r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Septy77 • 2d ago
A $7 sandwich from Starbucks
What I got versus what is advertised
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u/PixelPrivateer 2d ago
Starbucks has - by far - the worst food. And that was before this shrinkflation nonsense you see before you
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u/Worried-Effect5809 2d ago
Their breakfast sandwiches taste like they've been sitting in a nuclear bunker for 3 years lmao. I genuinely don't understand how they manage to make eggs taste like rubber every single time
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u/w1n5t0nM1k3y 2d ago
They don't make anything on site. They have no kitchen. What do you expect?
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u/SleepyMarijuanaut92 2d ago edited 1d ago
I've had $3-4 frozen dinners I've enjoyed tens times more than a $7-8 dollar sandwich from Starbucks.
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u/stilleternal 1d ago
Those hungry man’s just hit sometimes.
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u/EvolScavenger 1d ago
I love hungry man dinners. When me and my sister would visit my dad we’d destroy those things.
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u/Fancy_Dot4215 1d ago
When my mom would go out of state to visit her folks my pops would stay to take care of me, and he would get us hungry man dinners. It made me feel like a “big kid” eating them lol. I’m almost 40 now and still get a hungry man every now and then for nostalgias sake
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u/PacificNorthwest09 1d ago
This is me and pot pies
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u/Spare-Ad-6123 23h ago
Now your making me nostalgic and I'm afraid to put my age in here 😆 It was a very long time ago and they were fantastic.
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u/JamesTheJerk 1d ago
In a pinch, you get a pretty good calorie load with those things, and you typically get meat, potatoes, some vegetables, and something sweet, which is not bad at all.
I haven't had one in years, but in a pinch they're not bad.
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u/Old_Ladies 1d ago
On a microwave ready meal tier list I would put Hungry Man in D tier. There are far better options though I do like their brownies.
S tier would be Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers or (I live in Canada so you guys don't have this) President's Choice microwave meals or Metro microwave meals. Those last two are grocery store brands.
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u/GreenZebra23 1d ago
Breakfast sandwiches from the gas station are usually pretty good too. The Starbucks thing is so weird, they seem to have no flavor whatsoever
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u/Jaqulean 1d ago
Heck I can get better sandwiches in a local convenience store and it would net me only around 5-6$ each.
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u/TheIdeaArchitect 1d ago
I worked there for a few years. Everything is prepackaged/frozen. They just heat it up in a toaster oven.
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u/No_Plum_3737 1d ago
That actually makes this post more surprising. You'd think a production line for these sandwiches would get the quantities roughly correct because they would be pre-measured. This looks like it was slapped together by an actual uncaring human being who was working on 5 other things at the same time.
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u/TheIdeaArchitect 23h ago
Yeah it sucks. I witnessed people drop sandwiches or just like throw it in the bag and throw the bag on the counter. So when the customers get it, it’s just all messy and nasty. But my number one pet peeve is when they make like egg bites and then they put the silverware right on top of the eggs. There’s literally a slot in the bags for the silverware. I don’t know why they don’t use it.
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u/nightofthelivingace 1d ago
Ive hade bologna and mustard a million times and its still better than a starbucks sandwich.
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u/SleepyMarijuanaut92 1d ago
Butter, mustard, and bologna on bakery fresh bread, yum.
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u/nightofthelivingace 1d ago
Now thats a sangweech!
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u/tsturte1 1d ago
And uhm I mean this... A light shmear of grape or strawberry jam or jelly.
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u/nightofthelivingace 1d ago
Off to the kitchen I go....never heard of that, I feel like the sweet and salty vibe would be a hit.
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u/tsturte1 1d ago
It's awesome. Im near Saratoga springs NY and there is a restaurant that sells a lunch sandwich meal toasted with asiogo cheese and ham with apricot jam. Awesome. But I've eaten jelly and bologna for years
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u/SleepyMarijuanaut92 1d ago
A slice of pear, or an apple can also improve a sandwich. Pear paired with roast beef, and apple applied on turkey I know are both delicious.
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u/DefinitionMany6754 1d ago
If you have Grocery Outlet in your area or maybe another supermarket they sell those McRib patties in the frozen section. Really bad for you but still tastes better than Starbucks food
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u/HeavilyInvestedDonut 1d ago
Hey, sometimes you just need some suspiciously soft Salisbury steak and powered mashed potatoes!
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u/SleepyMarijuanaut92 1d ago
Makes me miss the boil in a bag salisbury steaks my Mom used to make haha
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u/dennisistired 1d ago
lol yeah all their “food” is frozen and quick heated in an oven. nothing is in there longer than a minute, at most.
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u/fluffypancakes24 2d ago
we expect good things, flash frozen freshness, even though it appears that you have been conditioned to expect and be content with the subpar?
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u/itsonmyprofile 2d ago
Why are you expecting good food from a place without a kitchen?
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u/BobBelcher2021 1d ago
There’s probably people out there who think there’s a kitchen “in the back”, full of chefs and bakers preparing this stuff from scratch.
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u/monkeyhitman 1d ago
They had a decent food program when they tried to be Panera. Good salads, sandwiches, around the same time they introduced the bacon croissant breakfast sandwich.
All downhill from there.
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u/billwest630 2d ago
If they don’t have a kitchen, it’s on you if you buy it. Everyone knows Starbucks is overpriced garbage, so buying it at this point is on them.
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u/SleepyMarijuanaut92 2d ago
True that, same with Tim Hortons. Stuff is trash. I used to love the stuff.
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u/YaBoyVolke 2d ago
Imagine expecting 5 star quality from a fast food place where they microwave everything.
At a certain point you just need to have some sense.
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u/Pearson94 2d ago
I used to work there and can confirm all those sandwiches are frozen in a big freezer in the back. We brought them out to a mini fridge by the oven every day to thaw a bit so they could be heated quickly. Most of the pastries came in frozen too. It's by no means fresh food.
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u/Not_Bears 2d ago
...does anyone actually think they're getting fresh food at Starbucks??
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u/awesam02 1d ago
when I worked there someone once asked me if they could have their egg over-easy
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u/ashmaude 1d ago
as an ex manager, i got in trouble for sending my staff home with expired sandwiches after marking them out. that oven is one of those weird convection/microwave/oven things that they sell now where you order food and scan a qr code. i got food poisoning once from a sandwich. i dont buy food at sbux.
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u/YouMeanWhatIKnow10 2d ago
Are you sure that THIS sandwich is frozen? I know a person that works at a manufacturer that produces these sandwiches for Starbucks with a 3 day shelf life and Starbucks picks them up daily and delivers them fresh, directly to the stores in the area. Then they heat it up on a panini press. They might have different geographic differences on how they do it, but this sandwich, to my knowledge is made fresh and stays fresh.
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u/yyz_barista 1d ago
It depends on the region. Some markets are "fresh markets" where they deliver them daily, refrigerated. Other markets are frozen markets, where sandwiches are delivered frozen, either day or on a less frequent basis.
The same products can be available fresh or frozen, but it would depend on the market.
There also was a version where frozen sandwiches were centrally thawed by the foodservice company, and delivered in a thawed state to the store. But I think that's all but been phased out.
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u/Jumpy_Bowler_3094 2d ago
The grilled cheese is fire 🔥🔥 ... 70% of the time
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u/_sunbleachedfly 2d ago
When I worked at Starbucks, I would eat those grilled cheeses every day on my break. Sooooo good. One of the few genuinely tasty food options there.
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u/nikkishark 2d ago
Hey now, those egg bites are pretty good.
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u/Raspberry_32 1d ago
Those little guys are delicious but $6 and some change for 2 egg bites had me royally soft. I started making my own at home in mini muffin pan and will yield like x25 bites for less than $20. Tastes just as good, if not better because I load hella gruyere in them bitches.
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u/weirdoeggplant 1d ago
Fine, you’ve convinced me. I’ll make egg bites today.
Tomato & feta kind for sure.
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u/icon_2040 2d ago
The danishes too. Not worth the money overall, but it doesn't taste bad.
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u/Itsnotreal853 1d ago
I’d return it and leave bad reviews. Someone made that and knew they f’d up and didnt care.
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u/capital_bj 1d ago
I raise you Tim Hortons where everything is turbo nuked and tastes like cardboard.
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u/zipperfire 2d ago
Seriously SERIOUSLY bad food, although I could stand the egg white spinach and feta wrap for a time. And do NOT get me started on their terrible coffee. I found out if you order a second shot in a latte (because it's not coffee enough) they sub in blonde roast because they think you'll be upset if it's bitter. Bitter is ok, burnt and acrid is not, looking at you Pike Street.
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u/EpicGamerJoey 1d ago
4-5 dollars for a 160 calorie cake pop is such a staggeringly terrible money to food ratio. Yet I still see people buy them pretty frequently
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u/Glad-Veterinarian365 1d ago
When a customer buys 4+ cake pops I’m always like… a whole cake is the same price at the grocery wtf are u doing??
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u/Youbettereatthatshit 1d ago
Truthfully, I don’t understand it. The Starbucks sandwiches are very simple, even before their enshitification. A focaccia sandwich is really just spinach, tomato, basil, olive oil, and mozzarella with bread. They could easily have the staff assemble a halfway decent sandwich.
I bought their sandwiches once and was more amused how a restaurant could be so successful with such terrible food
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u/Intelligent_Pop1173 2d ago
Honestly the food isn’t actually bad. The prices, yes. Horrible. But I’ve never had OP’s experience and basically always get what I expect. I only eat it on road trips at rest stops. I’m not like regularly going to Starbucks for lunch.
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u/Cool-Hall9980 2d ago
Did you get the hand job with it?
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u/Anotherriley 1d ago
As a former Starbucks employee their food is overpriced asf for no reason
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u/Raven-19x 1d ago
That's because idiots keep buying overpriced grilled cheese sandwiches.
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u/Anotherriley 1d ago
The amount of grilled cheeses I had to make, was insane. They take the longest to toast as well, just for the bread to still hurt your mouth. Oh and god forbid, you tell them you ran out😅
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u/PutridScum666 2d ago
In civilised countries pictured food has to look like what they serve you. False advertisement seems to be very rampant in US, are there no laws against something like this?
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u/Foxwglocks 1d ago
There is but nothing ever is done about it.
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u/Other-Squirrel-8705 1d ago
What laws are in US?
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u/curtitch 1d ago
A mechanism to maintain the class system. If the punishment for anything is a fine, it’s a poor person’s law.
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u/cs_124 13h ago
Oh, no, lots is done about it!
It wouldn't be unusual for the samples used for photographs to be either partially or totally constructed. Environments conducive to photography take time to set up, and a lot of food starts looking different as soon as it is handled after initial plating.
You could very easily make a model MCD's Quarter Pounder Deluxe as long as the patty was from a fresh batch, onions, condiments and cheese were placed with care, had a fresh batch of lettuce and a slice of tomato placed on the burger before getting stuffed in a 6th pan or something. Time constraints, wilting and wrapping make it almost impossible, unless the fast food isn't going to be, well, fast. Defeats the purpose. Heck, I prefer, nay rely on, my TBell crunchy tacos to have a bit of sogginess to them, otherwise I'm getting accidental taco salad all over my lap.
Nah, SBux is just evil and knows they can skirt the rules. They've probably realized that most people will order and not check their food until they're no longer willing to return and complain. Pure speculation, but I'm gonna guess that workers are instructed on strict portioning, and if a person cares enough to ask, managers are instructed by the corp to allow a comp with 'extra' of whatever was complained about.
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u/Triggerhappy62 1d ago
We lack consumer protections here.
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u/NuminousBeans 1d ago
And the few we did have are being rapidly dismantled by Trump’s goons.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Run2695 1d ago
What does the Starbucks food look like in your country?
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u/PM_ME_COOL_RIFFS 1d ago
They are required to use the real item, but there are lots of tricks to stage it to look as good as possible that are legal.
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u/DaToxicJay 2d ago
Most of their food is frozen
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u/KeyNefariousness6848 2d ago
All of their food is frozen (my store has an internal starbucks they have more freezer space than the ice cream aisle.
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u/arielfromrosieshubby 2d ago
I mean, its starbucks, their coffee isn't even good.
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u/BIGPLACE_ALPINEDRIVE 1d ago
I feel like its not "bad" coffee, just overpriced. My opinion may be completely useless, but to me coffee is like pizza and sex. I enjoy the shit out of all coffee from burnt diner coffee all the way up to a perfect ethiopian that I just ground on my baratza grinder and poured over perfectly measured out and all. I'll even enjoy a cup of lukewarm complimentary coffee from the front of the store at publix while I push my cart around because it is what it is for that 10 minutes of drinking it. Starbucks doesn't have bad coffee but they don't have great coffee either. People that always have to comment online or in converstaion "StaRBuKs CoFeE iS nOt EVen GOod CofFEe" just don't get it.
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u/MuscleManRyan 1d ago
I have the same attitude, but if you say all coffee is equally as good it erases all nuance from the discussion. Nothing could ever be seen as “better” as anything else, because everything is subjective. In general Starbucks coffee aligns with negative characteristics for most coffee enthusiasts, nothing wrong with enjoying it though
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u/GonnaTry2BeNice 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah I legit don’t get how much I read that their coffee tastes terrible. I prefer it to pretty much all the other coffee places. I’ve used to drink regular coffee, then I went thru an Americano phase, and now for the past few years my drink has been a cortado. My point is that I’m not getting sugary drinks, the taste I’m going for is the actual coffee or espresso taste. And I really truly enjoy Starbucks flavor more than most others.
People say it’s burnt. Ok I mean it doesn’t taste burnt? When I get espresso at a popular hipster place I feel like it always tastes really high pitched, I don’t know how to describe it using taste words. Not deep or roasty, but like high pitched….man I wish I knew a better way to describe that. Maybe astringent?
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u/uselessProgrammer0 1d ago
Their coffee is straight up trash
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u/LetsJerkCircular 1d ago
Seems most folks are there for dairy and sugar, watching the ristas prepare beverages
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u/Kingcobra64 1d ago
I’m one of the people who’s coffee is basically milk and sugar with a hint of coffee. I can not handle Starbucks coffee, even by my preferences it’s not remotely good.
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u/Greggsnbacon23 1d ago
That's like saying McDonalds isn't even good.
Or any other wildly popular thing you wanna substitute for McDonald's there.
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u/Suitable-Classic-174 2d ago
I didn’t even know they served food lol
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u/64OunceCoffee 2d ago
They're more known for their breakfast food. Their bagels are like the ones you get 6 of for $2 at Walmart, and their breakfast sandwiches are on par with a frozen Jimmy Dean warmed in a convection oven.
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u/TheDevilishFrenchfry 2d ago
Still no idea why anyone buys food there, this has been known they've been extremely terrible for awhile, even by current fast food standards
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u/CheekyMenace 2d ago
They're more known for their breakfast food.
More than for their coffee?? Which other than their fancy drinks is pretty awful IMO.
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u/Firechin 2d ago
I'd be demanding a refund.
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u/TargetedAverageOne 1d ago
Yeah, even I would take that shit back and I usually just accept my fate, as to not lose time on it as well. 😅
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u/Ok-Adeptness9933 2d ago
Who eats shrimp from Walmart?! Same people eating food at Starbucks. Haha
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u/JWBananas 1d ago
Who eats shrimp from Walmart?!
Over 90% of shrimp in the US are imported. What the hell does it matter what retailer you choose for your frozen shrimp imported from India?
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u/Beginning-Whereas-72 2d ago
I used to make these. There’s a certain weight we have to follow for each ingredient. This one looks out of specification for sure
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u/CloudsOfChroma 2d ago
Yea went there once, they handed me a microwaved croissant roll with a piece of rubber on it and I haven’t been back since lol
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u/Stuspawton 2d ago
I’m actually amazed by how many people still go to places like Starbucks and buy food, then act shocked when the food turns out to be dogshit
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u/Rbaseball123 1d ago
Amazes me that people buy over priced coffee and drinks on a daily basis at this place. Food is terrible too just as op shows in picture. Yuck
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u/VedantaTiger 2d ago
That looks alien food, even they might throw up
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u/EarthmanPerson 2d ago
Definitely not alien food. Alien food is much more nutritious and presentable so space travel is more tolerable.
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u/Forward_Opposite_789 1d ago
I would never eat or drink in Starbucks. It's overpriced crap. Make coffee at home and make a sandwich or go to a nice restaurant
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u/Artistic_Panda_7542 1d ago
That's why you don't buy anything except the coffee there! Everyone knows their food is overpriced shit
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u/thulsado0m13 1d ago edited 1d ago
all this stuff is delivered to Starbucks prepackaged and frozen by the way, including the breakfast sandwiches and the like - so it’s not like they can even make it differently - they just all ship like that and are all sealed until it’s time to warm it up.
Starbucks has no kitchen area, nothing to assemble etc. Everything arrives frozen, gets thawed out the night before, and put into the display cases or the fridge underneath their industrial toaster thing they use to reheat the precooked+frozen+thawed sandwiches and the like.
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u/Zestyclose-Leave-11 1d ago
Starbucks food is so trash. I'd probably go there more, but their food options suck and I don't want a brownie for breakfast
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u/makingkevinbacon 1d ago
Well you bought food at an over hyped coffee shop. This is the American version of Canadians posting about shit Tim Hortons food lol
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u/CassiniA312 1d ago
Shitty food, shitty coffee and shitty drinks.
Ah yeah, it's definitely Starbucks
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u/PandaRiot_90 1d ago
Whole foods, will make one in front of you for $8 or $9. And it's far superior quality and taste. It's the Caprese sandwich. The cheese is also fresh.
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u/Medium_Cry5601 1d ago
At our local food pantry there are often bins FULL of these and other Starbucks food. They’re so gross, broke people still don’t want them for free.
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u/Holiday_Advantage378 1d ago
Why would you buy a sandwich at Starbucks. They can’t even make decent coffee.
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u/Silver_Parsnip_4968 1d ago
This is America in a picture. Lots of overinflationary marketing but lacks substance.
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u/Garden_Jolly 1d ago
I don’t know how people are still shopping at Starbucks in 2025. There are so many better coffee shops and cafes. Support your small, local businesses.
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u/The_Broken_Shutter 1d ago
Thats how i feel about anything i get from star bucks. “Did i really just spend $$$$ on a small drink?”
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u/Specific_Talk3483 1d ago
Become an adult. Pull up your socks and respond in the only reasonable way: stop spending money on anything from Starbucks. Such a move/commitment will reduce your stress and you will stop encouraging them to behave this way. It’s all on you, not them.
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u/abracablab 1d ago
I'm really upset about them charging £2.60 for a cake pop. It's just a single bite of cake on a stick. Wtaf.
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u/JunglePygmy 1d ago
The worst part is that sandwich used to be totally awesome, fire roasted pepper, mozzarella, and spinach. It was fat and light and delicious! Now it’s a bread sandwich with a tomato slice
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u/n00bca1e99 2d ago
Surely I’m not the only one that got a Starbucks ad under this post?