Good Mocha for a Branded Coffee Stop
SITREP
The metrics for coffee are pretty standard from Starbucks to Starbucks. So that a Mocha I grab at the first Starbucks in Seattle is going to taste about the same as the one in my hometown of Sacramento to the one here in Phoenix. And in the end, the taste of my mocha is the driving factor behind an overall rating.
Where "The rubber meets the road", so to speak, is in the execution of customer service. Here, this Starbucks pretty much fails that measurement.
THE SETUP
You're in an airport. That should be the first clue to any establishment that it's going to be busy. When I was here, it was EXTREMELY busy. And yet, when you have a line about 12-16 people deep, waiting to (hopefully) grab a coffee and decompress, you are going to need more than ONE barista manning both the register AND the coffee machines, and making us wait about 20 minutes to get the coffee.
Minus 1-Star right there.
COST
Why is it that airports and businesses at airports somehow justify the idea that charging MORE for services and product at airports can be supported?
I. DON'T. CARE.
The fact airport establishments jack up their prices is a completely reviewable metric and one I will ALWAYS denigrate. You can give me any excuse you want that the reason my cup of mocha here is a full $1.10 more here in Phoenix than at home, I won't ever accept your airport tax rationalization.
Minus another Star right there.
THE LOWDOWN
Great coffee. But get more staff. And f*ck airport taxes.