Starbucks — Restaurant in San Jose

I have been going to this Starbucks location for about 13 years now. That is how long I have worked across the aisle from it. A few things I wish people understood about this particular location: This is one of the busiest Starbucks locations in the entire Bay Area. Cut your barista some slack. For better or for worse, this particular Starbucks is also a Training Store. That means the newbies get sent here to train on how to operate in a fast paced environment. So that's why it's extra slow/extra busy on occasion. This location simply does not have enough equipment for the sheer number of drinks they have to make on a daily basis. It doesn't matter how many baristas are working if there is not enough equipment for them all to use to make drinks. Everyone always complains about this location being understaffed. If you feel this way, you need to stop leaving Google reviews and call up/email Starbucks corporate. They are in charge of telling the manager how many hours s/he's allowed to schedule. Most companies have extreme penalties for managers who consistently exceed their allotted hours, including forfeiture of bonuses and eventually termination. No matter how much the manager begs for more hours, large companies are very reluctant to accommodate unless they have gotten the same feedback from a multitude of customers. In my 13 years of experiences with this Starbucks, the good far outweighs the bad. Right now they have a fabulous regular crew who take excellent care of me & my staff and I am very grateful for their hard work. If I am there and a customer tries to call out the staff on something stupid, I WILL stand up for them. 90% of the people who are employed by this location are incredibly hard working, kind, intelligent, and knowledgeable about their job. Don't let the transient 10% ruin your opinion of an excellent location with...

If I could give zero stars, I would. We ordered seven drinks — yes, seven — and somehow even that was too much for this Starbucks to handle. One drink was incorrectly entered, and when we tried to address it before even completing the payment, the cashier, Metzly, flat-out refused to make any changes. Customer service tip: when someone hasn’t paid yet, maybe don’t act like it’s too late to fix your own mistake?

Only after we insisted did someone named Deisy, who introduced herself as the “manager,” come out — not to resolve the issue, but to showcase one of the worst attitudes I’ve ever encountered in customer service. Loud, rude, and combative, her demeanor bordered on aggressive and made me feel genuinely uncomfortable. The tone in her voice carried a level of hostility that honestly felt discriminatory. No apology, no empathy, not even basic manners.

As if that wasn’t enough, two of the drinks were made incorrectly — again — and were simply left on the counter with zero communication. No names called, no acknowledgment, just drinks sitting there like forgotten garbage. I had to ask a staff member if they were ours, only to be met with, “Do you have another order?” It was clear they weren’t interested in doing the bare minimum, let alone offering decent service.

And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse — surprise! There was also a creepy man standing nearby holding up his phone in a way that made it very obvious he was recording or taking photos without consent. That was the final cherry on top of a truly miserable experience.

This wasn’t just a bad day — it was a showcase of everything a customer should never have to deal with. Starbucks corporate, if you’re listening: this location needs urgent intervention. Rude staff, incompetent management, safety concerns, and complete disregard for customer experience? Absolutely...

Coffee: excellent as usual Service: always good EXCEPT this time When heading to the store, the App didn’t allow ‘order ahead’, so I tried to FIND the line as there was no clear wayfinding sign, and all consumers were standing around the counter. I asked several people and finally got in line. Then, the app allowed ‘order ahead’ again, so I stepped out to wait for my order. Also, I want a cup of water. I searched several times, and there was no entrance from the App; I asked when I picked up my order as usual. Then, I was told to get in line again. I have NEVER met this disappointing situation, so I have to report it.

Although we all understand that sometimes staff are busy, that’s not an excuse for Starbucks to provide a bad user experience.

The store should either learn from other stores smartly, like Livermore Outlets store, providing water on the side for the consumers to help themselves during rush hours; adding more clearer wayfinding system, AND Starbucks should improve the app user experience in general, by sending a ticket to the app design team to solve users’ pain points about adding cup water orders during their purchasing user flow. As a 2C product, Starbucks wants to make things run smoothly. It’s important to learn from the user behavior pattern of ordering through the App without waiting in line (from the Apple App Store Starbucks intro). Ask yourself, what is the point of getting in line again for 20 minutes after picking...