[Updated] For the moment (or longer) Beware Ordering from the Starbucks Store

I’m an espresso guy. I don’t tend to drink standard coffee but I have shots of espresso, that’s my thing and it’s long-time been my thing. I’ve owned espresso brew machines that required me to get bags of coffee grind up beans myself and do extra articulation to make an espresso.  Due process, y’know, can’t put it down (especially because …. well, Mmmmmmm!).

A couple of years ago I got a Starbucks Verismo coffee brew machivn, a simplified means to brew an espresso (and make a latte if I so wish). You just had to push a pod into the machine and behold — an espresso roast is ready for you!

Yet, with ease of use comes a growing demand and a supply that runs dry in short order. I’ve seen rates vary from $11.95 for a single box of 12 pods to $13.95; that makes Verismo usage into a costly habit.

But Starbucks online store offers cost-saving, bulk purchases of 96 pods 8 boxes for just under $80 bucks, with free shipping. It’s that aspect that’s drawn me to the Starbucks Store online.

All the above details are moot though; this warning of the Starbucks Store applies for anything and everything you’d potentially purchase through the store if you’re expecting timely service.

See, as a regular with the store, I have been able to expect shipping to commence on Monday or Tuesday and late in the week (Thursday) on orders. It’s been timely and dependable. Up until this moment.  I’ve also been wary of a digital sign that seems to be just an internal error but may be a true declaration the Starbucks Store is undergoing issues right now:

We’re sorry,

WE MUST HAVE GONE FOR A COFFEE BREAK…

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

We might have removed the page.

Or the link you clicked might be old and does not work anymore.

Or you might have accidentially typed the wrong URL in the address bar.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Go to our homepage to browse products.

If you cannot find what you are looking for, we’d like to help. Please call our Customer Service team toll-free at 1-877-421-9062 or email us at StarbucksStore@starbucks.com.

Warning signs after log-in? Yeah, be warned. But receiving email encouraging purchases and online sales seem to counter the idea something is off and wrong.

Going back to the timeliness element, shipping is inconsistent at best at the moment. If the above warning is not just some internal error, it’d likely be wiser if they’d actually put up a hard-wall for the moment and stop sales or put up a clear message about issues from their own end. Instead, you can get around the stoppage by just clicking the site logo and making a purchase that way.

I contacted Starbucks Store’s customer service yesterday (July 11) and the only response I gained was an automated notification that my purchase had “shipped”.  No, it hasn’t — FedEx just received package information and no actual pickup or movement had taken place. If this plays out like my last order, no movement will take place until Friday (while I made the order this past weekend).

My advice is for anyone looking for a timely shipment of coffee/tea or other products from Starbucks to use another means instead of the Starbucks Store. If you’re looking for drinkware or other non-consumable items from Starbucks (via online order) and don’t have any type of urgency in receiving things, it shouldn’t make a difference what kind of issues Starbucks online store has with timeliness.

In summary, things will improve with Starbucks online shopping, but for the moment something is out-of-line and you can see it by way of waiting and waiting and waiting…

EDIT [July 14, 2017]: Perhaps what to be wary of in this case is FedEx shipping, Starbucks shipping agent of choice. While I stand by issues faced last month (mostly what I repeated above — where shippign didn’t start until a week after I made the order), it’s FedEx’s failings that are notable here.  My above-noted automation email had FedEx tracking code (which is usual).  Yet through THursday morning, there was no shown movement. The only item on the tracking was the number/code for the package being received.

This afternoon, I checked again and not only had shipping been updated but travel information from the past three days was also magically inserted. Information that didn’t exist up until this check on things.  The package should arrive Monday at latest; a solid week after purchase