Starbucks - Medford, New Jersey

This is my local Starbucks Coffee Shop, which actually only occupies the tall part of the building on the left hand side of the photo.  I think that Starbucks should hang a logo sign in the tall window/ but then maybe the aesthetic balance would be off.  I'm sure that Starbucks paid someone big bucks to make that decision.

Over the years I've spent some pretty good times in this Starbucks.  My daughters have had "girl gatherings" here, picked out their favorite "reward" drinks here and I have spent many an hour chatting with a special friend here.  And over the last three years I've brought a new friend to this shop for our own chats.  On this day, however, I came alone for I had a soldier's letter to write. 

It seems that Starbucks is in s state of renewal.   As most Starbucks' fans know the logo has been tweaked.  The book Onward by Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, coffee beans in special tribute bags and lots of other special tribute items seem to be everywhere. In this store even the furniture inside was new and a wall bench had been added.  I like the new furniture and I don't have a problem with the new logo, however it seems that many people do.  While I was enjoying my coffee and writing my letter, I heard some customers talking with the staff about the new logo and how much they don't like it.  I find it funny that they care that much.   Guess some people care about logos and some care about cleanliness.

New kind of comfy chair

COMFORT COMMENTS:  I just loved these new chairs.  The size was perfect for me, very comfortable.  There were four of these chairs with two small tables.  There was a new wall bench with tables and chairs.  There were about 4-5 other tables with chairs.   Unfortunately, the sun was in my eyes and there were no blinds to pull down.  But I was able to move the chair around, one of the perks at Starbucks.  I like adjusting my chairs when I need to find a more comfortable spot.

SHOP CRITIQUE:  The floor was very dirty and some of the tables were also dirty.  In the photo above you can see a cup wrapper is on the floor and some of the crumbs on the floor and table near my coffee.  There were straws and papers and crumbs on the floor under the condiments table.  After I had been in the shop for just over an hour, one of the employees came around and wiped some of the table tops.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  I could hear the employees talking, talking, talking behind me, mostly about family matters, which is probably why it took so long for them to get around to wiping the tables.  Once I was in the Starbucks with a friend on a very cold and snowy night in February of this year.  We had decided to stop in to get a coffee and chat before going home.  We really wanted to sit in the over-stuffed leather chairs, but an employee on her break was in one of the chairs, so we had to wait until she went back to work.  Neither of us was happy about that and neither should Starbucks be happy about that.

PICK OF THE WEEK:  "Beautiful Trash feat, Megan Washington" - Lanu

INTERESTING/ENTERTAINING WEBSITES:
http://www.lanu.com.au/index.htm
http://www.starbucks.com/
http://www.medfordnj.com/
http://www.soldiersangels.org/