Ready for the new year!

This week was probably the most exciting that I have had during my employment! The holiday spirit was in the air with all of the partners and we worked hard to make sure that all of the customers knew that we appreciated them during this time of year. It was EXTREMELY busy...busier than usual...and with several partners on vacation, we had to pull a little harder to make sure that everything was seamless and no one would be able to tell that we were short staffed.

IT WORKED! Everything felt like it came to one big fun holiday ending today as our store EXPLODED with business and everyone working had an absolute BLAST today! Most of our regulars were in today, but we felt blessed that they brought their families in to meet us..."Their Baristas". Sure it added 3-7 more drinks per order, but we can deal with that like nothing!

Anyway, my best wishes to you and your family. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With much love and a French Press of Christmas Blend,

Barista Loco

Buckling down for the next week...

Its about that time again! This is THE busy week and its going to be CRAZY come Friday! Yes, Christmas day just happens to fall on our busiest day of the week and half of our regular partners took time off, so its going to be a fun challenge to keep the store flowing like it usually does. I often get asked if I get upset at being scheduled on the holidays, but thats a no-brainer for me - people want holidays off and that means the hours are available for me :) I love working on Christmas more than any other holiday too because my regulars are like my family. We see each other at the store so much that it would seem odd NOT to have a holiday with them!

SOOOOOOOOO...Its going to be fun and I can't wait for the rush to start. Its a little bit different than the early morning rush right before school and work starts because on a day like Christmas, people stop by and get a drink for EVERYONE at their party. Last year we had five orders of over 15 drinks each all within an hour time span...ON TOP of the flood of people in the store. SUPER FUN and a challenge that I will meet any day. No one can play stump the barista on Christmas, because my team will be at 110% just like we usually are!

With much love!

Got an upsetting email :( - BUT I LOVE YOU!!!

I like to think of myself as a pretty down to earth guy - hard working, honest, sharing and smiling. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my job as a barista and constantly strive to not only WORK by the standards set forth by my employer, but actually LIVE by them. I'm the kind of barista that remembers people's names, drinks, etc. and when I see one of my customers out in public anywhere, I make it a point to go up to them, shake their hand or give them a hug, greet them by name with a smile and connect with them a little.

My job is something that I am honored to have and I know that I look at it QUITE A BIT differently than many of my other partners who just show up, get free drinks and do a half-assed job. I may be wiped out or having a bad day, but no one would ever know it because I know how important it is to BE Starbucks for people. Customers come back not just for their favorite drinks, but to interact with the baristas! How some partners miss that is beyond me...well, I guess you can't expect much from high schoolers.

ANYWAY, I got an email that almost broke my heart. Someone decided that it would be fun to poke fun at my job and how serious I take it. That's not a big deal because its MY JOB! The part that struck me was that it was someone that referred to themselves as a "partner" (a fellow barista) and they think I should check out the gossip sites about how evil the company is and blah blah...just diarrhea of the mouth (or fingers I guess). Simple response - go find a different job buddy. I'm sure that people like that complain about everything.

SO, in case you didn't know...I LOVE MY JOB & THE COMPANY I WORK FOR!!! I LOVE MAKING YOUR DRINKS EVERY DAY!!! I LOVE CONNECTING WITH MY PARTNERS AND CUSTOMERS!!! I LOVE COFFEE!!!

...ANOTHER WINNER!!!

Ok, I know its Monday - had quite the little bit of unexpected company out over the weekend and had to devote some time to them.

On Friday, I compiled the names of everyone who entered the contest I had posted and the winner is (drum roll please)....

...
...
...
Lunachique

This was a DUAL entrant, twitter AND blog comment. See, wasn't that pretty easy? I'll be contacting you so I can get your prize out ASAP!

Thanks for playing, and watch for the next contest! It's pretty easy to win these!

With much love and a French Press of PIKE PLACE (yeah, you should try it!!!),

Barista Loco

Winner Phot Submitted - Thanks!

This is just a quick blog entry to thank @Sexylexicpl (from Twitter) for submitting a photo of the prizes that she won for suggesting the contest for this week!

Her prize was a pound of Espresso Roast Starbucks coffee and a 16oz. (grande) recycled travel tumbler!

Starbucks Coffee Mugs & Tumblers

Thanks to a suggestion from @Sexylexicpl on Twitter, I will do a giveaway for a Starbucks travel tumbler of my choice. Sorry, no requests, not everything from your Starbucks may be around at mine :)

I will do the giveaway next week - Friday December 11, 2009 - how do you enter??? Thought you'd never ask! Tell me what you put IN your personal cup and either comment here on the blog or on Twitter @StarbucksMonkey (<=====you can click there to get there if you aren't sure how yet)...OR BOTH for double entries! Everyone who enters will have their name put into the randomizer and a winner will be picked. Depending on how many entries I receive, I may give away more than ONE! So start posting and make sure to mention @StarbucksMonkey in your tweets so I can put your name in!

Special thanks to @Sexylexicpl for the suggestion! I'm going to send you a prize for the idea!

With much love and a French Press of [Komodo Dragon...that's whats in it today],

Barista Loco

Christmas season at Starbucks!

Ah yes, everyone's favorite time of the year at Starbucks is here - Christmas Blend is the bold pick for brewed coffee, the Cranberry Bliss bars are sampled out like crazy and sell even faster than we can give the samples away and the holiday beverages are back on the menu with new names and more flair!

I intentionally left out the RETAIL portion of Starbucks in my description above because I really want to focus on it and make sure you realize how I separate it from the food/beverage categories. Usually when we get our big truckload of stuff at the beginning of the week, its filled with a bunch of big boxes full of 5lb, bags of whole bean coffee, retail 1lb. coffee, cups and lids, condiment packs, stuff to make all of the product (frappuccino, mocha, caramel etc.) and maybe a box of some random mugs and tumblers to replace the ones that have sold...kind of a way to easily replenish while not OVERstocking with crap. Well, this is the time of year that we are DEFINITELY overstocked with retail stuff for you to buy and several times we are on the exact same page as you when you ask yourself "where the heck are they going to put all that stuff, because there is already too much out there!".

My fellow partners and I are already trying to figure out which stuff will still be there after the holidays so we can use our discount when they all go on clearance. Needless to say, there are some really nice mugs out there that I get each year and my collection is AWESOME! I also give out a ton of these to my family and friends as gifts because they practically last forever...or at least until next year. If you have a chance, go pick yourself and your friends up a travel tumbler or a mug to enjoy your coffee in. Whats that? Don't want to spend $20 on a cup? GET OUTTA HERE! LOL! Your best bet...CHECK HERE on eBay for the cup you like CHEAP...OR...put one on your Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Festivus list and BEG YOUR FRIENDS!

With much love and a French Press of Coffee,

Barista Loco

Black Friday at Starbucks!

Black Friday is probably one of the only weekdays during the year that there are actually people out and about while I'm on my way to open up the store at 3:30AM! Usually its just the random police car or semi-truck headed to the supermarket, not hundreds of raving savages headed to the 2 hour plus waiting line for one of the 6 available $2 toasters at Wal Mart. Be it a $2 toaster or not, it gets them out moving early and when they're out early and its chilly...they want tasty hot beverages!

Our location opens shop at 4:30AM - at 4:05AM there were already cars in the drive through waiting and there were people at the front door trying every few minutes to see if the door was unlocked...even though no one came to unlock it. Was there some magical BLACK FRIDAY special that Starbucks had promoted on the DL? Something on sale that I didn't know about? Were we giving away free coffee? (Usually thats when the whole town and the next town over come out to see me). NOPE! Nothing other than serving the same daily brew with a cheerful smile like we always do.

As soon as 4:30AM hit, we were ready, unlocked the doors and were slammed from then on with no letting up until about 2PM. That little lull of 30 minutes gave us just enough time to do a quick clean, restock, cut up more samples of Cranberry Bliss Bars and share a French Press between partners. As soon as 2:30PM came around...BAM! Hit again, but this time everyone wanted Caramel Frappuccinos instead of Signature Hot Chocolate and Peppermint White Mochas.

Easy enough though - its just making drinks one cup at a time. I hope that everyone remembered to tip their Baristas well though, because we really worked hard to make Black Friday seem like just another day for us!

With much love and a French Press of Coffee!

Barista Loco

What is YOUR favorite Starbucks Drink?

Yesterday I asked my Twitter followers what their favorite Starbucks drink was. I also announced that I would be retweeting the responses and that there is a possibility at random that I may be giving away a prize or two.

Its true, two prizes to be exact. If you would like a chance at the prizes, all you have to do is follow me on twitter @StarbucksMonkey and tell me what your favorite drink is. Once I've retweeted it, you'll know that your name has gone in the drawing.

!CLICK HERE TO VISIT MY TWITTER PAGE!

Another week, another winner!!!

This weeks coffee giveaway was base off of the poll I placed on the blog...WHICH COFFEE SHOULD I GIVE AWAY? The winning coffee after 30 votes was Starbucks Anniversary Blend. [interesting that there were only 30 votes, because there were 529 unique visits to the blog during the same time] This is quite possibly one of the most sought after seasonal releases that Starbucks offers and the limited quantities sold out so fast at some locations that they had to find more from other stores!

At $13.65 per pound, this is one of the heftier priced varieties offered, but the smoothness of the bold roast and the aftertaste are well worth it. If you ever get a chance, it is a great coffee to help you make the decision to switch from Mild/Medium to bold roast without the smokiness usually associated with the genre.



This weeks Twitter winner is MissingLynxx

The next coffee giveaway will be announced on Twitter the day before Thanksgiving, so keep watching the posts and make sure to keep Retweeting @StarbucksMonkey...because you never know when I'll randomly decide to give something away!

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

With much love and a French Press of Coffee,

Barista Loco

Time for a TWITTER FOLLOWER BLITZ!

As I write this, my follower count on Twitter is at 189. From Follower #190 through #500, I am holding a contest to see who can refer the most followers.

How do I do this, Senor Loco? Well, quite simply, in your Twitter posts, use @StarbucksMonkey BLITZ @(your twitter name) and tell them to follow. I'll be able to keep track of who refers the most followers and will have a prize for that person.

How many followers do you have? EXACTLY! LET'S GO! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

With much love and a French Press of Coffee,

Barista Loco

GUESS WHAT? ICED VENTI TO-GO CUPS ARE BACK!

Yes, the coveted Iced Venti reusable to-go cups are BACK at a Starbucks near you RIGHT NOW! If you are lucky enough to be one of the first in the store, you'll see that the straws are now red and white "candy-cane" swirls instead of the flat starbucks green we were given the last run. So now these are "Holiday cups" - ;)

What makes these double-walled plastic cups so sought after? I personally have no clue, but some people out there are willing to fork over some serious coin to get their hands on one or two. We've had people calling our store for three weeks now asking us if they were on the shelves yet. Pretty amazing when the general populous knows more about what's happening with your company than you or your fellow employees do...that's why I like the internet, because I can find out too!

They are $16.95 if you can get them and $14.95 for the grande size. Too good to be true? Well, check out all these eBay listings and you tell me if it would be worth your time to head out and pick up one...or TEN!!! (Oh, and if you're looking at this blog on the evening of November 16, there probably won't be any of the cups on eBay yet...JUST WAIT! OVERLOAD tomorrow morning when people see that they are back!!!).

...and the winner is....

The first official giveaway of the Starbucks Monkey at twitter asked followers on Twitter to retweet @StarbucksMonkey Free pound of Thanksgiving Blend for a chance to win. Every retweet got added as an entry...and boy did some people retweet, talk about increasing your odds to win! After all of the Twitter user names were entered into a randomizer program and the winner of the Pound of Thanksgiving Blend is is...

RobynHunt

#2 runner-up was leetgirl
#3 runner-up was lifeonprint

Since I had so many more retweets that I thought I would this week, I will be sending a prize to the #2 and #3 as well...granted, not 1 pound of Thanksgiving Blend, but I'll find something!

So there you go! THE FIRST WINNERS! If you are RobynHunt, leetgirl or lifeonprint, please DM me your mailing address on twitter and I will have your prizes out for you this week!

Please take my poll on the right for the next twitter giveaway!

With Much Love and a French Press of Coffee,

Barista Loco

Welcome to the Starbucks Monkey!

I'm a crazy barista and can't get enough of coffee! I love to share my love of great coffee and everything related to Starbucks with everyone I meet!

It is not a coincidence that my first blog post as the Starbucks Monkey is being made on the same date as my first TWITTER GIVEAWAY! Tonight I will be giving away one pound of Starbucks THANKSGIVING BLEND whole bean coffee. Thanksgiving Blend is a multi-region coffee comprised of beans from Sumatra and Guatemala. It is a BOLD coffee with notes of herbs and soft spice. This coffee retails at $11.95 in the United States and tastes AWESOME! I can't wait to give it away so someone else can enjoy it as much as I do!



I'm going to be giving coffee, merchandise, clothing and other miscellaneous items ALL the time by several means...here on the blog, on twitter, through email promotions and maybe more! Keep watching for your chance to win free stuff!

Follow me on twitter at @StarbucksMonkey. If you have questions, ideas or want to sponsor some of my giveaways with either merchandise, the cost of postage or something else, you can contact me via email at baristaloco@yahoo.com. I'd love to help your business or your cause!

With Much Love and a French Press of Coffee,

Barista Loco