Starbucks WT*

[isucy86]

I avoid Starbucks when at home and typically go local. But I have been traveling a lot this summer, so I typically hit up Starbucks a couple times a week. The real draw for me is their Lemon Pound Cake- love it! A couple times I've gone mid-afternoon and asked fore a certain type of coffee based on the carafe behind the counter and the counter person just said they were out and offered what was available. No problem, I'm in it for the caffeine and could understand if a carafe ran out mid-afternoon and they were slow to make more.

Today I hit up a Starbucks in Western Colorado shortly before 11am and asked for a Sumatra (based on carafe) and the counter person said they ONLY serve Pikes Place after 10:30am. I was about ready to belt-out are you effing kidding me, this is a coffee shop!!! But I was polite. But if that's a nationwide practice, seems like a horrible business decision. Anyone else come across this?

In the last week I visited a McDonalds on an interstate where the bathrooms were locked and the counter person had to unlock the bathroom. Probably just a franchisee decision, but I hope its not a national trend.

Recently used AirBNB to book a condo stay. Afterward I received the ubiquitous customer service survey and rated the property 4 (on a 1 to 5 scale) in a couple areas. The host initially reached out to receive further clarification and there were a couple rounds of back & forth. At that point, I thought he was fulfilling his "Superhost" responsibilities. Finally, the host sent me a note saying I must not travel often (I do, over 60 days in the last year) and not understand the AirBNB rating sytem. Included with the note was canned one pager that hosts could provide customers. The one pager had multiple bullet points letting me know that I was destoying the properties and his repuation in AirBNB's view by gving a rating of anything less than a 5. Don't get me going on the worthlessness of a 5 point rating scale. But if a 4 is such a "jerk move" by the customer, why send out surveys? If this one-pager was the work of this one host, I would have written it off. But the document was obviously passed around among hosts and viewed as a gospel.

Has anyone else come across bizarre "business practices" in their travels this summer. I feel companies have lost their "Customer Focus".

Rant Over!! No Cubs tonight to give me purpose

 

[IcSyU]

I feel companies have lost their "Customer Focus".

On the flip side of this, I've only been in the professional world for 20ish years but I feel like customers have gotten significantly more rude. It feels like they know at any time someone could start recording and when they get popped in the mouth it'll be their big break.

 

[3TrueFans]

People really have too much time on their hands these days, is it AI’s fault?

 

[BuffettClone]

I don’t do AirBnB, but when filling out surveys like that I rarely give out a 5, or whatever the top of the scale is unless something was exceptional. A 5 would indicate it was perfect, not satisfactory.

 

[pourcyne]

Once stopped at Burger King at the edge of San Francisco's China town. The counter person not only had to unlock the restroom for me but also brought a broom to sweep out the floor that was covered with dead leaves. Yeah, no, I don't know where they came from either. She then proceeded to sweep the toilet seat with the broom before (finally) leaving.

There's more because the counter folks didn't speak English and I wound up getting breakfast, but it wasn't what I had asked for.

It's now a great story which I fondly refer to as "My Visit to the Burger Emperor".

Such episodes in life are to be savored.

***
On the other hand, your Air BnB host (let me guess...was his name "Todd"?) was odious. I would be grateful to know what property it was so as to be sure to find something else. Can't stand passive-aggressive psycho proprietors. They do not make for good stories. They should be skewered, not savored. Would rather spend vay-cay time looking for oddball, but less frustrating and expensive, franchise experiences.

 

[Clonefan94]

I had a lot of yard work to do last weekend, so I stopped in to the local 7/11 to grab a can of Skoal. The kid behind the counter looks up at me and says, "Use the self checkout." and immediately went back to his phone. Obviously I couldn't, because I didn't even have the chew yet. So I said, "No." He looks up from his phone, pissed and asks, "What?" I said, "No, I'm not going to use the self checkout because I need a can of Skoal, can you get that for me?" He finally gets it for me, but as he's working the register, he starts yelling at the guy behind me, saying, "No, No Pizza, put it back!" I thought it was a return customer who ****** them over at one time. No, it's just a guy buying pizza. He makes him put the slices back in the heater/display thing.

Then, as he finally gets to finishing ringing me up, I've been there for about 5 minutes, just to get a can of chew, the guy behind the counter starts explaining how the big bosses from India are coming in today and he's going to impress them. Hhe made the pizza especially for them and no one else can have any, until they come in and get theirs. I looked at him and said, "Your are a *******. How about I hang out here until the bigwigs from India get here and I tell them how much time you spend on your phone and how you prevent customers from buying food they'd like to buy? Do you think they'll be impressed dummy?" How long does it take to make 7/11 pizza? Either way, 7/11 pizza is the last thing I'm serving to impress someone.

 

[Clonehomer]

I don’t do AirBnB, but when filling out surveys like that I rarely give out a 5, or whatever the top of the scale is unless something was exceptional. A 5 would indicate it was perfect, not satisfactory.

Isn’t 3 average on a 1-5 scale? If everyone got 5’s, what’s the point?

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Isn’t 3 average on a 1-5 scale? If everyone got 5’s, what’s the point?

I would imagine that there is an algorithm that puts the highest rated properties at the top of the list when searching for an Airbnb in a particular area. If it is at the top of the list I imagine it would get selected more often.

 

[matclone]

Has anyone else come across bizarre "business practices" in their travels this summer. I feel companies have lost their "Customer Focus".

This ^

i complain to my wife all the time about this. It's all about what companies want. Not what you or I want. A lot of it is CYA or see what a good boy I am material (surveys in general). Or controlling the conversation customer service on the phone (e.g., cable or insurance cos. where the person is responding from a script rather than listening to you).

Or pinching pennies. (hotel rooms with their piss poor lighting or no bars of soap--just canisters--or not doing up your room unless you ask.

Or (similar to pinching pennies) we can't be troubled (chain restaurants who apparently have no manager much less an owner around, so that expectations for service are maybe not so high--same as the (presumed) wages of those actually working there. Example: we enter an airport restaurant one morning recently. It's not real busy. We sit down. The music was blasting. My wife politely asks the server if they could turn it down a bit. She comes back to say the on floor manager, i.e., bartender, couldn't do that without some higher authority.