Starbucks

My favorite Starbucks location in the Santa Barbara/​Goleta area. It’s pretty spacious, and it’s always clean. The employees here are very kind and are always willing to answer questions whenever a new item comes to store. The only thing I would change is kicking out people who buy a small drink and take up all the seating all day long!

It’s 7 p.m. in January. It’s less than fifty degrees outside. The sun is down. Everyone in the shop is wearing a jacket or a sweater. Many people are hugging themselves and shivering visibly.
Have any of the employees noticed and turned down the air conditioner? Fuck, no.

Why are so many people so critical? It’s coffee and pastries.
Came here on Thanksgiving, and it was super packed. Staff was super friendly, especially working on a holiday. Came to get coffee for my fiancé who also got stuck working on a holiday. Unfortunately only big box retailers get on the news about their employees working on holidays. Other big companies are forced to cater to consumer demand and those employees should get some recognition too.
Short and sweet review. If you read this today, Thanksgiving, be nice. You could’ve stayed home and made your own coffee and breakfast. These guys are here making your mid-​week holiday easy.

Eric is my favorite barista of all time. He knows my order without me having to tell him. Definitely tip the man on his hard work!

If there was a «zero star» option, we would choose it. This is probably the dirtiest Starbucks we’ve ever patronized. From the obnoxiously loud, coughing and sneezing barista (if we get sick, we blame him!), to the filthy tables we sat at, to the other patron (a «regular», we surmise) who acquired a container from the store and proceeded to open a can of dog food and feed his dog at the table next to us~ this entire experience was disgusting.

Service sucks at this location. Not only are they systemically rude (which is a leadership issue) but they are not proactive. Seeming high turn over. today once.again asked for something easy and simple and again it was not done, then the young man handed me the
do it myself. Shame on me for going back.

Got here today. And they didn’t have napkins. I understand sometimes things run out before next shipment arrive but management you can still buy general napkins next door at supermarket just so your customer don’t have to leave with oily fingers

You know, I was going to write a bad review about a worker there. …but decided to take the high road…:)

Mostly management’s fault vs. the probably not-​over-​paid Sunday employees.
First, this is one of the smallest, most unpleasant **spaces** of any Starbucks I know of (a gold card, frequent-​user). Layout is awful. And noise level. Etc.
I’ve been to THIS SB maybe 20 times over 2 years. It’s almost ALWAYS crowded /​noisy /​dumpy feeling, never feels cleaned up. The too-​small space feels like it perhaps never can be.
On the last day I went (Sunday) – and literally the last day I’ll go… DISCLAIMER: we all have «bad days” – and it’s not fault of this person BUT that of management: …lady at cash register seemed to have a cold; to her credit she sneezed away from the food but management should have a system to quickly ameliorate this.
Young man bagel toaster… or whoever? was supposed to be doing this … took far too long for simple coffee + bagel … he seemed… distracted.
But everyone USUALLY gives that impression at THIS SB.
‘took so much time that – believe it or not – something ‘can’t remember ever doing – I cancelled the bagel order… then…just gave up, walked away, leaving my $ 1.50 when the process to get my gold card out again … for $ 1.50 – was just ridiculously not worth it, mannnnnnn. ‘dropped my cell phone, yeah, during this BUT … just the whole vibe … as usual … not good.
MANAGEMENT needs to kick this place into gear.
There were 5 or 6 !!! people, working behind counter, noisily but not to customers’ advantage… with full line of waiting customers.
No one took the incentive to … tend to customers – as usual here.
1. They did not warn that they’d have to «Americana-​» the coffee (i.e., didn’t have what was ordered already brewed /​takes long time /​cash register lady was too disinterested /​distracted to hear me cancel and change to what was ready.
2. They didn’t, and should always: ask CUSTOMERS NAME, WRITE ON BAG to get food order separated from the MANY other orders… due to (the usual) long line waiting for the distracted, slow service.
NOTE: Don’t blame just employees.
Management: 1., clean this place up, clean the windows, rearrange those few chairs /​some plants maybe? This place feels like there’s NO one in charge – in SHARP contrast to, say, the SB over near COSTCO… or 95% of others.
3. Always tell customers if an ordered coffee is not ready RIGHT AWAY – like 95% of OTHER SBs.
ASSUME: ALL CUSTOMERs want coffee, at LEAST, as fast as … at the 95% of OTHER Starbucks, even if food is ordered also.
4. And, last: good bye. There’s a Panera Bread nearby in Golita – ‘will bail out of THIS SB from now on.
PS (…Yeah…I do type fast… it IS ridiculous writing all this, otherwise… for that matter, yes, I did come IN in a bad mood – beCAUSE? – I expected a poor experience – and got even a worse one than expected.
However, as a business traveler with decades’ experience, possibly this critique MIGHT lead to improvements… to a win-​win for this SB & its employees. Working at a well-​managed place is a win-​win for these, presumably local, college students for whom we customers have sympathy.
REPEAT: it’s SYSTEMIC /​MANAGERIAL at this location – do not blame just the employees working that Sunday.

I’m pretty new to this whole leaving reviews thing so bare with me here! Whenever I go to a Starbucks, and I don’t know if it’s just my bad luck, the barista that rings me up rarely shows much interest or enthusiasm with their job or with welcoming me and it’s a bit disappointing sometimes. But at this Starbucks there is a kind gentleman named Martin. I’ve gone the past two evenings and he rung me up and made my drink both times. He greeted me with a genuine smile each time and was very patient with me, being that I am very indecisive. We had small talk while he made my drinks and he showed interest which I really appreciated. I live downtown and I can say I do not mind driving to this Starbucks if I will be receiving this type of service every time. Plus, the atmosphere has been pretty calm both evenings I’ve gone, it’s not too noisy or overcrowded: D

I’m a lifelong starbucks drinker, love the place and the happy culture and the service. I went in this morning and the two baristas were major grumpsters. I know it was 6am but man I do NOT go to Starbucks for that sort of attitude. Total turn-​off and not a great way to start my day, having to put up with extreme attitude to get my coffee.

I wanted to leave an excellent review of the wonderful service I received from the employee Jody. (Sorry if I spell your name wrong!) I’ve been to many Starbucks but he put in more effort than any sales associate I’ve made contact with at other Starbucks. He made the experience fun and enjoyable. He asked if it was okay to surprise me with a drink, and I ended up loving it! It was an iced soy milk Chestnut Praline. I loved the surprise. This is something that makes people regulars. Thanks again, I’ll be back!

Horrible food inventory control: multiple times I have ordered a breakfast food item and 5 minutes later been told they have run out.
Horrible atmosphere: too small, too many people with mental illness issues hanging out.

This is my favorite Starbucks. They staff is always super nice and it’s busy in the morning of course… What coffee place isn’t?
The seating is nice and there is a lot available inside and out. It’s ways very clean and even the bathrooms are always clean.
My order is right all the time and usually pretty fast but I order the iced chai latte so that’s pretty easy. Sometimes I order a snack too and they usually get that right as well despite being so busy.
Overall this Starbucks is my favorite and I go there often. One thing Santa Barbara/​Goleta is missing is drive throughs! So annoying but oh well.
The location is also pretty perfect for me as well and always a lot of parking available.
There is also a Starbucks right inside the Vons but less selection for food and no seating.

Salted caramel mocha frap is soo good! It’s seasonal though so if not I usually get the green tea frapppacino which is delicious (not on the menu though).

I like it. They have good service and the bathrooms have been clean, at least the times that I have been here.

The smell is just foul and its not just sometimes it is ALL the time! This location is the worst one I’ve been to by far.
The staff on the other hand is great. But please do something about the stench! Not a good way to start the AM or any other time of day.

Used to come here to work while having a coffee and then some tea for a few hours. Love the place because the staff is nice (some more than others) and they know how to make the promotional drink (Cocoa Cappuccino) that I used to get all the time (maybe 2 – 3 years ago now). They still make it for me when I go in which is great :). Had to cut back on coffee intake and only go in there from time to time and they still remember my drink when I go. Thank you all! 5 stars only because of the staff that remembers my drink: P
Other drinks I get is a tall 2 pump mocha (good balance of coffee + sweetness and hint of chocolate taste) and peppermint mocha. Also love their spinach croissant (though sometimes i feel it is a bit too oily, just depends on mood)

This place gets super swamped in the morning but I do have to say they have things down to a science.
This location probably has the least waiting time from door to window, even if there are 30 other customers, which is common on weekday mornings. Coffee Bean down the road could learn a few things from them.

When I lived in Goleta this was my favorite Starbucks to go to. With me moving out and staffing turnover I didn’t know what to expect. I went in today (11/​12/​2012) and purchased an Iced Venti, no whip Gingerbread Latte. The lady who took my order was friendly and the person who processed my transaction was even friendlier. I received my drink and when I took a sip I noticed that the Gingerbread flavoring was missing. It was basically espresso shots and milk. I hate having to have anyone at Starbucks remake my drink. So I went back in line and informed the person who took my order what had happened. She took my cup, said «oh…» and remade my drink. No apology was offered and I took my remade drink and left. Poor customer service in my opinion.
I’ve been to other Starbucks where they apologize profusely for making the drink incorrectly. They even get to the point of handing out a «Your next drink is on us» card! I don’t know if this is still implemented but it would be nice if Starbucks was consistent across the board. Then again, maybe it’s because of the staffing turn over at this particular Starbucks. I might just have to go to the Camino Real Starbucks next time around.