Java Chip at Starbucks

Starbucks is the most popular coffee shop not only in the Philippines, but the whole world today. The Seattle based international coffeehouse company has since taken over the global market spanning  20,891 stores worldwide.

They offer a wide variety of coffee and frappuccinos with different unique flavors that's sure to satisfy their customers' cravings. But starbucks is patronized not only for it's delicious refreshments and coffee but mostly for it's ambiance as a coffee shop. They provide customers with a stylish modern and comfortable place to relax upon. People come there to meet and hang out, talk, socialize and more. Some people even come there to study or write plays and scripts. So you can see that the success of starbucks not only comes from the products they sell but also from this certain intangible service they provide their customers. 

Recently, then there's this particularly persistent craving that's been taking over me for the past few days. This craving of mine has been for Starbucks' Java Chip Frappuccino. So when the craving struck again I had no choice but to give in to it so I went to the nearest Starbucks branch which is located in Sm San Lazaro.

It took me about 20 minutes to get there and when I arrived, the place was full of people and there were no more  seats available.. So I decided to fall in line to order my Venti java chip frap which costs 180 pesos first then wait for someone to leave so i cold have their seat.

As I waited, I browsed through the snacks that they have on display. Because Starbucks caters mostly to the upper middle class and upper class section of society, their  price range is steeper.

Starbucks also sell different kinds of food and merchandise. They offer sandwiches, cakes bread and other types of pastries that are a bit pricey. They also sell, coffee mugs, glasses and other starbucks merchandise.

Although part of the mall, starbucks has different operating hours.

Some branches are open for service 24/7 but this particular branch is open only from 9:00 am to 12:00 am. 

This is the kitchen where they prepare the drinks. It's nice, clean and exposed so that you can watch how your ordered beverage is prepared by the staff. i also noticed that most of their equipment for preparing the beverages are modern and high tech. 

I was still far at the back of the line and many of the other customers in front of me took a long time because they were still browsing through the menu and are undecided on their order. This adds up to my frustration because if it weren't for them the whole process could have gone faster. This whole ordeal took me another 20 minutes and you can see the staff wasn't exactly hurrying up with their orders.

When my turn to order arrived, I already knew what i wanted so I was completed ordering in no time. The cashier politely took my name and order, gave my change and receipt asked me to wait on the other side of the counter for my name to be called. 

Finally,my order arrived and I was so happy that my cravings will be fulfilled again. The whipped cream on top tastes so sweet and good and the frappe is cold and tasty.

After finishing my drink, I went home. Thankfully, even though there are a lot of people ordering and the staff looks panicked, my frappuccino seemed like it was still thoroughly prepared and somehow it still tasted good. I was satisfied with my order, but with the ambient service that they provided mo during this transaction, not so much. No customer should have to wait for 20 minutes just to order a single frappuccino.  Good thing the frappe still tasted good to makeup for that somewhat sloppy service by the staff. Still, they should do something about those long lines and long waits we customers have to endure just to get our drink. They should improve their customer satisfaction by the training on their staff to maximize their efficiency in taking orders and serving drinks in order to somewhat control the chaos that peak customer hours bring.