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