After the ordeal, my friend Robert was like: “I would’ve given up so long before you did.”
Then again, I did manage to get the damn cup of fair trade coffee. Whether or not this counts as a successful Starbucks Challenge, however, is somewhat up for debate.
From the top: I asked for fair trade coffee. Barista1 thought that fair trade was discontinued; Barista 2 was unsure.
Me: Um, well, Cafe Estima’s fair trade certified.
So B2 went to get a bag off the shelves, and B1 asked whether I wanted the bag, or the cup. The cup, I said, and B1 started looking around for a French press.
B2: Oh yeah, we haven’t done one of those in a while. It’s a different price. (starts punching buttons on the cash register).
Me: Really? I was told by your headquarters that the prices were the same.
B2: (still poking around) No, no — They’re different. (smirks a little) You have to pay for the cost of grinding the beans and the whole French-press.
B2 couldn’t find a button for the “specially-priced” French press, and so magnanimously, if a little bitterly, said he’d sell it to me at the regular price.
So Robert and I got our fair trade coffees, which the much nicer B1 brought us about 4 mins later. Since we did, in the end, get fair trade, I’ll put this down as a success — but really, if I’d been less assertive (bitchy, according to B2, prolly) it wouldn’t've happened.
Still, I can understand B2′s bitterness about my telling him about the rules of his job. So I’ll stop doing that. After all, I shouldn’t have to. And I’m skewing the Challenge stats in Starbucks’ favor.
This was visit #2 for me to this store (Westwood & Pico) — At visit #1, no fair trade coffee was in store. Since then, Cindy of Starbucks sent out several emails to stores; she also says she forwarded challenge results — which would mean the findings of my first visit — to the specific district managers.
Cindy — The district managers aren’t reading your emails. Either that, or they just don’t give a shit.
Will things change at this Starbucks, ever? And if things don’t change, will headquarters do anything?
Filed in: starbuckschallenge coffee csr fair-trade fairtrade starbucks losangeles california
Yeah, I’ve yet to have one experience (out of 8, so far, in 5 cities/3 states) where the first person I spoke to behind the counter knew what to do when I requested fair trade.
If I hadn’t started asking for Cafe Estima by name (and if I didn’t learn to ask for French press), I suspect I would not have experienced as much success as I have.
Is Starbucks evil because of this? Of course not. But if they want to ride on the PR coat tails of the Fair Trade Certified label by claiming you can get a cup whenever you’re at Starbucks, then they need to put up or shut up.
Comment by G Zombie — November 6, 2005 @ 8:28 pm
This is indeed a hit or miss game.
I took a group of 8th graders to “challenge” along the promenade today –3 Starbucks locations w/in 3 blocks, god forbid we should have to WALK far for our next fix.
Smooth sailing at the first Starbucks, on Wilshire and 3rd. Two girls were met w/ friendly baristas, who seemed in the loop.
Site two, further down the promenade, rockier but ended well:
Barista 1: Nope, can’t do it.
Barista 2: Yeah, we brew fair trade, but only before noon.
Students calmly insisted they understood it was company policy to offer fair trade on request.
“Are you guys on some sort of school project?”
On hearing positive reply baristas decided they’d come through….but it would cost more.
Students insisted price should be same.
Next hitch: couldn’t find the French press. So…..they brewed a whole batch of fair trade…even better!
Next Starbucks locale, at HEAR music, said no they couldn’t but I wasn’t sure if this counted, as its a music store that sells SB coffee.
We brought our own reusable cups to all locations, por supuesto.
Comment by Anna — November 7, 2005 @ 6:43 pm
Yeah — Starbucks’ claim that they have similar goals as the fair trade movement — stated at the top of many of their CSR press releases — is more than a little overblown.
Anna — I heart your students!! If they were the Starbucks managers, we might actually see some serious changes –
Comment by Siel — November 8, 2005 @ 5:36 pm