Starbucks

Every Starbucks i visit has super friendly and well trained employees but I personally love this one in the Freehold Raceway Mall. As someone who drinks Turkish coffee or Italian espresso, all those tasty drinks here are more of a snack than a coffee for me (not that I don’t like them). However by testing and trying out I discovered my fav Starbucks drink to be an espresso shot (or two) with a bit of almond milk. Strong and delicious, and no unwanted calories. As for food, I like the vegetarian choices (for their healthier ingredients) and the Kale and Mushroom Egg Bites and Egg White & Roasted Red Pepper Egg Bites (in the photo) are delicious. The little balcony sitting area behind the Starbucks gives this place some extra charm.

Personally Starbucks coffee is not my cup of tea. But it is a place to meet clients since they know the name. For whatever reason statbucks in this area is super loud piping whatever music they play. A bit obnoxious. Staff will depend on day. Some are nice some don't give you the time of day. Regional management needs to reiterate that customer service is an absolute.

Visited the cafe in person and it was the first time back in a Starbucks since 2019. Very disappointing experience. Food and drinks were fine, but the service at close was an embarrassment to the testament of Starbucks, its claimed values and the atmosphere it attempts and fails to promote. I had visited with my friend on a Thursday evening to catch up after a long and tiring work day. Everything was okay until the last few minutes before closed. My friend and I, coincidently, are both ex-Starbucks “partners” who worked as Starbucks baristas at the Freehold Barnes and Noble Starbucks before it closed years ago. So we are familiar with the company culture and the culture of the starbucks cafe’s within our region, mostly. We are also, two black women. We also consider ourselves spiritual. We decided to pray for each other, not something I typically feel led to do, but felt comfortable enough there and in that moment to do so. The shift manager, who had already announced that it was 5 minutes to close, came back again while we were praying, holding hands eyes closed, praying out loud, to tell us that they were closing. Beyond this is that there were still other people in the cafe, some of which had walked in 2 minutes before close to order drinks and we were basically shooed out before them even. I had never felt so unwelcomed in a Starbucks. I haven’t spent my own money at a Starbucks in years, and I feel like this visit affirmed my previous refrain to do so. As a company that claims to be all about including, appreciating, uplifting and we’re celebrating its staff and customers in all their diversity, this location really dropped we’re the ball. I will likely be reaching out to the store manager and writing directly to the company in the coming days. This location has always been known for their drive thru, and maybe that’s the problematic . Perhaps, their shift supervisor needs to go back to training and learn out to treat people, not because we’re exceptional in any way, but because we’re human beings. Neither my shift supervisors nor I would have ever done such a thing at a closing. However, I will comment on the pressure that store managers put on shift managers and baristas to close “on time.” So it’s also likely that the shift supervisors actions, beyond being rude, are valued over customer connection. So perhaps it’s systemic. Whatever it may be, it’s a shame really, a real shame.

I was running in to get my coffee before I sunset when my Shabbos starts and all the baristas were so helpful and showed me the kosher symbol on my preferred soy milk. It was a delicious coffee thank you so much for such a nice calm experience ill be back! And this was the end of their long day! Kudos to you guys!