What a couple of weeks! Only four weeks into my new goal of writing a soldier's letter at a different Starbucks Coffee each week and I find myself two weeks behind. On the bright side, the event that put me behind (my daughter breaking a bone in her elbow) also gave me the opportunity to visit a Starbucks Coffee that I would have probably never visited. Funny how life can throw you a bad pitch which can then lead to something interesting or good, if we just look around the corner. Monclair, New Jersey is just the cutest American town. It looks like it should be in movies. Lots of wonderful old buildings that are in good shape and many pleasing shops and eateries. If you are ever visiting Jersey, give Montclair a look. You won't be disappointed.I took my daughter to the hair salon so that she could get "it all cut off" so that she could manage it better with her uninjured hand, which, of course, is not her dominate hand. While she was in the salon her roommate and I went to the Starbucks Coffee. My daughter and her roommate are both first year law students, so her roommate settled in at the bar to study while I wrote my soldier's letter.
This was a very busy Starbucks Coffee. There were no tables available. I was lucky to snag two bar stools. I liked my spot though. I was sitting in the back of the shop with not only a full view of the shop , but of the service and preparation areas. I quickly became entertained by the barista and found it difficult to work on my letter. Lisa was just amazing. She could remember every order even the odd ones like "extra hot hot chocolate", prepare it and call out its name while at the same time chat, smile and respond to customer's remarks. Because I was close enough to her, I even asked about the new coffee, Clover, while she was preparing a drink. she never missed a beat, answered my question with a smile, gave me her positive opinion of Clover coffee, then delivered the ordered drink to the customer with a greeting thrown in. I was very impressed. Man! If only the rest of the country worked with this kind of dedication to service with a smile.
It seems that at each Starbucks Coffee I've seen something that I could "go on" about. Human behavior...just puzzling. Two teen aged girls had order their drinks and were waiting at the barista bar, when suddenly one of the girls put her foot on the bar. It seems that one of her shoes needed tying. Do you think that it ever crossed her mind that that behavior could be offensive? Are our children growing up with so little social direction and manners that they really don't know that one should not put one's feet on the counter? I don't really think that "the village" is interested in fixing these kinds of behaviors and from what I can tell most parent's either don't notice or turn a blind eye to it. Needless to say, I was appalled.
COMFORT COMMENTS: Lots of big windows that allowed plenty of light. There was a couch bench along the wall with four round tables, a bar with six stools, many tables near the windows and a large computer/group table at the front of the store.
SHOP CRITIQUE: I found this Starbucks Coffee to be very clean. Finally a Ladies Room that was clean with a user friendly trashcan (no lid, just a round opening). Unfortunately, once again the soap dispenser was not working properly and a puddle of soap was on the floor beneath the dispenser.
EMPLOYEE COMMENTS: I found the employees of this Starbucks Coffee to be constantly working. Whenever the customer line died down, they immediately moved to a task...cleaning, refilling, etc. They all seemed happy and full of a strong work ethic. Before Lisa left, she refilled the ice storage twice. And to be honest about it, I think that her replacement had already started working and Lisa had probably already signed out for the day.
HELPFUL/INFORMATIONAL WEB-SITES:
http://www.soldiersangels.org/
www.starbucks.com/coffee/learn/clover
http://www.montclairnjusa.org/
www.emilypost.com/everyday-manners
www.life.familyeducation.com/manners-and-values/parenting
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