Starbucks — Restaurant in St. Louis

I had a few good experiences at this new Starbucks, until one day last week I received my drink with some ingredients substituted without my knowledge. Key ingredients. I was aware there is a shortage of some items, so I let it slide and drank it that way. But I would have appreciated being given a heads up as I was ordering, that the drink would have to be different. I probably would have ordered something else... Well, today is where the worse experience comes in. I called ahead of time and asked them, if with the shortage, did they currently have all the ingredients for my favorite drink? They quickly assured me, yes they do. When I arrived and ordered this drink, I tried to confirm that they had all the ORIGINAL ingredients for the Caramel Ribbon Crunch because I was given one different recently. She admitted, no they don't have the caramel drip that goes on top -- they are substituting a dark caramel liquid that usually goes *in the drink. I left without ordering. I had driven to this location, instead of another with the correct drink, based on the information -- the lie -- that I was given on the phone. How hard is it to be honest with your customers? How difficult is it to be upfront with your customers about changes to drinks? I totally understand the shortage is out of their control. But they should be honest and considerate and forthcoming about changes.

TL;DR -- If you order from this Starbucks, you may wanna be sure to specifically ask if the item you're ordering will be given to you how it is listed on the menu. And asking once may...

If this review makes me a 'Karen' I honestly don't care. It's just my personal experience, not everyone's obviously. This has been my go-to SBs for over a year now. I'm not sure what's changed recently but almost every visit now is stressful in some aspect or another.

1. Order ahead never on time: I order ahead on the app between 15 to 25 minutes ahead of time and the orders still aren't ready when I get there half the time, making me late for work. The entire point of ordering ahead is so that you can swing by and do a quick pick up.
2. Decaf: I have to order decaf due to a chronic illness; caffeine is a trigger that makes me sick in a multitude of ways. Twice now they've given me a normal blend that ended up triggering a flare that made me sick just under two days following both times. To avoid this, when I pick up the drink I double check by confirming it's decaf and (not always) but nearly half the time I'm met with snarky remarks like "If it says decaf, then it's decaf" or "Um, that's what it says, so yeah."

The stress of being late for work or getting the wrong order isn't...

I must share what touched me very much about this Starbucks store. I started feeling bad on Monday morning and couldn’t calm down. I wanted to go to the Starbucks next to my work to buy a drink to cheer myself up. I had to transfer to the Starbucks across the street. I braked because a car almost hit my car. Fortunately, the other car braked as well, and I quickly went around. When I ordered Starbucks and wanted to pay, the Starbucks Barista said that this cup of tea is free. I looked at them both in utter surprise. He said that we saw that car had almost hit you, so we gave you this tea for free, and I hope that you are safe. I was so moved that I immediately began to cry, I then said thank you so much. That gesture and drink changed my mood for the rest of the day, I just want to say “thank...