a pumkin spice latte served with...well...a lot of happiness
living out here in the pacific northwest, next door to the hometown of the flagship store, my husband and i sometimes comment on the fact we feel surrounded by starbucks. when we first moved here in 2004, we would count them when we spent a day up in seattle. there are several places where there are two a block away from one another. it is, simply, unbelievable. jon and i crack ourselves up sometimes, “there’s one!” “wait, there’s one!”
recently, someone told me that people call starbucks, “six bucks.” (who told me that?) it is true. it is hard to leave starbucks without spending more money than one should ever need to for a cup of coffee. this morning, i ordered a grande pumpkin latte with soy and an apple fritter (they were out of pumpkin doughnuts…sad, sad). it was over $6. not kidding.
i believe in the idea that it is important to support the locally owned places. and we do. when you come to visit, we will spend a few hours in the cozy mandolin café, drinking coffe or tea (or wine) and eating scrumptious pieces of cake or huge cookies or even a delicious salad. we will solve the problems of the world because that is simply what one does there. the ambiance is incredible. there is free wi-fi. i spend an afternoon working there every few weeks and i know i should go there to write. it is a good place to get lost in your own words…or the words of someone else. they support local artists and musicians play almost nightly. it really is an incredible neighborhood café. but it is expensive too. the prices are about the same as starbucks. and if you eat a panini or one of their salads or a piece of quiche…the total quickly increases. that is okay by me because i appreciate paying a little extra for ambiance and the “free” wi-fi. but you aren’t saving any money by going there. still, supporting the local places like this one is an easy choice.
so here is my question. since moving here, one thing jon and i notice every time we go to starbucks is that the employees there are just about the happiest people we have ever met. have you noticed this too? they look you right in the eye and say welcome or how are you or great to see you today – every. single. time. they are lauging and making jokes with one another. they know the names of their customers. i have not doubt that if i went to the same starbucks weekly they would learn my name. they are always smiling. it is kind of weird. i can’t believe how happy they seem. every single time at every single starbucks. from the one in the mall to the one in the stadium at the university of washington to the one in the airport to the ones with the super nice couches and fireplace near alki beach. it is bizarre. i can be kind of grumpy, under the weather, haven’t showered, starving, and on and on (like this morning) and within seconds i am smiling. and i am not treated any differently whether i have my dirty hair in a Notre Dame baseball cap and am not wearing any make-up or if jon and i stop in after eating out and are dressed up.
i saw the ceo/owner/whoever that guy was of starbucks on 60 minutes earlier this year. he talked about the employee benefits and how good they are etc. hmmm…could something as simple as employee benefits make these people this happy?
i am currently editing a project about ethics in law enforcement and there is this section about using the image of being videotaped to help you decide how you should react to a situation. meaning, even though you feel alone in the moment you are faced with a decision, would your decision be any different if you knew you were going to be caught on film and others would see your actions? this makes me wonder: are the employees of starbucks being videotaped by the happy police?
i don’t know what it is, but i have to admit that i like it. i enjoy being greeted by the smiling faces of people who act like they genuinely want to make my day. it makes me feel, dare i admit it, special. i like that the young man who took my order this morning took the time to look at my name on my debit card so that he could tell me to have a nice day while using my first name. i like that, even though there was a short line of people, he still took the five extra seconds to do this.
i will still go to my favorite local spots and support the “little guy.” but when i am out and about, i admit that going to starbucks can be a good thing. for me. they serve up slight shifts in attitude and smiles with their lattes.
liz lamoreux
Reader Comments (19)
I'm glad it's all Starbucks so now I need to ask about the "happy police." LOL
Don't you love their pumkin lattes :)
...i think it's part of their hiring policy/contract. (sorry! i feel like such a buzzkill)...but at least the employees are agreeing to be happy!
i love pumpkin spice lattes...ooh, i almost forgot to tell you! i was reading all your posts about how much you love them and so last week when i was stressed out so much with two essays and a short story due on the same day, those lattes were my reward to myself...and now i'm addicted. but it's the best addiction.
thanks, sweetie!
Must check out our Starbucks here and see if they make pumpkin lattes - or is it just an autumn thing? We have different kinds of pumpkins over here anyway - or so I'm told by an American I know. Not at all suitable for the good ol American Pumpkin Pies at all. So maybe they can't make the lattes over here ...
I think that happy bosses make happy employees - it always comes from the top on down. :)
As a former barista, I'd like to say that no, we are not taped by the happy police; however, Starbucks is an AWESOME company to work for, and they totally encourage a positive attitude. It's easy to be happy there because the people are great, most customers are really nice and you get free coffee the whole time! Starbucks is awesome about their principles about serving customers---you are always allowed to re-make a drink or take care of the customer. They encourage you to give free drinks and be kind, and that in itself makes it fun to serve people because you know that no manager is going to get mad or anything else...I can't say enough about how good it is to be there!
I always feel guilty going to Starbucks, but I really just have to admit I like their coffee and I love that the staff are so nice. And Pumpkin lattes make me very happy. I cant' wait to come down to Seattle and go to the original one.
I'm still searching around here for a local cafe to support, but so far no luck...
My sister calls it starcrack although I'm sure she wasn't the originator of that funny name.
I think a lot of that happy, is where you live because while happy-ish, I don't get that I want to hug you feeling when I stop by the 2 Starbucks in my area. Not in the city either. I do like the flavored drinks, pretty much every single one.
Ahh, Starbucks! I don't know what my life would be like without it. It is true- the people are really nice and we have a few locations where we are regulars and they remember our names. Oh course, we like to joke around and make up names too. Like last week I was Mildred and my husband was Harold. I told the barista our names in a funny old lady voice and watched him try not to laugh out loud. We let him off the hook...
Starbucks. Grande no foam vanilla latte
and a pumpkin cream cheese muffin!
I seriously think their all on drugs! or just tons of coffee.
Liz~ you are so funny, I swear it's like you are tapped into my brain! I was JUST having this same conversation with a friend because I had my first "grumpy" Starbucks server.
I drove away thinking, "Geez, who pooped in your cornflakes!" and I never even care if some server is grumpy, because...well, we've all been servers having a bad day, but it was the strangest thing to actually SEE a grumpy STARbucks server.
hee hee lovin u
xxx Darlene
Ah yes, the pumpkin latte is divine.
I have even found the workers so happy, they even hang out there long after their shift is done.
Today I got to sample Starbuck's "Maple Macchiato" and I think it has potential..but it will never surpass my Caramel Macchiato!!
Well - before store cameras were a thing (1987-1989), I worked as the "Counter girl" (I know I know..sexist) at a dry cleaners (Federal Way Cleaners - to be exact!)...I had the same cheery attitude that you speak of Liz! I not only knew my customers..but I knew almost all of their phone numbers...it was eerie...even if we had the grumpiest customer - I found a way to connect with them - even if it was on an unpleasant level...I have an aqaintance who manages a Starbucks (gee, imagine that..) and I often notice that she has this special LIGHT within her, she smiles even when she isn't aware that people aren't looking at her...that just shines...even if she is stressed..it just comes on...I believe that Starbucks is the NORDSTROM of Coffee...the Nordstrom ethic is an actual BIBLE..you will see the binder by nearly every cash register/phone book..the newbies read them often...hahaha...
I love to observe things...That's a neat observation Liz...COOL.
If I knew I had the Happy Police around me - I might even TONE DOWN my excitement...WEIRD!!
i can’t believe how happy they seem. every single time at every single starbucks.
Come to the one in Kirkland and you'll get a shot of not-so-happy ~ along with your more-than-six-dollar purchase.
I have the sme thing with my smiley coffee chain of choice over here - Costa (although I do sometimes defect to Starbocks but the rim of their mugs are a bit too thick - yes I'm fussy) I would like to support the smaller places more, but only when I can be guaranteed soya milk as I don't do dairy, and this is a major factor.
(still thinking of your poem from Thursday, the way you elegantly blended your experiences of death, loved ones and companions. hope your head cold's clearing :-))
My sister and I were just talking about this last weekend, as we stopped by a Starbucks near her house a couple of times and commented that even though we aren't there often enough to be regulars that some of the employees have worked there long enough for us to recognize them and that they seem to be pretty positive and nice most of the time. We speculated that Starbucks must have some really good perks and policies regarding employees, because you'd expect that to typically be a sort of business with heavy employee turnover.
Mmmmm, I'm heading out early for coffee I think! (Gotta check out madolin - sounds cool)
I strongly prefer a couple of local, inde shops around here myself. Just better tasting coffee. (I'm pretty picky too.) But I'll choose a Starbucks over a roadside stand in an unfamiliar town. Too many BAD coffees, too risky. At least I know what I'm getting at Starbucks.
Ever shop at Costco?
Same happy people work there.
Either these companies employ a happiness cult to recruit for them or treating employees well really does create a better environment. Hope it's the latter because I know how to treat people fairly (taught by my father) but wouldn't have a clue where to find the cult recruiters.
LOVE the question about how we'd resolve issues if we knew we were being taped. SUCH a great thought. They say character is what you do when no one's looking. These days, there's always someone looking, via security cameras and so forth. What does that say to us????
dang, you make me want to go hang out in a coffee shop all day. i've noticed the same friendly, sincere, happy attitude at Dunn Bros. here in Minneapolis also. (do we even have starbucks here? hmmm...now i must find out!). I also like Dunn Bros. because each place looks entirely different from the next rather than carbon copies of each other(like Caribou kind of is). I think there is something to be said for feeling VALUED as an individual and an employeee. That is something that a lot of corporate companies seem to forget. And, sure, there might be a camera on them with the happy police watching...but we know genuineness when we find it. You can't fake it and actually make people feel good. Anyway, I think it's great that this corporate giant is creating a positive impact...maybe it will become contagious?
ok...i just googled starbucks + minneapolis and there's only like a million of them. time to pull my head out of the clouds and go order a pumpkin latte!
:)
I worked for Starbucks at one point too... well, actually I worked for Barnes and Noble in a Starbucks cafe... I managed it - and one of my favorite parts was the repeat customers. I had one guy who tipped me a dollar every morning on a $1.25 cup of coffee. He was so friendly, that even though I wasn't necessarily happy, he made me smile!
I'm a Starbucks fan - I admit it. I like their coffee. The company does something right by their employees. I've thought about quitting and going back to work for them several times! May still happen! :)
Funny funny funny. I see the same thing here in Portland. We moved here from So. Cal. earlier this year, and I just can not get over how much happier people seem in general. I notice it at Starbucks, I notice it in the book store, heck, I notice it on the streets. The other day when we were at Fred Meyers, someone actually stopped to let us cross with our three year old. My husband looked at me and commented about how that would NEVER have happened where we come from.
I'm not sure of those fabulous Starbucks people are inherently happy people, or if the company is the good, but I agree that it does make one feel a bit special.