This is my local Starbucks and I will say that after a few hiccups when I first started going, they have considerably upped their game, and for this I feel I had to come back and upgrade their rating to a well deserved 5. Seems the only thing this store needs is Starbucks Reserve with the Clover Brewing System and also add in Nitro Cold Brew (a regular customer can dream...) but I won't downgrade them on that as I know it's beyond their control.
Most recently they added the new Clover X system (billed "Starbucks Brew Revolution") which replaces the traditional Bunn brewers (for regular coffees) with a machine which grinds coffee beans and then brews each cup to order. Think of a Keurig that also grinds the coffee for you immediately before brewing (in a way this machine almost makes pour-over redundant too).
And to the company's credit, this innovation was NOT accompanied by a price increase. You can still get a tall Pike Place or featured dark roast for $1.90 plus tax (and unlimited refills for gold Starbucks Rewards members). Why anybody would still get coffee at Tim Horton's or McDonald's is beyond me as Clover X is a bigtime game-changer in favour of Starbucks. The Clover X brews coffee slightly stronger than the traditional Bunn did, which was a welcome surprise, and no way Timmies or McDonald's grinds beans on regular coffees to order.
Apparently Clover X is being slowly rolled out across the continent, and Pickering is one of the first in Canada to have it.