Starbucks — Restaurant in Ocala

I've been to this Starbucks countless times, as it is conveniently located right next to where I work. Unfortunately, I just can't go there anymore. Worst Starbucks I've ever been to. I'm not sure if the issue is poor management, staffing issues, lack of training, or what...but corporate needs to look into this.

I've given this store chance after chance. 90% of the time I make a mobile order, and I quickly learned that if the app says the order will be ready within 6-9 minutes, this store will take 15-20 minutes. So I adapted my behavior and started making my mobile orders 15-20 minutes in advance instead of just 10 minutes in advance, understanding that the store might just be busy, etc. This works some of the time, however often STILL when you get there, your mobile order is not ready, even though it has now been 12-15 minutes and the app said 5-7 minutes or whatever.

I adapted my behavior by also changing the types of drinks that I was ordering. As another reviewer posted, this store is out of protein powder all the time. Sometimes out of bananas. So I stopped ordering drinks or smoothies that have protein powder and bananas in them, deciding that it was better for me to just get a different drink originally, than to order what I really want, and then when I get to the store (after mobile ordering said drink) and realize they haven't even made it yet because "we're out of protein powder" so they didn't even start making the drink.

I tried the drive-through once. Thinking maybe it is quicker to go through the drive-through than to place a mobile order and still wait another 5-8 minutes in the store 'til the mobile order is ready. Wrong...drive through took 15 minutes, so it isn't necessarily quicker to go through the drive-through.

Final straw was when I mobile-ordered 14 minutes ahead of time (even when the app said the drink will be ready in 5-7 minutes), I get to the store, and they apparently "never received the mobile order". Order went through on my phone...they just never received it? Machine error on their part? Human error?

So this is a 1-star review, because no matter how you alter your own behavior to try to adapt to their issues (ie: mobile order way ahead of time, purchase a simple drink instead of a drink where ingredients may be out of stock, try the drive-through instead of mobile order, whatever)....you'll still end up being disappointed and frustrated.

If you're a retiree or a stay-at-home parent and have the time to wait around for your drink....go for it. You probably wont' think this store is that bad (which is why it has quite a few 5-star reviews). But if you work or have some place to go, and don't have time to wait an additional 10-20 minutes for your drink, I'd advise you go next door to the RaceTrac and get your coffee there....

We stopped at this store on our way back to Georgia from Disney... worst Starbucks ever! Do not bother stopping here. It took 45 minutes to get our 4 drinks... The new girl Nina on the register kept having us repeat our order because she kept watching people walking in the door instead of paying attention to us speaking. I asked her if she rang in my white choc mocha frap was correct she said uh yep with an attitude and I said well it says wht ch crm that doesn’t seem right, she told me yes... well of course it wasn’t right and came out as a white choc cream thing with no mocha no coffee base... so the girl who handed it to me remade it and it sucked as she just basically added coffee and some Mocha and shook it up. I tasted it a few times and told her nope can’t deal with that. She remade it and dumped it this time and frankly it wasn’t like every other Starbucks out there... but tolerable and my other 3 family members drinks were fine and they’d had them staggered longer than each. So 1 was almost done by the time I got mine right. I told the girl who seemed to know what she was doing with the squeaky voice that 3 drinks sitting on the counter had been sitting there for at least 30 minutes she said okay and did nothing, another guest told her they needed sugar packets it was empty and she literally added 4 in there and gave it back to him and said here you go 🤦‍♀️ Then another guest opened cabinets underneath and refilled it. They had many mobile orders sitting up top with soggy stickers on them. They constantly were telling people that they were out of items to make drinks, someone told me we picked the worst store to stop at as they ALWAYS are like this, if it wasn’t close she’s never go... She said they never move with any energy, another guy said they are the most disorganized he’d ever been to and I agree. I live in a rural part of NW GA and ours is amazing! For this store being the only one around they should have a better system and more management. Multiple people told us while waiting that this store is always like this, so I’m shocked to see such a high rating. Robert was told by the other girl that cold brew was almost ready and then stood right next to Nina and let her tell a guest that they were out of cold brew... then as they were about to pay the their girl loudly said the cold brew was ready so then she had to edit their order so he could get what he originally wanted, and Robert just glanced over... had he been a team player and said oh Nina it’s amost ready... would have been better for everyone. Someone manage and train these people... and others make it known when you have poor service or nothing will...

The store itself was very very nice, clean, well-kept, pretty empty of customers, I believe one or two people were sitting at tables when we walked in. We were on a three-and-a-half to four hour drive from Georgia to the Tampa Airport and I needed coffee.

The service was pretty slow, and I'm pretty patient when it comes to coffee because I enjoy it very much. I usually make mine at home but on road trips I try to go to the Denny's of coffee, Starbucks, because you always get what you expect.

The cashier who took our order was pretty nice but the coffee maker was angry, bad mood, generally a grump, I don't know... and I just can't stand that!

It's a ginormous Corporation, making gobs and gobsof money off of sugar drinking clients all over the country, and they can't be nice? I just don't get it.

I generally get Americanos because they can usually get it close to a good, strong espresso based coffee, iced in summer hot in the winter, with some classic and some cream.

I'm a pretty picky coffee drinker and do not drink treaty coffees. So when getting coffee outside my home I keep it pretty simple. But the grumpiness. I cannot abide that!! It ticks me off. It infuriates me.

Customer service is the number one thing that will bring people back. Yes, know your product, not just the brand name lines that your corporation offers but the actual product, coffee being the main thing at a Starbucks, and concurrently, be nice. For crying out...