Starbucks is one of the only places I buy coffee. It’s not because I’m in love with them, though. My mom’s company gives out free gift cards during seminars and whatnot. My mom hates coffee, so she gives them to me. While there are better coffee shops out there, I prefer getting free coffee instead! It’s very close to my college, and there are many locations by my house. Talk about convenience! I must say that it does get a bit annoying to see a Starbucks location everywhere, though.
Being mostly about coffee, let’s talk about that first! Their coffee is pretty strong, but I like strong coffee in the morning. Some of their drinks are okay for those who are dieting or calorie conscious, while others are quite the opposite. I’m a big fan of their frappuccinos, and it’s really great they now are offering "Lite" ones (Calorie range is between 100-170, which isn’t too bad). One thing I recommend doing is going on their website and looking up the nutritional information on some drinks before visiting your local Starbucks. That way, you’ll know what drinks are okay and not okay to order then. I don’t know how their food is, so I’m not going to comment on that. Their prices can be a bit on the expensive side, but I don’t find Starbucks’ products worth to consume everyday.
The atmosphere of the stores I’ve been is nice. I find it a great place to study or just, well, sit around and do nothing! :) I find their sitting area a bit small, but I never actually sit there (that’s what the library is for). Also, being such a popular place, they can be very crowded. The lines do move fast and the staff is speedy when it comes to filling orders, but you should keep a good ten minutes aside for waiting.
Customer service isn’t too bad. I’ll admit I’ve met my fair share of nasty workers, but their toll-free customer service representatives are, from what I’ve observed, friendly and seem to actually care about your concern(s). In general, the staff is generally nice, and their fast service is a huge plus.
Overall, Starbucks is a fairly good place to get coffee, although there are better coffee shops out there. If you care more aboutc onvenience and don’t mind the hype around the chain, Starbucks isn’t a bad place to get some coffee.