Starbucks — Restaurant in Middletown

I visited this Starbucks today hoping things may have improved since a previous bad experience (which I rated it to Stars) just trying to get some regular coffee (I frequently get drip coffee at several different Starbucks) with the improved brew on demand service Starbucks stores are offering I figured things may have improved. However, this experience was just as bad or worse then my previous I am dropping from two stars to one star for this Starbucks. I ordered my drip coffee and waited while drive-thru demanded most of the baristas attention several online orders went out the door and six to ten other customers ordered specialty coffee drinks and left before me. This particular Starbucks certainly does not believe in customer service and has no interest in serving actual coffee. Go for the frou frou but not for anything else. From here down is a review I wrote almost four years ago. This particular visit was a 2 star visit. Starbucks is a coffee joint, Pike is their quintessential brew but this visit saw this store utterly fail in reasonable service of both of these. How it happened: Drive thru was backed up with well over 10 cars, so I opted to go inside.. The crowd at the pick up counter inside was also large. I only wanted two cups of drip coffee, most Starbucks will have the cashier pour those immediately, so I asked if they had some ready and she replied yes. I went ahead and ordered despite the crowd of customers presumably waiting for specialty drinks. Upon paying I was told it would be served at the pick up counter. As the crowd cleared, me and one other customer were still waiting.... His latte had been ready for 10+ minutes but not his Pike Place. Finally he asked if his order was lost; the barista had to find out what he ordered and then had to start brewing a new pot of Pike. .... When I finally left with my two cups of basic coffee and some cream, all but one of the customers after me had been served and departed the store. I'm not sure how this store usually performs so I'll probably visit it again but this time was not a good first...

Great location, nicely presented store. Staff are always friendly and they make a good strong cup of coffee. I have two small complaints. They might seem a bit petty or pedantic but I think constructive comments can help businesses improve the customer experience.

Firstly, I wish they would brew the dark roast every day. Its very inconsistent so I never know if I’ll be able to get a cup. Some days it’s brewed and other days it’s not. If it’s not, they will gladly make a dark roast pour over but last week I waited over 15 minutes for one to be made and I don’t always have the time to wait. I asked one of the staff if the dark roast is only brewed certain days or at certain times and she said that it depends on who’s working. They always have the pike place and blonde roast but it’s so weak, it doesn’t really taste like coffee to me.

Secondly, most of the times I’ve been in, the cream and sugar station is a mess. I’d say 50 percent of the time the trash can is overflowing, the half and half is empty and the sugar in the raw container is empty.

Other than that, I enjoy visiting the store and the coffee is very good, when...

This Starbucks has a beautiful location in a really nice area, but oh my gosh they are SLOW! I ordered pickup via drive-thru and I kid you not — the drive thru was around the building and halfway across the strip mall. I’ve been to several Starbucks’ from Delaware to Florida and I have never experienced such slow service.

I will say everyone was very friendly, but you could tell only half the employees actually knew they worked in a fast-paced environment because the other half of them were joking and giggling, especially those working the register. They could have helped make drinks since everyone who was in the lobby had preordered. Instead, they were joking and laughing, while those working the drive thru were hustling.

I couldn’t tell if there was a manager on duty, because if there were he/she was nowhere to be found. I’m shocked this location hasn’t had more complaints. I’d only go back if I were in the area, otherwise, I’d rather drive to...