Starbucks — Restaurant in Sedalia

I was a 12 year partner that managed numerous stores and ended my career as a district manager in Canada. I have never experienced a Starbucks as completely incapable of handling everyday business as this particular store. Consistently people wait 8+ minutes for orders inside and the drive thru line goes dreadfully slower. The store is consistently dirty and to this point of my visit today not a single barista has bussed the cafe or wiped table or confident bar in a year two plus hours. Those are sadly just the measurables. Operationally, no function of efficiency is maintained as partners are scattered trying to do everything at once, and in doing so accomplish nothing. There is no direction or sense of urgency in connecting with customers, no energy or passion in creating great experiences. There is certainly no sympathy for delays or long waits and even in the midst of disaster, baristas find time to converse amongst themselves. Sometimes busyness is simply an bi-product of being the only show in town, but sadly this is as inefficient and poorly managed Starbucks as I have come across in all of my travels and experiences. Just because you a remote location, the the promise and purpose of Starbucks still prevails, and unfortunately the community in Sedalia is far from seeing the Starbucks that had always been envisioned...

I have visited a number of other Starbucks over years and in the past year I visited Starbucks in several states. All the other Starbucks I have visited are pretty consistent, except the one in Sedalia. Sedalia's hot lattes taste like they've been diluted in some way. This is true whether I indicate whole milk or skim milk and whether I add extra flavorings or not. The hot lattes taste flat or "blah". It tastes like the latte is made with something more like regular coffee instead of espresso. Or maybe the water in the espresso is sitting for too long and it is not properly oxygenated. Even If I ask for an extra shot of espresso, I'm not tasting espresso flavor nor am I getting the caffeine kick I expect. The way the drink is foamed adds to the watery taste. There is some foam at the top of the drink but there isn't any thickening of the milk below the foam on top, which is not consistent with other Starbucks that I have visited. There are various versions of latte, I realize, but I like the standard Starbucks version with somewhat thickened milk throughout the drink. I had to go home and doctor up the latte I got today to add extra espresso and foam which negated the pleasure of going out to get a coffee. On the positive side, the service at the Sedalia location is always friendly...

Service just depends on who’s working. I’ve noticed that all the gentlemen are extremely kind, and fast paced with everything. However every time I go when the the younger ladies are working the service is extremely slow, they have severe attitudes, and somehow my order is messed up. I was here last night for a little treat, and both of the girls who were up front were standing and gossiping while there were lots of customers, and the girl with glasses angrily barked out that there would be a 30 minute wait for everyone’s order. It’s completely fine to be overwhelmed but those two girls were extremely rude and bitter. The temper tantrums have completely pushed me away and I’ll be going elsewhere from now on. Shout out to the workers who don’t have attitudes and the managers who are very kind and attentive. It’s a shame the younger ones are damaging the reputation...