Starbucks Reserve — Restaurant in New York

(Photo before spill) Let me start with my tiny drink was $17 . The place felt like a suburban Starbucks run by college kids. My cocktail tasted like the normal iced pumpkin chai, (with a slight hint of booze) which is tasty but worth maybe $10. The guy that made it set it on the counter and spilled 1/4 of it and then just laughed and then tells me that’s it’s my drink. He doesn’t remake it, he doesn’t even clean the glass or counter that both are now covered in cream. I use my one napkin but because it’s cream it just sort of wipes all over the place . My $17 drink is now half empty To garnish he had dumped a big pinch of cinnamon on top. It’s in a pile so I went to take a sip and I was like choking and coughing. Now I’m walking around the Starbucks holding a dripping cold foam covered martini glass trying to find a seat and then the place has no empty seats. It’s like a normal Starbucks with people working on laptops and dirty tables, customers hanging out that are done eating or drinking anything , i’m just standing up in the middle of the store hoping I could find a chair … but the worst was there were five seats where there were laptops and stuff spread out and two of them were empty and the rest had people on either side of the two open chairs. I ask if I could sit in the empty seats and they stare at me and one of then women says to the others “just move down because people are gonna keep asking… “. Turns out she was the manager and these were the staff taking up all of these open seats. She says they were having a staff meeting.

After a while, I hear that the manager and one of the staff members are just having personal conversations at this point and so I ask if I could give her a little feedback. I tell her everything that happened and she just kind of shrugs. Then she says “well do you want me to get you some more foam”? And I say no I don’t think that makes it any better but thank you. She keeps staring at me and then she’s says “like I feel like you think I don’t care”, and I said “ look I’m in Food Service, I get it and I don’t like to complain. But if this happens to my customer as soon as the drink spilled, I would’ve immediately cleaned it up and made them a fresh one, and then if someone complained to me about the cinnamon, for example I would’ve just made them a fresh drink . I don’t know how you feel, but I’m not going to want to come back because based on this experience and the reaction to the feedback, I don’t anticipate a better experience next time”. She then tells me that they’re understaffed and she’s training people… I tell her that I understand that but that personally to me this isn’t worth $17 and it’s not my vibe . As I’m about to leave she comes back and gives me two $4 gift cards to use towards a Starbucks drink in the future. That was a nice gesture on her part, but the cocktail was $17. It was only partly drinkable half empty. There was a mess and it just didn’t make me feel like This place is worth spending that much money on. Go to Starbucks reserve if you’re looking for an Applebee’s type experience

I could’ve paid $14 and gone to any amazing craft cocktail bar , with awesome ingredients and custom drinks and had a great service and a gorgeous atmosphere with a great...

At first this is a huge improvement over the faded, dated, 90s corporate style Starbucks look. I think the abundance of good "independent" (ie just smaller chains) NYC coffee has made Starbucks take a look at itself. This is a really nice store.

I've used the word 'store' because it's still not a cafe, and when you're there for a few minutes you can see where the new Starbucks design dept and the old Starbucks corporate revenue dept have been unable to agree, and it makes a weird combination... An old company in funky new jeans.

First. . . "What coffee can I have? There's no list or menu!" Well, actually, there is . . .a beautifully painted one on the wall BEHIND where people queue.

"Great! So what are the prices? What sizes are available?" There is no mention of either. . . anywhere. Weird.

"Why do they take my name for the order, but don't use it when they 'serve'?!". I'm afraid nobody knows - this feels like one of those corporate dept/design dept battles.

"Do I add many own milk, links other Starbucks?". No, it's different, but there's no sign, suggestion or question from the staff about this.

"Why do they call me a guest when this isn't a New England B&B I also don't have a room booked?". - I'm afraid this is still the Starbucks Orwellian mangling of the English language, just like not having a small size cup. ..starbucks starts at grande. (small cups are for Goldstein)

And this is part of where Starbucks corporate just can't stand the idea of relinquishing control of even the last threads of a new store experience. The store has interesting music, great!, but then you're shaken out of this experience by a super syrupy as for some department store (I can't even remember the name) - I don't know how much HQ could possibly be making from this as, but surely it's not enough to dilute their new experience that cost millions to produce. And the same inconsistency of quality exists in staffing - some are absolutely brilliant, some are clearly bored or disgruntled in their particular job, and Starbucks struggles recognising and placing the right people in the right position.

So, it's a bit of a mess, needs some fine tuning and kicking the stiffs in corporate HQ out of the picture, but on the whole it's quite good. Comfy chairs. Tasteful...

Pathetic Service at Starbucks reserve on Greenwich

I'm truly appalled by the abysmal service I've received at this reserve location on multiple occasions. The staff exudes an air of indifference that makes you feel like an inconvenience. I was literally waiting for the girl to finish a talk with her bf I guess. He wasn’t a customer, just were there to chat I guess.

Despite the lack of other customers, I was forced to endure an interminable wait in line. Even more baffling was the 10-minute wait for a cold brew, a supposedly effortless beverage. The fact that I was the only customer waiting at the time made the delay inexcusable. You could just pour (literally pour) the drink and continue your chat about shaving with this guy, but i guess it’s not a thing anymore.

The staff's behavior has been nothing short of disrespectful. It's clear that they expect hefty tips despite offering service that barely rises above being spat in the face. I've had to leave without my beverage twice now due to the outrageous wait times. Again, cold brew is not a drink that should take 10-15 min wait when there is NO other customers in the coffee shop.

I urge fellow coffee enthusiasts to avoid this place at all costs. Their deplorable service and lack of respect for their customers are simply not worth your...