Today’s Starbucks offering: extra special kindness.

I enjoy Starbucks coffee but I can’t always afford it.  However, everyone needs a treat, and mine is coffee.  Often Starbucks ends up delighting my taste buds in exchange for a few bucks.  In early December, Starbucks returned the love and demonstrated some solid business sense.

I was visiting my hometown of Hobart in northwest Indiana on the occasion of my father’s funeral.  As you can imagine, it was a difficult week.  My family and I stayed in a hotel in Merrillville, near the old Southlake Mall (now called Westfield Southlake Shopping Centre) at the intersection of Highway 30 and Interstate 65.  Southlake Mall was my old stomping grounds in high school, back in the day, back before Starbucks was a phenomenon.  I was thankful to find a standalone Starbucks next to the mall, on Mississippi Street.

I passed it every morning on the way to my father’s house, where my sister and brother were staying.  The week’s events were such a bonding time for my siblings and I chose to add to the affection with Starbuck’s Christmas blend.  My brother and sister loved it.  So did my wife.  But this story is not about my family, it is about Starbucks.

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On the last full day of our visit, I went in to Starbucks one more time.  Three previous visits enchanted my palate.  You know how it is.  Stress.  Hectic schedule.  Difficult relationship.  Sometimes a little java hits just the right spot in a crazy day.  So I was looking forward to one more Christmas blend, and with Starbucks amazing consistency from store to store, much better than any other chain I’ve encountered, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.  But this story is not about coffee, it is about Starbucks.  The people of Starbucks.

On this last day, I decided to splurge with the venti size.  For those yet to be baptized in Starbucks terminology, the venti is the largest size available, about 20 ounces.

Keep in mind that I was buying for four:  brother, sister, wife, and myself.  Four venti’s is a lot of coffee, and apparently I overwhelmed the available supply so much that the young lady helping me needed to brew some more brew.

She asked me, “Sir, we don’t have that much coffee available, to fill your large order, so we will need to make some fresh coffee, but that will take a few minutes.  Are you willing to wait?  I am so sorry about this.”

Sorry?  I thought to myself, hey, I’m sorry that my Dad died.  Having to wait a few minutes for a cup of coffee is no big deal.  “Yes, I’m happy to wait, thank you.”  I imagine that getting a cup of stale coffee is an uncommon occurrence at Starbucks, but nevertheless, I liked the idea of a freshly brewed cup of joe. 

By the way, I’ve only had one bad coffee experience at Starbucks.  It was in Egypt (where I also had dozens of good coffee experiences in Egypt as well).  I told the staff about the poor coffee and immediately they brewed me a new cup.  In the end, I think the first cup was fine, it was my taste buds that were slightly off with a blend that I was not accustomed to.  But this story is not about Egypt, it is about the Starbucks staff at the store in Merrillville, Indiana near Westfield Southlake Mall.

After a few minutes, I was handed four coffees and I responded by getting out and giving up my Discover card to the young lady.  “Oh, sir, I cannot accept your payment for these coffees because I made you wait to brew it.  Please accept it on the house.”

My jaw dropped.  “Are you sure you want to do that?  You don’t need to do that.” 

“Yes, I do.  Thank you for visiting Starbucks and have a nice day.”

I saved $13 bucks or so, and I had stars dancing in my head, star-bucks.  The name was beginning to make sense to me.

I proceeded to tell her that I was in town to bury my father and that I’d been there four mornings in a row and that today was the last day.  “Thank you so much, that is very kind of you.”  I told her that I would never forget this act of kindness, because I would always associate it with the situation surrounding my Dad.

So, Starbucks, thank you so much.  You made quite an impression to a grieving son.  Not only did the coffee that day taste extra special, but I was comforted knowing that in my world of grief, a little joy could still be found.