Starbucks — Restaurant in Stonington

I understand that a lot of people are terrified of automation in the workplace. We're going to lose so many jobs to robots in a world where it's already difficult for some to find a job.

I used to be one of those people, but after visiting Starbucks in Mystic today I realized that the reality of this happening is so far off that my future grandchildren may not even have to worry about this. Let me tell you why.

When I arrived, the cashier Khloetron 3000 clearly had a bug in her programming. She was unable to make eye contact with any human, and her voice box was clearly stuck on the "disinterested" setting. After every item I ordered she promptly shouted out the total and reached for my debit card even though I expressed that I wanted to order more.

The voice recognition must have been not been calibrated because nothing I said I seemed to register. No matter what I tried to convey she would just respond with a monotone "LISTENING" while trying to juggle multiple other tasks.

While moving onto the production line portion we got to see ER1N Bot at work.

She was stuck on a loop because she would sigh and whisper "relentless" with every customer request. Also, she needs some of her gears tweaked because she threw my straw down with cold, mechanical disdain.

All of the programming bugs aside, the crowd was massive and the service was incredibly efficient. The botristas quickly handed out drinks to the sea of newly unhappy customers.

Some people say that robots feel nothing, but these ones clearly weren't happy with the tasks they were assigned.

I will definitely return when they update the firmware to allow for empathy, smiling and pride in the work they do.

And to be honest this got me really hyped for...

A while back, on their website, they advertise that they are looking for managers.....I have 18 years restaurant management experience involving any and all things related to that position. I have worked in various food/restaurant industries to perfect my craft of almost 20 years, and have build a solid reputation. I fill out the initial application, I get my cover letter ready, I get my references ready, I get my resume ready. I go to the Starbucks in Mystic where I live. The manager is on the floor scrubbing it. I explained to her who I am, and the first question out of her mouth is, "do you have barista experience"? I said no I do not why? She then proceeds to tell me "well, you need to have barista experience to become a manager here" I explained to her "Well, that's not what your website says, it doesnt say you need to have barista experience in order to be a manager, thats false advertising". She just shrugs her shoulders and says "that's how we are, you have to be a barista for 1 year or 2 to even be considered to be a manager at any starbucks". Wow. Ide imagine a billion dollar compay like starbucks would jump at the chance to hire someone with my experiece, and train "as you go" like any normal company would, and not falsley advertise a hiring position and get peoples hopes up. No wonder I see so many videos and such online about "needing to unionize" at starbucks. You guys missed a very lucrative opportunity...

This is the worst experience I've had at Starbucks. There is process improvement needed on the mobile order vs cafe order. Using principles of LEAN would assist this store in getting orders out in a timely manner. I ordered two frappuccinos and no less than 20 mobile orders were processed in front of me. The customer who is in the store should be the customer served first. Process improvement such as having the customer let you know when they arrive at the store may assist you at this store in reducing backlog. Also I watched 2 team members leave the floor while there were 10 people in line to order and 15 people waiting to get orders in store. I have attached pictures of the amount of mobile orders sitting on the counter for 20 minutes while instore customers were left sitting. Lean and Six Sigma may help this store perform at a higher level.

TLDR ordered 2 drinks at 1035 and didn't get...