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East Setauket and Port Jefferson, NY: Fair trade failure :(

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:17:57 GMT

Paul writes about 2 Starbucks Challenges in New York:

I've "challenged" two Starbucks in my area, East Setauket, NY and Port Jefferson, NY and the responses were discouraging, but from your posts, seemingly typical. "All our coffees are fair trade, it justs costs the farmers too much money to get certified."

emailed by Paul on Aug 23, 2007 1:25 AM

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 21:10:45 GMT

Kate reports on a Starbucks Challenge:

I notice that the dates for the challenge are back in 2005/6 but I thought I
would test it out. apologies if the info is too late. I unfortunately had
no luck at all 490 Brannan Street, San francisco, CA 94107 starbucks.

I tried to order a FairTrade regular coffee and was asked whether I wanted a
bag of coffee to go. I explained I wanted a regular coffee made with Fair
Trade coffee and was basically told "no, they were brewing xxx (cant
remember what)".

It was vv clear that neither of the 2 employees had any idea what I was
talking about.

is the Starbucks policy past history?

Kate

Emailed on Feb 21, 2007 4:02 PM

New York, NY: 3 challenge unsuccesses :(

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 04:02:51 GMT

I don't know if you're still collecting stories, but:

So far I've tested three Starbucks in the NYC area (115th and Broadway
by Columbia University, in the Hamilton Place building off of Wall
Street, and in Union Square) and none of the baristas have had the
faintest idea what I'm talking about. In each place, I had to explain
what "fair trade" meant - they weren't familiar even with the term.
Telling.

Thanks,
Sarah

Beverly Hills, CA: Fair trade success

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 23:29:08 GMT

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Erika reports on a Starbucks Challenge she tried in Beverly Hills, CA :)

Hi,

I work at Fox Studios in Century City and our production assistants do
a Starbucks coffee run every day. I always say no thank-you, but I
finally decided to ask the PAs if they were willing to investigate for
me. They asked their Starbucks about Cafe Estima and they said they
brew it every hour. It's the blend they use the most. I'm going to
follow-up on my own to make sure this is true, but it was still very
exciting to hear. The location of the starbucks they go to is at
Olympic and Doheny.

9049 Olympic Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310-275-0253

I don't know if this is a reflection on Starbucks or the Entertainment
Industry, but I was very happy to get a cup of fair-trade coffee
because I've always boycotted them with a passion.

I just wanted to share my story. I'll let you know if I learn anything else.

Emailed on Oct 26, 2006 9:57 PM.

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 07:09:55 GMT

Take the Starbucks Challenge! I'll be posting the unblogged reports from participating challengers here :)

Rodney of Equal Exchange reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

where: 599 Lexington Ave. NY, NY
date: 9/27/06

asked for a cup of their FT coffee.

"sorry, we're not brewing that today"

"but your website says that I can ask you to brew me a cup of FT coffee"

"oh, that's for next week. Next week is all about small farmers, Fair Trade, & that kind of thing"

----

So, what I take away from that is "this week we don't care about farmers, [and the barista then smiles brightly] but don't worry, next week will !"

Emailed by Rodney on Sep 27, 2006 7:32 AM

Miguel: fair grade failure :(

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 04:29:24 GMT

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Miguel reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

I didn't know about the challange but I asked for fairtrade, the
answer I got is that it had to be brewed so it would take 5 minutes,
I was in a hurry so i said ok fuck it give me normal coffee than,
what happened was that normal coffee had to be brewed as well!! so it
took 5 damn minutes anyway!! how's that!?
keep it going
miguel

Emailed by Miguel on Jun 23, 2006 2:01 PM

Philip: Fair trade failure, misinformation, and rudeness

Fri, 26 May 2006 02:32:24 GMT

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I'll be posting the unblogged reports from participating challengers here :)

Philip reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

Starbucks is only very recently establishing a presence in Ireland.

The following challenge took place in the Starbucks in the Dundrum Shopping Centre (that's a mall to you guys) in Dublin. My wife approached the most senior looking person behind the counter.

Suzanne: Can I have a cup of Fair Trade coffee please.

Barista: All of our coffee is Fair Trade.

Suzanne: Really. That's interesting. But I would like a cup of "Fair Trade" branded coffee.

Barista: Look, Fair Trade is a much bandied about term that not a lot of people understand. But I can assure you that all of our coffee is Fair Trade.

Suzanne: Really. But it is not all branded Fair Trade?

Barista: That's not really important

Suzanne: Even so I would like a cup of coffee, ground from beans that come from a bag that bears the Fair Trade logo.

Barista: Look, Fair Trade is a marketing excercise used by other companies to give them competitive advantage over companies that don't sell Fair Trade.

Suzanne: (Getting a bit embarassed by the number of people behind her by this stage) Can you sell me a Fair Trade coffee or not?

Barista: No!

She turned on her heel and left. To be completely fair, while the Barista obviously knew what Fair Trade coffee is, I have not been able to establish from Starbucks whether Ireland is one of the countries that they offer Fair Trade products in.

Philip

Emailed by Philip on May 24, 2006 3:39 PM

Peter: Kingston, Ontario at the corner of Taylor Kidd Blvd and Gardiner's Rd

Sun, 14 May 2006 18:35:02 GMT

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Peter reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

Hi!

On May 12, 2006 I went to a Starbucks in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (corner of Taylor Kidd Boulevard and Gardiner’s Road) to assess the availability of fair trade coffee. There were no beverages available made with fair trade coffee. There were no pamphlets or other information available on fair trade coffee. There was nothing visible on the menus to do with fair trade coffee (take out beverage or take-home bags of whole beans). I did see an option to buy shade-grown coffee beans. I asked the Barista about fair trade coffee and she gave me a puzzled look. After a moment she indicated to me that Starbucks coffee “met all standards”. As I was waiting for my latte, she came to see me and politely produced a pre-packaged one-pound bag of fair trade coffee. Consistent with observations made by others and recorded on internet blogs, Starbucks has not made it easy to buy a cup of fair trade coffee!

Peter

Emailed by Peter on May 13, 2006 4:59 AM

Christopher: Fullerton, CA: One success, one unsuccess

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 19:41:14 GMT

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Christopher reports about two experiences requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

I walked into the local Starbucks (Starbucks on the corner of Brea Blvd. and Imperial Hwy), feeling a little anxious to ask for and taste their Fair Trade Coffee, knowing that I will be supporting such a good, healthy, and aware cause. Upon entering, there was a line of five or six people (not uncommon, for this particular Starbucks always has heavy traffic), and I stood and waited while people placed their orders for their ultra-frapp-o-machiat-[insert 25 more suffixes]-drink, and still have the audacity to call it "coffee." After witnessing the soft-spoken barista attempt to call over two customers who forgot to pay after they placed their custom orders, I had to get their attention to come back.

The barista then asked if he could help me and I ordered a venti Fair Trade coffee. He looked baffled for about five seconds, asked for my order again, and proceeded to go ask another employee while still looking utterly confused. I saw him, and the middle-aged coworker converse and the barista returned looking nervous like he was about to tell me some horrific news. And it was; he announced that they didn't have and Fair Trade coffee right now. I politely consoled him and let him know that it was ok, with vengeful thoughts of writing a nasty letter incubating in my mind.

Disappointed, I went to another Starbucks, this one on the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Imperial in the city Fullerton. It is a drive-through and the woman that assisted me was very kind and was seemingly pleased to serve me my Fair Trade coffee. I believe that it was mutually satisfying, and I look forward to asking Starbucks all over the Southland for some tasty, cruelty free, Fair Trade Coffee.

Emailed by Christopher on Apr 24, 2006 11:03 AM

Los Angeles, CA in Westwood Village: Barista didn't know what fair trade was...

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 17:40:46 GMT

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audbot reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

After a blank look followed by my explanation of what "fair trade" meant, the barrista at the Westwood, Los Angeles location (where UCLA students frequent the most) replies "oh yeah Fair Trade. Man i only get paid $7.50 an hour, i'm all for better wages"
by audbot to starbuckschallenge ... saved by 8 other people ... on april 3

Posted on del.icio.us by audbot on April 3

Harry: Kansas City -- Fair trade failure :(

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 06:12:06 GMT

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Harry reports about her second experience requesting fair trade coffee at a local Starbucks:

Hi Siel, I wrote you about three months ago, with a story on how a Starbucks in Kansas City had Estima as the brew of the day. I went into the same Starbucks last Saturday, April 1, and noticed that Estima was not on tap that day. I asked for a "fair trade coffee." The barista said, "uh, fair trade certified? We have that, but it's not the brew of the day." I said, "can you press pot a cup for me?" "hmmmm, Uh, sure. I think." He starts hunting around on the cash register for the right button, calls the manager, she comes over, and shows him "press pot, 8 oz., 3.89"

Is it my imagination, or are they supposed to offer the Estima at the same price of an ordinary cup, which in KC is about 1.89? I, being a cheapskate (and not having enough cash for the blueberry muffin AND the coffee), said, "Oh, just give me a cup of whatever's in the brewer.

Still... am I wrong about that pricing thing?

Harry

Emailed by Harry on Apr 3, 2006 6:06 AM

green LA girl's notes: You're not wrong, Harry -- You should ONLY be charged for the coffee size you ordered, not the whole French press. Of course, many Starbucks employees still don't know that, so you either have to cough up the cash or argue with the manager/baristas... Sigh...

Seung: Honolulu, Hawaii: Fair trade failure :(

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 04:36:30 GMT

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Seung reports about her experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

I simply asked for Fair Trade regular coffee and got a spiel about special order, etc. so walked away with non-fair trade ordinary coffee.

Thursday March 16, 2006 at 8am in Honolulu.

Emailed by Seung on Mar 22, 2006 5:03 AM

Karin: San Francisco, CA -- Another fair trade failure :(

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 02:32:39 GMT

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I'll be posting the unblogged reports from participating challengers here :)

Karin of Coffee to the People in San Francisco reports about her experience requesting fair trade coffee at her local Starbucks:

Speaking of Starbucks, I visited one on campus the other day (I was desperate). I asked them for a cup of fair trade coffee and they said they weren't serving fair trade that day. Then I asked them if they could french press me some fair trade coffee, but they said no. I didn't push the issue further because the barista seemed anxious and confused by my questions.

Emailed by Karin on Mar 5, 2006 9:27 AM

Cybele: Torrance, CA @ 5050 190th Street: Fair trade failurea and a lotta hassles :(

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 02:44:25 GMT

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Cybele of Candy Blog reports about her experience requesting fair trade coffee at her local Starbucks:

I tried to get some fair trade coffee at the Starbucks in Torrance (maybe it's Redondo Beach) on 190th Street last week.

I asked for Fair Trade, they said they weren't brewing it. I asked if they could french press an Estima cup for me, the woman slammed down her keys and sighed and wandered off to the back and then returned a few minutes later and opened the registered and got my money out and brought it to me. She said she didn't have any Fair Trade and wanted to return my money.

I was a bit annoyed that she just returned the money and didn't want to resolve anything or offer me any other coffee (thus making me stand in line again because she was handing my money back).

I asked for a cup of drip anyway and handed the money back (tempted to take the tip out of the jar). On my way out I looked at the shelf and pulled off the Estima package and dropped it on the counter.

She just didn't want to brew. No biggie - I won't go back there. I rarely get coffee out and about anyway. I just need to figure out how to order the Estima here at the office (it doesn't seem to be on our order list).

Emailed by Cybele on Feb 22, 2006 5:04 PM

Jean: University Towne Center in La Jolla, CA: No fair trade in store :(

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 04:23:02 GMT

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I'll be posting the unblogged reports from participating challengers here :)

Jean reports about her experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

> I wanted to let you know that I asked for FT coffee at the Starbucks
> in the University Towne Center in La Jolla this weekend, and was told that
> they didn't have any on the premises and definitely could not make me a
> cup. :P

Emailed by Jean on Sunday, February 12, 2006 8:05 PM

Laura: 3 successes in Sacramento :)

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 22:44:40 GMT

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I'll be posting the unblogged reports from participating challengers here :)

Laura reports about her experiences requesting fair trade coffee at 3 Sacramento Starbucks:

I have asked for fair trade coffee at several places and have been accommodated! All in Sacramento, California area: Fulton and El Camino, Howe and Arden Way (Howe About Arden center), downtown Sacramento - Alhambra and 40?- 30 something street...sorry!)

I was even given the rest of the bag of beans (Estima) from the request for fair trade coffee! This was at the Starbucks on Howe and Arden Way....

Laura

Emailed by Laura on Feb 3, 2006 12:35 PM

Kelley: San Francisco, CA @ Market & Fell -- Success after Kelley picked out Cafe Estima personally

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 03:00:17 GMT

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Kelley reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a San Francisco Starbucks:

Dear Siel,

I wanted to report back about the Starbucks challenge.
The Starbucks on Market at Fell in San Francisco
actually French Pressed me a cup of Fair Trade Coffee.
At first they said they would BUT they didn't have any
Fair Trade Coffee in the store. So I got it off the
shelf and showed them that they DID have it.

Emailed by Kelley on Feb 2, 2006 2:08 PM

Jamais: Lafayette, CA: After multiple hurdles, the challenge escalated to the manager

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 04:12:27 GMT

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I'll be posting the unblogged reports from participating challengers here :)

Jamais reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

I know the official "challenge" is long over, but I thought I'd add a
data point.

Starbucks Lafayette. Lafayette is a small, overpriced, overly-
precious town east of San Francisco along the Hwy 24 corridor,
situated between more-overpriced Orinda and larger-in-size Walnut
Creek. I went to meet a local who wanted to talk about WorldChanging
and some of the talks & such where we keep running into each other.

Go in, ask for "large Fair Trade coffee, please." Blank look.

"I don't know if we have that."

"It's the Estima."

"Oh. You want what? A pound bag?" she says, reaching for the stack of
bags on the back counter.

"No, I want a large cup of it, please."

"We don't have any brewing." The woman behind the counter was looking
somewhat agitated at this point. Given that I stand about a foot
taller than her and was wearing a black leather jacket probably
didn't help.

"You guys have a corporate policy of always having Fair Trade
available, you know."

"We do? Hold on" as she runs into the back. A moment later, she comes
out. "I'll get that brewing now. It will take a few minutes."

***

Evidently the manager knew the policy, even if the counter staff didn't.

-Jamais

Emailed by Jamais on Jan 24, 2006 4:19 PM

Victor: Sunland, CA at Oro Vista and Foothill: Success getting a 1/2 lb

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 02:40:12 GMT

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Victor reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

Dear Siel,

I went to the SB on Oro Vista and Foothill, around the corner from my home.
I asked if the Café Estima was their fair trade coffee. The young lady was
well-informed and said, "Yes, but it our only fair trade bean." She sounded
quite positive about having it and I also got the impression they were used
to dispensing it (meaning that they considered it an ordinary and expected
part of their business, just like the SB promise states).

I bought an half-pound bag. I will try it for freshness, but I feel that
things are A-OK in Sunland.

Hope the LA Green meeting was a good one. How could it not be?

This is your agent in the mountain recesses of northern LA signing off.
Keep up the good work.

Victor

Emailed by Victor on Jan 19, 2006 6:26 AM

--
green LA girl's notes: Darling -- You forgot to ask for a French pressed cup! But hey, I'm super glad to hear that this Sunland store is not one of the ones that tries to tell customers that "all of Starbucks coffee is pretty much fair trade"...

Zack reports a 50% or so success rate at getting organic coffee at Starbucks

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 02:24:38 GMT

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Zack reports about his experience requesting ORGANIC coffee at Starbucks over the course of a year:

Funny...I've actually been doing that on my own, for a few years. I only drink organic coffee, which Starbucks doesn't brew. However, they do sell an organic bean by the bag. So I used to make them French Press me a cup of organic coffee. After complaining about their lack of organic coffee, it was a manager who told me that I had a right to ask for a "custom brew", at any Starbuck's I visited. Over the course of a year, I would say 50% of them obliged, while the other 50% usually said that they don't have a French Press anymore. Sometimes, they would say they couldn't do it during "rush hour".

Zack

Emailed by Zack (to Roger, gone green)

Graham: No fair trade at this Brookline Starbucks :(

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 17:08:28 GMT

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Graham reports about his experience requesting fair trade coffee at a Starbucks:

Greetings!

Are you still running the Starbucks Challenge? I'm friends with Kristin Hasselblad (one of your winners). She forwarded the info to me, and here's my experience at the Starbucks on Beacon Street (near University Rd.) in Brookline, MA:

I walked in and was greeted by two friendly baristas (one male, one female). I asked, "Do you have fair trade coffee?" [I hadn't read Kristin's forward very closely, so I apologize for not asking, "Could I get a cup of fair trade coffee?"] The guy kind of waffled, and the woman jumped in with, "Er...uh...we did last week, but not this week. We brew different coffees each week." So I said, "So no, huh?" They both replied, "Sorry!" So I walked out.

That's it. I haven't actually bought Starbucks Coffee in years -- not since the opening of a Starbucks in Nyack, NY (near where my parents live) strangely coincided with the closing of a perfectly fine local cafe.

Even if you're no longer doing the challenge, I'm glad that you're raising public awareness! Keep up the good work!

Cheers,
Graham

Emailed by Graham on Jan 15, 2006 4:16 AM

Matty: Grossly overcharged for fair trade coffee :(

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 03:04:52 GMT

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Matty reports about an experience requesting fair trade coffee at a local Starbucks:

Siel,

Starbucks Fair Trade comes at a cost. Because they had to press it I was charged $3.82.

1 out of the 5 employees knew what I was talking about when I said Fair Trade but he said they were "Discontinuing it and Selling Cafe Estima instead."

Fairfax, Virginia (Lee HWY)

Matty

Emailed by Matty on Monday, January 09, 2006 5:38 PM

peterb: Pittsburgh, PA on Murray Ave.: Fair trade success!

Sat, 07 Jan 2006 18:42:14 GMT

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peterb of Tea Leaves reports about experiences requesting fair trade coffee at a Pittsburg Starbucks:

Siel,

Just FYI: at the Starbucks in Pittsburgh on Murray Ave, Cafe Estima
was brewing all week. When I muttered "A medium fair-trade coffee,
please", they quickly gave me a cup of the right stuff.

so at least one store got it right.

-p

Emailed by peterb on Saturday, January 07, 2006 5:44 AM

Justin: Starbucks Challenge 3.5 Success!

Sat, 07 Jan 2006 03:27:09 GMT

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Justin reports about his second experience requesting fair trade coffee for the challenge 3.5:

I tried the Challenge again this morning, but this
time I was armed with a travel mug of my own FT home
brew (just in case).

Location: 6417 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Me: Hello, may I have a 12oz cup of Fair Trade
Certified coffee please?

Barista1 looks at the signs on the brewed coffee
containers: I don't think we have....

-Interrupted by Barista2: This one's Fair Trade. It
doesn't say it here, but I saw the sticker on the bag.

As I attempt to ask Barista1 to not ring it up and
explain that I was just auditing the store, Barista2
is too quick for me and is already mid-pour. I offered
to pay anyway because I didn't want it to go to waste.
This was a very friendly Challenge experience. And the
guy in the loading dock at work appreciated the free
cup of Cafe Estima!

Justin

Emailed by Justin on Friday, January 06, 2006 5:30 PM

Ruth: Fair trade success in London!

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 20:24:56 GMT

Take the Starbucks Challenge!

I'll be posting the unblogged reports from participating challengers here :)

Ruth reports about her experience requesting fair trade coffee at a London Starbucks:

I took the Starbucks Challenge for the first time today; very successfully I have to say. When I asked for a fair trade coffee, rather than being greeted with “Fair what?!” as some people have come across, the barista merely asked what size I wanted. It seems that the Southfields (London, SW18) branch of Starbucks has come up trumps!

Thanks for enlightening me! I never would have considered asking for Fair Trade if I hadn’t read Tuesday’s Guardian, I’ll do so now every time!

Cheers,

Ruth

Emailed by Ruth on Thursday, January 05, 2006 11:22 AMi>