Starbucks — Restaurant in Visalia

Having worked 10+ years in the service industry, I sincerely regret leaving this review. But there's no excuse for how I was last treated at this location, and I won't be back.

Of course, if you work here I know that you don't care. At all. You made that very clear, and that's the entire reason for this review.

Basically I went through the drive thru and got a black coffee. 15 minutes later I was still in the parking lot, and had a need to use the bathroom just to wash my hands.

I honestly did not expect this to be such a big deal, but as I went back in I was interrogated on whether I was a customer. My benefit-of-the-doubt assumption was that they were simply unaware I'd been through the drive thru. I offered to grab my coffee out of the car. I also identified the man who helped me with a neck tattoo, who now appeared to be on his 15 minute break or stocking in the back.

At this point the MOD / shift lead made it clear that all my rights to the bathroom as a paying customer had been revoked. It did not matter that I had just ordered at the drive thru. I was in the wrong. And this was a new policy to me, and no explanation was offered. Instead they verbally spat the code at me out of spite to get rid of me, turning their back. They wanted to make it clear that I was the problem.

From my time in the service industry I can tell you. There are difficult customers and I'm not one of them. That kind of petty confrontation is entirely avoidable if you take just one second to consider the other person's perspective... and finesse how to respond. It's a huge training opportunity on how to script those kinds of predictable routine interactions.

But here's the bigger issue: Having just criminally washed my hands, I went back to my car to grab my coffee which had not been touched. I did not have a receipt because I was not given one. I wanted to make sure the workers were aware I was not simply stealing their precious bathroom resource or taking advantage, but was in fact a customer. I wanted to set the record straight.

My mistake.

So I got the receipt after some hassle, and I bought a new food item which I felt was fair and would help smooth things over and further prove my intentions.

However this was also a mistake. I mentioned that a sign could help explain the limitations for the bathroom, and I didn't feel like it warranted being interrogated.

Now I'm aware having worked in the industry that sometimes you take a minute to explain a policy change that impacts a customer's expectations. This policy was new as of this year: you cannot leave the premises and use the bathroom again, no matter how much time has elapsed.

Putting a sign on the bathroom which says "for customers only" does not adequately state the policy change, or otherwise make clear that I was no longer a customer and should be denied access.

I do think the policy itself is to blame for that, and the geniuses who made the sign. And I'm sure a location off the freeway gets terrible customers. But it should be an expected talking point for all staff. What went sour was that no one apologized, no one explained anything, no one empathized. And I was upset at this point. When I mentioned the sign I was met with argument. The entire staff made it clear in less than 3 minutes while purchasing another item that they did not care at all about me.

Shame on them.

There is no reason to make a customer feel that their feedback is BS, that their business is not valued, and that because you have mobile orders that the on-site customers are meaningless. There's no need for the IDGAF attitude, especially with customers you might see again.

I hope the district manager addresses this and retrains people on proper scripts for questions about policies, or even the occasional complaint that may or may not be valid. And I hope that corporate evaluates whether people are paying for just coffee, or an experience. Because that is a shifty value prop in 2025. It impacts things like repeat business and tips.

Btw, this was in April 2025. Policy was...

I recently had an unsatisfactory experience at my local Starbucks. When placing my order, "Hello, can I get an oatmilk brown sugar shaken espresso decaf? Can I also get that with some sugar-free vanilla?", the barista interrupted me with, "Um, can you like give us all the changes at the beginning so we don’t start making your drink and have to remake it?" Meanwhile, my order hadn’t even populated on the screen yet? How are they making my drink, when I haven’t even verified on the screen that I’m okay with it?

As a customer, I found this response both inappropriate and unprofessional. It is not the customer's responsibility to adapt to the barista's preferences for order taking, especially when the order had not yet appeared on the screen for verification. The barista's premature and condescending attitude was entirely uncalled for.

This experience was exceedingly frustrating, and I expect a higher standard of customer service from Starbucks. Proper training in customer interaction and professionalism...

Notice the difference in times of the time I ordered my drink, compared to the time that has passed trying to connect to wifi…. I’ve been trying to connect to their Wi-Fi for an over and hour. When I asked the barista if they have had problems, the agreed and said yes. One of them went to ask their manager for me if they wouldn’t mind restarting the router. I don’t have any WiFi at home and I can’t use several apps on my phone till I update the iOS software…. The barista told me her manager doesn’t allow that….Whoever the manager is working right now, at 9pm on 10/1/21, POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE! If something is effecting multiple people….. you should probably make better managerial decisions. I won’t be coming here and I’ll be contacting Starbucks HR…..k thanks store #11103, your...