Saturday Mornings at the Dog Park

19 Sep 2009 / Lightning Epps

I love Saturday mornings! My owner takes me to the dog park, then we drive through Starbucks and I get a Pup Cup, which is a paper cup filled with whipped cream.

— Lightning paw

At the Dog Park

At the Dog Park


The Streets of Irvine Were Deserted

15 Jun 2009 / PE

It was like a ghost town yesterday. The Lakers were playing a close-out game. It’s Finals Week at the local high schools. Everyone young and old had something to do.

My own 10th-grade boy spent 12 hours Saturday studying at the Barnes and Noble cafe at the Marketplace, followed by an Extreme English Breakdown session yesterday at Starbucks on Culver . . .

Good luck, students!


The Starbucks Girl Will Be a Good Pug Owner

18 Apr 2009 / Lightning Epps
Lightning at the Dog Park

My owner took me to the dog park this morning and then we went to the Starbucks drive-thru.

I like to stick my head out the window and say hi to the drive-thru people!

This morning, the drive-thru girl said, “Oh I want a pug so bad! Is it true that they snore?”

I don’t snore.

“Some do,” my owner said, “but this one doesn’t.”

“When I get my pug,” the girl said, “if she snores I’m going to love her snoring SO MUCH!”

That’s sweet. What a nice girl.

“She’ll be a lucky pug,” my owner said.

— Lightning paw


At the Starbucks Drive-Thru

1 Mar 2009 / PE

“Welcome to Starbucks. My name is Sam. Would you like to try an apple [something something]?”

I couldn’t understand what he said. “A what?” I asked.

“An apple chai [something].”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Can you say it one more time? I didn’t get the last part.”

“Apple … chai … infusion.”

“I’ll have a venti iced latte.”

“OK. That’s almost as good.”

The poor guy really had his heart set on serving me an apple chai infusion . . .


Early Shift at Starbucks

12 Mar 2008 / PE
Starbucks cup

I walked into Starbucks at 5:30 this morning, ordered a drink . . . the Starbucks guy asked my name and wrote it on the cup, despite the fact that I was the only customer in the store.

Whether that would be considered a training success or failure depends on whether Starbucks trains its people to always ask for the customer’s name, or to use situational judgment.

I was hoping the barista would call my name when the drink was ready so I could do a comical “who, me?” take, but she just set it on the counter . . .


Christmas at Starbucks

25 Nov 2002 / PE

I noticed this weekend that Starbucks has rolled out the Christmas menu — Egg Nog Latte, Gingerbread Something-Or-Other . . . also that my local Starbucks has mounted a wreath on the inside of the entry door, anchored only at the top, so when you pull the door open, the wreath swings out and smacks you in the head.

Merry Christmas! Ouch!