UPDATE: Coffee Beangate

I did the do-gooder citizen thing and wrote a strongly-worded letter to Starbucks yesterday. Rather, I filled out the little online form for "concerns" about my Witness-like encounter with an old woman, four bags of coffee beans and an apathetic barista.

OK, Witness, minus the thick black stockings and bowl-cut bangs hacked off with some giant handcrafted scissors. No need to add further drama to this crime.

I was explicit about my concerns (in more or less these words):

1) The shoulder shrug of the employee and lack of any further response to THEFT in the store.



2) The very regular presence of children in this store and what a bad
bad bad message that sends to their next generation of customers (aww yeah, I was speaking their language with that line).



3) The recent rise in prices which makes a regular customer wonder if
loss prevention is at the root of a $6 cup of foam and caffeine.



4) The sighting of this coffee bean bandit in the store before the witnessed event, leading me to believe she is a regular.



I also happened to mention that I blogged about it and included my URL.
I thought it might add a little punch to my "concerns" and might even
bring a few more 'bucks employees over to the bloggy side. Kidding.
I just didn't want to regale the whole thing again and a link was a lot
easier. And the only strong-arm collateral I have at this point (oh
well).



And then this afternoon, within four or so hours of me hitting send on
that handy little online form, a very perky and similarly "concerned"
Danielle from Starbucks corporate called me at home.



To my surprise and actual delight, she was quite nice, quite thorough
and quite responsive to all I had to say. She said she would be
contacting the manager and that it was her hope and strong
recommendation that this situation would provide and opportunity for
further training on loss prevention with the staff of associates. I
agreed.



She also said that all associates are initially trained in this area
and that they wanted to be sure to address this issue immediately. I
nodded into the phone.



She took note of my description of the event and the woman and all of
that good stuff that I imagine went into little boxes on another handy
online form. Then Danielle, whom I hope is rising through the ranks at
Starbucks as you read this, asked if she could please thank me for
being in touch and expressing my "concerns" by sending me a couple of
drink coupons that I could expect to arrive in my home mailbox in the
next 5 - 7 business days? And of course, I agreed.



So, see? It does pay to complain. Or at least express your "concerns."
At least to a company with refreshing and impeccable customer service
(at that level anyway). Perhaps just as sad as seeing that old woman
put coffee under her skirt is how surprising Starbucks response to my
report was. I expected much less from The Man of the bean business and
I'm glad Danielle proved me wrong.



Now, I must stop here before my fingers automatically type out a witty
little coffee-related pun salutation and without thinking, you drop a
dime and a couple of pennies in my plastic cup.