Starbucks - Cleveland Heights, Ohio (Cedar and Fairmount)

Okay, this has got to be the very best Starbucks Coffee Shop that I've ever visited.  I decided to spend my afternoon in this Starbucks simply because I liked the picture that I saw of the building while googling Cleveland area Starbucks.  Upon arrival, I realized that I would have to use metered parking on the street in front of Starbucks.  Now maybe there was free parking available, but being unfamiliar with the area I just wasn't sure and didn't want to drive around looking for it. After I paid the meter, quarter/30 minutes, I headed in with my low expectations in hand.  Low expectations that were directly related to the fact that I had to pay for parking.  I hate paying for parking, it just sorta puts me in a bad frame of mind.  Spoiled child of the burbs, I guess. Or just one of my "they tax us to death" pet peeves. 

Cleveland Heights
Cedar and Fairmount

Once I was inside of the shop all of my bad feelings dissolved.  I felt like I had entered a ski lodge.  On my right was a fireplace with seating all around it.  Of course, I headed straight away for one of the over-stuffed leather chairs facing the fire.  Once settled in with my Tazo Venti China Green Tips tea, I started checking out the rest of the shop.  The place was packed with people reading or working on their laptops.  Most people were alone.  I started to feel like I was in a college student center.  Matter-of-fact, I was probably within a mile or two of Case Western Reserve University.  I'm sure that that must account for the "student" feel of the shop.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself inside this Starbucks Coffee Shop.  Prior to coming, I had been ice skating, so I was a bit chilled from that and it was a cold Cleveland day.  There is nothing like a fire to warm one, even if it is all just a mental pleasure. 

COMFORT COMMENTS:  This has to be one of the most comfortable Starbucks that I've visited.  The choice of seating was pretty amazing.  There were over-stuffed cloth chairs, over-stuffed leather chairs, leather couch, bench couch along one wall with tables, window bar with bar stools, and tables with regular dining chairs.  The main seating area was carpeted, which I loved.  As mentioned above, there was a fireplace with fire burning that was on a raised ceramic tile platform.  Several people seated around the fireplace had their feet propped up on the platform.  People were so comfortable that one man had taken his shoes off to gain more comfort.  Because I had parked in the one hour limit metered parking, I had to leave way before I felt like leaving.  I will definitely visit this Starbucks again and again once I reside in Cleveland.

SHOP CRITIQUE:  Very clean, even the carpet in the main dining area was clean.  Plenty of room for customer comfort and for the service area.  I really liked the service area, which had a glass shelving wall displaying coffee products and Starbucks products.  The restroom was clean.  I hope that the Cherry Hill Starbucks has put in one of the user friendly trashcans that all the other Starbucks seem to have in their restrooms.  I noticed that employees cleaned the condiments bar while I was in the shop.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  I was seated in such a way that I could not observe the employees nor hear their conversations. 

HELPFUL/INTERESTING WEB-SITES:
www.starbucks.com
www.case.edu
www.tazo.com
www.clevelandheights.com

Starbucks - Fort Myers, Florida





Miromar Outlet Mall
Fort Myers, Florida

Lucky me!! I got to spend last week on Fort Myers Beach with a dear friend.  I loved this Starbucks Shop before I even went in the front door.  It took me a moment to decide just where I wanted to sit.  The outside seating was very tempting with plenty of tables and umbrellas.  But once inside, I discovered window seating with choice of bar stools at a window bar or over-stuffed chairs with a good view of both the windows and the front door.  Choices, choices.  I finally made up my mind to sit at the window bar with a view of the outside seating and the fountain in the center court.. 

The line at the service bar stayed full the whole time that I was in the shop, which was over 90 minutes.  Customers seemed to really enjoy sipping their drinks and eating their snacks while watching the foot traffic around the mall shops.  There seemed to be a quick turnover of all the seats except the outside seating and the over-stuffed chairs, which caused the character of the shop to be very organic and fluctuating with the ebb and flow of the crowd.   I think that it was very interesting that this Starbucks had such a happy character when I can safely say that it is not a "hometown hangout".  Could it be the colors?  The sunshine?  The fountain?  Or that people are happy to be able to take a break in a familiar spot while on vacation....Starbucks is to comfort zone as chicken soup is to comfort food.

I've started to collect the new Starbucks coffee mugs with the names of either cities or states on them.  I intend to only collect the ones that have a special meaning to me, such as:  Ohio - I grew up in towns along the Ohio River and have lived in Toledo, Ohio; Cleveland - someday, I guess, I will live in Cleveland; Washington, DC; Philadelphia; New York City; Florida - many good memories of trips to Florida with my parents and now I'm building memories with my friend in Fort Myers Beach.   The Florida mug has an alligator and an egret on it.  So far it is my favorite.

SHOP COMMENTS:  Beautiful clean shop.  Plenty of seating - outside and inside - with choices between bar stools at a window bar, over-stuffed leather chairs, chairs and tables.  Employees cleaned the condiments bar a couple times while I was in the shop.  I liked the fact that this Starbucks Coffee was participating in a drive for MDA ( Muscular Dystrophy Association).  No public restrooms were available within the shop.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  I had a hard time paying attention to the employees for two reasons:  1)  I was struggling to keep my attention on my Soldier's letter because I was so interested in the outside foot traffic and 2) the lines never really died down enough for me to get a good view of the employees.

INTERESTING/HELPFUL WEB-SITES: 

http://www.mdausa.org/

http://www.soldiersangels.org/

http://www.starbucks.com/

http://www.cityftmyers.com/

Starbucks - Cleveland Heights, Ohio



Rockefeller Center Building
Built 1930 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

This has to be one of the most interesting buildings to house a Starbucks Coffee.  At least I can say that I have never been in a Starbucks located in a more beautiful building.  Well that is if you leave out the Forbidden City Starbucks in China, which no longer exisit.  I just love the outside of this building.  You can just see the Starbucks logo and the green window awnings.  I had walked over to the shop after spending an hour or so on the ice at the Cleveland Heights Recreational Center just a block away.  It was such a cold day, my hands were freezing by the time I reached the shop and was certainly looking forward to my hot green tea.  Before I entered, I noticed that the windows of this Starbucks were not for the customers to use to gaze upon the foot and auto traffic, but for the foot traffic to gaze upon the art of local school children.  Very interesting and different.

Once settled into the purple, yes, purple over-stuffed chair, I used my the heat coming off my Venti Tazo China Green Tips tea to warm my hands.  Something about sitting in a royal purple chair just made me feel happy.  After a quick warm up, I started my soldier's letter.  While writing, I noticed a mural on the wall that featured the face of Michael Jordan.  Now, I've never seen a mural in any Starbucks Coffee or any pictures  that feature sports stars or celebrities.  My curiousity getting the better of me, I sought out one of the employees hoping to solve the mystery.  I was told that at one time Michael Jordan and Starbucks had worked together to promote urban coffee houses, which was also the reason for the display of children's art in the front windows.  However, Jordan and Starbucks no longer are working together.

COMFORT COMMENTS:  How could you not enjoy PURPLE over-stuffed chairs?  This shop is small with limited "comfy" seating.  There were at least four tables with chairs, which were never all occupied at one time.

SHOP CRITIQUE:  The shop was clean.  Employees cleaned the condiments during my visit.  The uni-sex bathroom was clean with working soap dispenser.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  The employees were always busy.  At one point one of the employees was singing with the music, which I enjoyed.   Singing employee - a happy employee,  happy employee - happy shop, happy shop - happy customers!

STARBUCKS SINGLE OF THE WEEK:  "Where Not to Look for Freedom" - The Belle Brigade

Starbucks - Moorestown, New Jersey

This to me is an unusual Starbucks Coffee, because, as you can see, there is no huge Starbucks sign on the building or stand-up sign on the sidewalk in front of the building. Only the Starbucks round logo is visible to the public. I like that, especially in this historical town. Moorestown had its beginnings in the Quaker community in the 1600s, serving as the home to the Lenni Lenape Native American Indians prior to that time. It is a quaint New Jersey town that was ranked number one in Money magazine's 2005 list of best places to live in America.



Main Street - Moorestown, New Jersey



The people who live within walking/biking distance of Main Street have a public library, post office, churches, multiple small restaurants, coffee shops, several small clothing and toy stores and a convenience store.  The Quaker Moorestown Friends School is located in the heart of downtown.  It offers a thrift shop and various student activities such as plays, concerts and sporting events to the community.  The only amenity that I feel this town is missing is a decent sized grocery store.  For many years, there was an Acme Grocery across from the Friends School, but it has moved to a new location that is no longer within walking distance.

After parking my car in the lot behind one set of stores along Main Street, I made a quick walk to Starbucks.  I like visiting American towns where I leave my car and walk.  I enjoy the window shopping that this allows me.  It was a cold windy February day.  I was looking forward to my hot tea and a cozy seat. 

Now, I've been to this Starbucks Coffee many times before, but never with the goal to "check" the place out.  I was planning as I entered the shop to sit at a window seat.  I do love to watch the outside foot traffic.  Unfortunately, this Starbucks has limited windows.  The one that faces the sidewalk is too small for a window bar with seating, there is only a small round table and, of course, it was taken.  Although there were two over-stuffed chairs to my left, I decided to check out the back of the store hoping that a leather couch or more comfy chairs would be available.  Nope.  Only tables in the back.  I return to the front and take the over-stuffed chair that is not occupied.  After ordering my Venti Tazo China Green Tips tea, I settled in to write my soldier's letter.  I found myself constantly distracted by the customers.  There was a steady stream of young teen aged groups coming in, taking advantage of their President's Day holiday by hanging out at the local Starbucks.  Because the only tables of four were located directly across from me, this afforded me the opportunity to watch the funny, innocent flirting activities between the boys and girls.   There is something very nice about Starbucks Coffee being the local coffee shop.  It certainly gives this Starbucks a hometown feel.  Many people came in and greeted other customers or the staff making it clear to me that they knew each other. 

COMFORT COMMENTS:  Had it not been for the hometown feel that the customers gave this Starbucks Coffee, I am not sure that I would have many positive things to say about the interior.  It had more of an industrial feel with few windows that were either too small or located too high up to provide the customer with much outside gazing.  With only two comfy chairs, I was lucky to secure one for myself.  However, this Starbucks did have outdoor seating, which is always nice.  And even as cold as it was, two different groups of people used the outside chairs and tables.

SHOP CRITIQUE:   Finally a Starbucks Coffee that gets the clean "stamp" in the bathroom, for the floor and the condiments table.   There was a fully functioning soap dispenser in the ladies' room with no puddles on the floor. Maybe I should start sticking my head in the men's room just to see if they are receiving good treatment.  Staff tidied up the condiments table twice while I was in the shop. 

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS:  I liked the way the employees listened to my drink requests:  first, my one bag in, one bag out; then my, single shot espresso in a eight oz. cup.  But, you know, I've come to just expect that from my Starbucks employees, they are all good listeners. 

STARBUCKS SINGLE OF THE WEEK:  Lia Ices "Love Is Won"

HELPFUL/INFORMATION WEB-SITES:
*www.moorestown.com
*www.mfriends.org
*www.soldiersangels.org
*www.tazo.com
*www.starbucks.com
*www.myspace.com/liaices
And just for fun *www.girl.com.au



Starbucks - Commack, Long Island, New York

Another Starbucks Coffee with a drive-thru!

I have never been one to ever run into Starbucks Coffee, order then take off. So, these drive-thrus are just beyond me. From the early 90s when I visited my first Starbucks outside of Seattle, which was in Houston, I've loved the Starbucks Coffee shops. Not only are most painted in colors that I find soothing, but most also have furniture in arrangements that beg me to stick around.

Throw in the music and I'm more than happy to settle in.

This Starbucks Coffee is quite large inside. I headed immediately to the leather couch to stake out my claim. That being done, I placed my order, "Venti China Green Tips, one bag in, one bag out please." I decided to tweak my order just to see what response I would get. The barista didn't miss a beat. She simply asked me if I would like for her to give me the bag or put it into a cup. It felt really good to have someone listen to me and to hear me. It seems that we communicate with one another more now than ever via phones, cell phones, email, texting, etc. Yet so many people say that they feel like no one listens to them. We're all too distracted. Maybe this is the real service and free gift that Starbucks gives its customers. Not only do they listen, but they hear us. Could this be why people are willing to run in, run out or go through the drive-thru passing up the comfortable seating? Being heard, whether ordering a drink, expressing an opinion or saying 'I love you', makes us feel connected and valuable. With my renewed sense of value, I organized myself on the couch and began my soldier's letter. I wondered if my soldier would enjoy 'listening' to me as he read my thoughts on the importance of listening.

Enjoying this Starbucks Coffee with me were several people reading, a group of people having a meeting, a few people working on their computers and a couple of men sitting at a table playing with what appeared to be their new fancy cell phones. I was so entertained by them that I found myself meeting one of the gentlemen eye to eye a couple of times. At one point, he raised up the newspaper that they were photographing with their phone cameras in order to hide his face as he spoke to the other gentleman. I cracked a smile. He just didn't appreciate how lucky he was, someone was listening!

COMFORT COMMENTS: Larger than most Starbucks Coffee shops that I've been in, this shop has a leather couch with a coffee table and two small side tables, four over-stuffed chairs with a foot stool at one of them, two computer tables with a free standing floor lamp at one of the tables, multiple round tables and a small alcove with two more over-stuffed chairs. There were so many good choices of seating that I was almost driven to try them all. I especially liked the the warm touch that two oriental rugs provided. It seemed to me that customers liked using the free standing floor lamp. It put out a nice soft lighting for the computer table. As you can see in the photo, this Starbucks Coffee has many large windows. Most of the windows had pull down shades which the customers could and did use as needed. Besides the floor lamp and oriental rugs, another unusual item in this Starbucks was a large screen TV that displayed the title and artist of the music that was being played. I loved that and found myself using it a couple of times. Nice! I've never mentioned this in previous blogs, but Starbucks gives away cards for a free song from I-tunes each week. This program is called Pick of the Week. Although I do not use the cards myself, I do send them to my soldiers in their letters. I sent a couple to my daughter when she was studying in Venice, Italy. She gave me a thumbs up for doing that.

SHOP CRITIQUE: I found this shop to be very clean except for the condiments table. When I came in the condiments table was messy with sugar, milk spills and paper. After two hours of being in the shop, I noticed a customer ask for more creamer. An employee carried more creamer to the condiments table, but did not tidy-up the table. It was still messy when I left. I've noticed that this seems to be a problem in all the Starbucks that I've been to so far. Is this because the employees get busy behind the counter and just forget or do they not see it as a problem? I don't know, but I don't like the way it looks and Starbucks shouldn't either. I found the women's restroom to be very clean and neat. Not only was there a user friendly trashcan but a soap dispenser that actually works leaving no puddle on the floor. Although most of the windows had pull down shades, the front windows did not. I had to adjust my seating due to the heat and brightness of the morning sun.

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS: I found the employee that served me to be friendly and efficient. Other than that it was difficult to watch or inter-act with the employees due to the size of the shop.

HELPFUL/INFORMATIONAL WEB-SITES:

www.soldiersangels.org

www.starbucks.com

www.ehow.com/how_6055026_listen-other.html

Starbucks - Montclair, New Jersey

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

Starbucks - Princeton, New Jersey

Starbucks - Princeton, New Jersey

I liked this Starbucks as soon as I saw it. It is located in a building that just screams out old world English charm in one of America's most historical cities that plays host to one of the world's most beautiful college campuses.

The footprint of the building is long and narrow with the service area being in the middle. I made my way to the back of the store where the over-stuffed furniture is located hoping to secure myself a seat. Of the four over-stuffed armed chairs, two being leather covered and two being orange cloth covered, only the cloth covered ones were available, and one of those was covered in crumbs. Just as I was deciding to sit in one of them, I heard my daughter's voice in my head repeating "bed bugs, bed bugs, bed bugs!" Needless to say, I headed for the near by table for two by the window, even though it provided a very limited view for people watching. No matter, I settle in with my Venti Tazo China Green Tips tea and begin my soldier's letter.

About half way into my first page, I notice the guy in one of the over-stuffed leather chairs making the "I'm leaving" movements. I quickly take up an offensive position for the smooth over-handed pass of my purse securing the leather chair for myself. Okay, I admit it, it was a little pushy, but that is one of the perks of being in the 50 and over club, people accept craziness from us, especially in this Starbucks where most are in the 20 something club. Once again settled in, I go back to my letter. Unfortunately the customers in this Starbucks are providing me with little inspiration for my letter, most are students with the noses either in books or their eyes focused on their computer screen. I find myself day-dreaming about the two men who sat in the cloth covered chair without brushing off the crumbs. Why is that? Were they clueless? Did they just not care? Puzzling.

Fitzrandolph Gateway at Princeton University

After moments of writer's block, I pack up and move to the window seats in the front. If the customers weren't going to be interesting maybe the foot traffic would be. It didn't take long for me to realize that now I was actually a part of the entertainment for the foot traffic. Most people passing by turned to look into Starbucks. Some would smile at me, while others would quickly look away when they caught my eye. At least now I had some material. I wrote about the clothes, shoes and electronic devices and the beauty of the Princeton University campus.

MY COMFORT COMMENT: I loved the window seat, however the bar is too high for comfortable writing. I had to use a notebook placed on my lap. As for the over-stuffed chairs, the leather chairs are nice, the cloth ones, well they just looked dirty. There seem to be plenty of tables located near outlets for computer users.

MY SHOP CRITIQUE: I don't even like thinking about bed bugs in hotels, I especially don't want to go into a Starbucks and have a chair covered in crumbs bring bed bugs to mind. Yes, I KNOW bed bugs aren't there for the crumbs....ew, ew, ew!!! The coffee table between the over-stuffed chairs was covered with dirty cups and napkins. No one ever came over to clear it or to even have a look. The unisex restroom had paper towels all over the floor and the soap dispenser was hanging open off the wall with a puddle of soap on the floor beneath it. I opted for a water wash followed by a squirt of my own germ-X antibacterial hand sanitizer. Uh, wonder if the germ-X could take care of the bed bugs?

MY EMPLOYEE COMMENT: The employees were young and helpful at the service area. I could tell from their reaction to one another that they seemed happy working at this store. However, they seemed to be unconcerned about the state of the store.

HELPFUL/INFORMATIONAL WEB-SITES:

www.healthybodydaily.com/bedbugs

www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea

http://www.soldiersangels.org/

http://www.germx.com/

www.princeton.edu/~oktour/virtualtour/

http://www.forbes.com/ (search for world's most beautiful college campuses)