Starbucks — Restaurant in North Star, Delaware

UPDATE: Came here at 6:30 pm last night (Saturday) because their hours say they are open until 8:30 pm, 7 days / week. They were closed... This isn't the first time.

Monday, Jan 9, 2023 - 18:00 I stood there at the counter for about 7 minutes with two associates behind the counter looking at me several times. They didn't greet me. Didn't say "We'll be right with you." Nothing. I felt like I was invisible... Very rude.

I used to visit Starbucks literally EVERYDAY multiple times throughout the day and the old standards that I enjoy are still there. However, it isn't clear by the menu at this location. Someone did finally come out from the back of the store to take my order and it took us a few minutes to figure out what happened to the passion fruit iced tea I used to order 100s of times / year. (Side note, over the last 15 years, I roughly estimate that I have spent ~$20k on beverages... which is why we almost never go here anymore.)

At the self-service kiosk, you are not able to serve yourself anymore. You have to ask for sweetener, etc. Is there that much of a problem in Hockessin with sweetener thieves?? Just put it out there and let people get their own, folks.

The music was too loud, but that's always been an issue with Starbucks.

Lastly, now, as of the first of the year, they are closing at 19:00... which they informed us of by saying "Just to let you know, we are closing in 2 mins." When the guy walked up to tell us that, I had a little hope that he was going to ask us how our drinks were and if we were enjoying the experience. But no. It was to kick us out of...

I visit the Hockessin location daily (I have been going for 8 years). Something seems to have changed. On busy days in the past, I've waited for my order and of course I absolutely understand the reason for the delay. The past few weeks, like I have done for years, I placed my order for pick up(roughly 10 minutes prior to me arriving) and I still wait another 15-20 minutes in the lobby. Today, I walked in and my hot tea and sandwich were done. I waited another 20 minutes for an iced coffee. The team didn't acknowledge me standing there, so finally I politely asked if they have a ticket for the coffee (they seemed annoyed). One barista started to explain that the area closest to the lobby was for the speciality drinks and my coffee would have been made elsewhere- I heard this same feedback to a different customer yesterday (while waiting for 1 iced coffee for nearly 25 minutes)... although that may be important to them, customers shouldn't/don't have to know how the "behind the scenes" operate.

All of this to say there must have been a change in recent weeks at this location. Customer service and service itself are key to success and recently it seems this group needs a...

This is by far one of my favorite location. The drive thru lane is pretty tight when pulling around, but they are the fastest when ordering at the window. Most other locations I have to order ahead because they can be a bit slow, but here I have never had a problem when visiting weekly.

UPDATE 6/2022: I found a GIANT piece of hair in my drink. I have a phobia of hair, and this was the most disturbing thing I've ever experienced. I know it's unavoidable, but I stopped ordering drinks (especially) from Starbucks and every other food establishment.

The staff were very kind and understanding and refunded my entire order which was surprising, but I’ll never order a drink again. Sad because we ordered here...