manager had more than one upset customers, as I was running late for work (Normally, I would have left store and my order behind,, but this order was already paid for- So when she finally came to addressing my order, I (irritated) told the manager to forget it, cancel my order and reimburse my Starbucks card for the order I never received)-In her defense, she did offer me vouchers for free coffee in future.

In future,, suggest manager delegating some of the minor customer issues, so she could concentrate on the more problematic ones, just so as not to cause a delay in customer service (esp. on a late Sat afternoon, with maybe 6-7 customers, all waiting 20-25 min for coffee they ordered...