As a part of a new dining contract students got access to a Chick-fil-A and Burrito Bowl. But perhaps it was the Starbucks — rather ‘We Proudly Serve Starbucks Here’ — now located in the Moffet Library foyer that excited them the most. Until it opened.
Kristin Conyers, a senior in marketing, said she was a regular consumer of Starbucks.
“It’s better that Starbucks is in the library because it cuts down on the amount of students standing around on the first floor of Dillard,” Conyers said.
However, Epifanio Ortiz, freshman majoring in nursing, said the new Starbucks added on campus this school year was a letdown.
Ortiz said, “The coffee doesn’t taste like the Starbucks I’m used to, maybe because it was the first day that I went to try it. It might be because the lack of experience the workers have, but they should get better.”
Ortiz said he does plan on returning. “I will give them a few weeks to improve.”
The main complaints were regarding the taste and quality of the coffee being served and the time it took to get it served.
Charlene Wetherill, employee at the new Starbucks, said “The taste complaints definitely make sense. Our coffee had a different taste because it was made with a different mix.”
Wetherill said the coffee complaints were stressful to hear because she had no control of it herself.
“I don’t know anyone here that has actually worked at a Starbucks before. We are starting completely fresh. This is new to all of us.”
Parita Lavingia, senior majoring in exercise physiology, also works at the new Starbucks.
She said “the coffee will only get better in time. Since we are all new to Starbucks, we are still getting the hang of it. We will get faster the more we do it.”
In time, the Starbucks will be served quicker and taste better.
Lavingia said, “We used to have to improvise by using the latte blend instead of the roast blend when we made the coffee when we first opened here. Now we have the roast one everyone is used to.”
The time it takes to make isn’t too great of an issue because the line is always short. It doesn’t take long at all to get in and out in between classes or on the go.
Ortiz said the one thing he really likes about the Starbucks is the length of the line. “The line is never long so that’s great when I’m craving a bit of espresso.”
Wetherill said the employees have been working to improve the taste of the drinks and how fast they make them.
The taste has already been fixed for a week now, according to Wetherill and Lavingia.
“We are all getting faster at preparing it,” said Wetherill.
“We hope the students will have patience with us. We plan on improving Starbucks and making it the best experience possible for them,” Lavingia said.
Students also suggested a modification in hours might help with service for people working in the library.
“If they had self-serve coffee and tea for the late night hours, for those people who are at the library until 2 a.m., would be beneficial,” Conyers said. “The people who work the front desk at the library should take over during the night hours, instead of the shop being closed. Who wouldn’t want coffee if they are stuck studying in the library until 1 or 2 a.m.?”
Additional reporting by Katrina Prehoda
