Starbucks — Restaurant in Rutland City

Ever since I heard we were getting a Starbucks, I was THRILLED. With the sudden closure of my favorite café in recent years, there’s been one other local name in the game, and since COVID hit, they’ve been swamped and struggling with hours. I only get Dunkin when Starbucks is closed or I GOTTA have too many doughnuts at the same time.

That said, the review. I set up my online order app IMMEDIATELY, because I’m indecisive and would rather not take up precious time hemming and hawing over my order. Plus the app makes it VERY easy to see all the ways you can customize your order, and gain “stars” rather like loyalty points for every purchase to apply later for discounts! And you can (thankfully) in the COVID-19 age, pay in-app before you ever get there, so no contact with cash or card! App also remembers EXACTLY what you ordered last and with what adjustments, so your perfect drink is waiting in Previous or in Favorites if you marked it so.

The ONLY gripe I have about paying this way? You have to “reload” your card... instead of it just taking the exact cost from your payment method! And it DEFAULTS to $25! Not fair when you’re hurrying, because the minimum hiding in the menu is $15! I visit often enough that my balance will get used, but if I’m only buying a Tall drink with no mods, it’ll be under $8, and with an empty account, I don’t really want to pay extra for the convenience of ordering early to get at drive thru.

Bringing me to my next (unfortunate) gripe... Having to pick up or order INSIDE the store is a nightmare compared to how smooth y’all run the drive thru. Inside, it’s a mad house, and it’s the only time I’ve gotten: the wrong order with my name on it a hot drink sat so long and never announced, that by the time I got Karen enough (not in my character 😢) to ask where it got to, it was found on a random counter, ice cold and nobody offered to remake it, so I just took it... no sugar in a drink when requested, or a drink not properly mixed; just slapped together and slammed down as if being assembled was the bare minimum (and I had been waiting quite a long time for anyone to start my drink) 90% ice in a cold drink when order specified “light ice”

The Good: App & Drive Thru are quick, accurate, and on point. Very kind, and I appreciate every “visibly” LGBTQ employee that I see (like me), busting buns to do a good job; if I COULD work, I’d probably work in a café or a ‘Bucks.

The Meh: Mobile ordering comes with the caveat of if y’all ain’t flush with funds, don’t order Starbucks - “reloading” your funds will absolutely DRAIN you. Don’t order or pick up inside the building; something WILL go wrong. Nobody I’ve met was mean about it, just didn’t care, or offer a remake.

Overall: I’ll always be here, unless my favorite local café does better in the wake of COVID vaccination rates; then I disappear during the summer to enjoy hometown delights as I roam. But y’all’s Dragon Drink keeps me crawling back. I need it in my veins.

4/5 ⭐️: 1 off for less than dependable in-store service. Otherwise, I love you lots. Just from a...

One of our best Starbucks experiences ever. We are very appreciative since our driving day was 4am til midnight and we needed 5pm caffeine. Thanks to this hard working staff! They communicated and went above and beyond. Our drive thru to-go order that we placed thru the app was running a minute behind in the prep time estimate. They unnecessary apologized! But we also added two huge waters to our order at the drive thru speaker when we announced our arrival. Desperate for hydration while on the road. They gave us perfect… no ice, filled two Trenta cups with water.. wow we were set for hours. Then they didn’t have dark roast coffee so they went ahead and did a dark roast pour over for me?! Insanely awesome. Our oat milk flat white was also extremely tasty. And our sandwich warm. If all Starbucks were like this one, I’d go all the time. I’ve been a gold member since… 2010? Customer since 2000 probably. And this staff was extraordinary....

Ordered a frappe with light ice and no whip in the drive thru and I was handed a frappe comprised mostly of ice, very little coffee and a ton of whip. When I asked again for a coffee with no whip the person at the drive thru dumped out half my coffee, kept the ice chunk that formed in the cup, added even more ice and milk for some reason, then proceeded to hand it back to me as if it was normal. Rather than waste anymore time dealing with such profound incompetence, I decided to cut my losses. Now that I finished my grande frappe that contained approximately 3 ounces of coffee, the rest is ice and undrinkable. A very disappointing and sad situation at this...