Shop Talk

I doubt that the smoothies will live up to the frappuccino in anyway other than price. I remortgaged the crib so I can give one to my wife for our wedding anniversary on monday!

I’m a starbucks employee and I’ve tried both, the orange mango banana blend is better in my opinion. It’ll be interesting to see how well this is received by customers

I’m interested to know why you would use a photo in which “Vivanno” is misspelled in one of the ad boards.

Viviano is spelled incorrectly in both boards.

Orange Mango Banana? Ill just being having mango thank you.

Last time I checked Starbucks was a coffee shop, not a smoothie shop. So what do I think about the Vivanno? A corporate tactic to get back the money and customers they lost when the idiots at headquarters screwed things up after Howard left. I loved what Starbucks stood for and I’m disappointed to hear it stooping as low as this. This is just as ridiculous as McDonald’s selling iced coffee.

Starbucks may have lucked out with the timing of this.

A new study showed that athletes who consumed carbohydrates and drank caffeine had 66 per cent more glycogen in their muscles four hours after working out, versus athletes who consumed carbohydrates alone.

This is a good thing for all athletes.

I blogged on the science behind this here – http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2008/0 7/15/mmmmm-coffee/

I am going to try one today (post-workout) and see how they taste.

I tried the Banana Chocolate one today and was really impressed. I like its simplicity, taste, and nutrition. It’s not nearly as heavy or thick as a smoothie from Smoothie King, etc. I will likely be often replacing my Java Chip Light Frappuccino with one of these.

I like the mango one better, but next time i’ll ask for less protein powder and a shot of sryup to sweeten it up, its kinda bland right now. Or i’ll have them substitute the orange mango juice to strawberry juice.

I sent this to Starbucks. Thought some may enjoy.
I am letting you know you have lost yet one more customer. As my wife and I have enjoyed your decaf mocha frappuccino over the years we were quite surprised when we went to our local Starbucks and learned that they are no longer available. The excuse we heard was something about a new drink is being introduced. As we can only drink decaf beverages we turned around and walked out. We decided right then that Starbucks has lost us as a customer including all the hot coffee drinks we enjoy. Upon reflection it comes to a surprise that you would take a decaffeinated drink that is enjoyed by many, from parents concerned about the amount of caffeine their children have in their day-to-day lives to those that can not have decaf due to health reasons. It appears that this is another example of you losing touch with your customers.

As you have made a business decision to drop a well liked drink we have made a decision to take our business elsewhere. If we find you change your mind we may consider returning.

i had a small sample today. they decked out the place – signs, banners, even the servers had new aprons and t-shirts! the drink was actually pretty decent…it tastes pretty good. but when i go to starbucks i go for the coffee, the caffeine. i’ll go to jamba juice to get my smoothies.

Pictures and more about this:
http://www.modernmet.com/weblog/2008/07/ schultz-is-tryi.html

In reply to “ummmm”

Decaf Frappuccinos have been officially discontinued by Starbucks. As of today, 7/15, no stores should be serving them. As you mentioned, consistency is important– so you shouldn’t be serving these drinks anymore.

For those who love Decaf Frappuccinos, I’m sorry. I suggest trying a creme-based Frappuccino with a decaf shot of espresso. For example, you could order your decaf mocha Frappuccino as a single shot, decaf, mocha creme Frappuccino. It should taste somewhat similar.

I’m drinking one now (the banana chocolate one)… it’s actually pretty good. Not nearly as sweet as the frappucino, but filling and tasty. The other thing is that you can actually drink the whole cup, i.e. it’s not half ice like the frappucino!

I just tasted samples of both and ordered the chocolate banana with a shot of espresso. Other than the fresh banana, this is a very poor imitation of a fruit smoothie. It is pasty with powder and only fair taste, although probably a lot healthy with fewer calories than their frapaccinos. I’m going to stick with Planet Smoothie for healthy real fruit smoothies with outstanding flavor and stick with just their coffee at SBs.

I am a manager for another company licensed to sell Starbucks beverages. These Vivanno Nourishing Blends are selling like crazy at our location. We are seeing a 25% increase in our customer counts for the first days of the Vivanno launch. We are vastly exceeding our sales projections for this product. Why? Because we are straightforward with our customers; if you want a super sweet delicious dessert, stick with the fraps. If you are looking for something healthy that tastes good and will keep you full for a while, the vivannos are your thing. Like all Starbucks product, everyone loves their own customization – maybe you want less protein, maybe an extra banana, maybe soy milk or 5 pumps of caramel syrup, whatever. A quick conversation with the Barista will get you a drink made just the way you like it. (I like the banana chocolate made with espresso and soy.) They aren’t as sweet as some of Jamba Juice’s fruit concoctions, but they also have substantially less sugar and way more protein. If you are a die hard coffee lover, stick with the mocha or vanilla latte you like. There is no reason that this beverage should take anything away from customers who prefer the pre-existing drinks we will continue to carry. This product allows us to reach a whole new customer who is health savvy and doesn’t care for coffee. As far as variety goes, I am sure that if these are successful, SBUX will launch additional flavors in the very near future. To the SBUX manager who hates them: if you hope they fail and can’t be bothered to make them, our company will be happy to pick up your sales (and your bonus too). While you complain about a decrease in sales and customer counts, our shop increased sales last year and will do so again this year. Get behind your product!

I actually work at a fairly popular Starbucks in Tampa, FL and thought I would do a little surfing to see what people are thinking about our new drinks. I’m not surprised to see a variety of opinions.. Afterall, that tends to happen no matter what Starbucks does. However, I had to comment on ‘rowrowrow’. I’m fairly certain it’s time for you to find a job you actually care about. It’s very discouraging for me, being a shift, to see a store manager belittling the company. Very unprofessional indeed.

As for the Vivanno’s, they’re definitely worth a shot. I’ll admit, I do a bit of tweaking to the original recipe, but they have served as a decent meal replacement to tide me over till dinner since the second we introduced them.

Orange-Mango-Banana – excellent !! Smooth, creamy, not heavy and loaded w/ice; nutritious treat! Thanks.

Oh and to “Lost Customer” decaf coffees and espressos and frapuccinos actually do contain caffeine, albeit less. The decaf fraps are made with fresh decaf coffee rather than the powdered version we use for the fraps and the frap lights. And actually depending on the Starbucks, it’s still made. As I work in Los Angeles, we still offer it. If you can’t have caffeine then you can always just order a cream base frapuccino with mocha syrup which is completely caffiene free. You can actually put any syrup into the cream base fraps and most are pretty good, and this is what we recommend to children and people who can’t have caffiene.

i was very interested in trying one after reading the sign at starbucks last week…much to my dismay it is nothing like a frappucino!! simply disgusting!!

In Reply to chuck.

Um I don’t know what your talking about but we still do sell DECAF FRAPPUCCINOS. I’ve sold like 10 of them today. We discontinued another drink but not the decaf one. It sells like crazy over here. And as for the Vivanno drink, some people dislike the mocha banana one a lot. The orange mango ones sell more then the chocolate ones.

Like I said before….not ALL Decaf Frappuccino’s are discontinued. We haven’t discontinued it yet and we still have the Vivanno drinks. We discontinued another drink that barely sells. Some of the baristas need to get there facts straight before telling customers that ALL starbucks will be discontinuing this drink.

Your making us all look bad with inconsistant answers…

I was also a very loyal decaf/light frappucino customer.. usually buy at least 2 or 3 a week for the last several years.. many stores would make the decaf/light mix, but not all.. (that was fine as I could compromise a little..) but I’ve been to 4 different stores in the LA area the past 2 weeks and all of them discontinued the decaf.

I made an effort to ask 3/4 store barista’s what the general reaction has been to the discontinuation of decaf fraps, and all have said there has been a tremendous amount of dissapointment. One guy said they can’t understand why they would do this as sometimes up to 1/2 of their customers after 3 pm that ordered fraps were decaf.

I also wrote an email to SB and told them they lost a very loyal customer.

p.s. I tried the banana-choc vivanno and it was not something I’d likely order again… not horrible, but for the price and taste, not worth it to me.

Attention everyone who actually thinks Starbucks/Sbux employees, etc give a crap about what you think about their store…..WE DONT CARE. I used to work at SBux and had to deal with complainers like you every single day…I’m sorry, but when I have a line out BOTH doors, it is kind of annoying for you to modify every single stupid thing about your drink just so you can call it out in front of other patrons and feel special – clearly, you can stir in your own stupid Splenda when your drink is hot…and, if you ask for HALF of a Splenda, I am still going to give you the whole packet – do you REALLY think I have the time or actually CARE enough to measure it out for you? NO. Oh, and by the way, when you are a jerk to me day after day about your drink being “too hot” or “not enough whip cream” when CLEARLY you got Skim Milk (whats the point??!!) I am going to give you Whole Milk and no sugar free anything, just to spite you. When you are a jerk to us day after day, WHY would you think we care about your stupid modifications? WE DONT. Because, quite frankly, we DONT need your business – if you want to take your money somewhere else, PLEASE DO – and TAKE YOUR ATTITUDE TOO, WHILE YOU’RE AT IT!!!!! NEITHER is needed at Starbucks. Oh, and by the way, maybe if you spent your $80/week on a personal trainer instead of fattening and sugary drinks, you wouldn’t be so damn FAT.

The Vivanno got all this publicity, so my husband and I had to try it. Of course we read that there were free coupons available so we asked for them at our local Starbucks. No coupons, we were told, but they made us two small samples of the Chocolate Banana Vivanno. I was shocked when I finally placed why it tasted so familiar…..it’s like drinking a Slimfast (girls you remember those, right?)…but worse…with the taste of an overpowering banana. I love a frozen chocolate-dipped banana, but this Vivanno…..ugh. If this is one step toward recovery I have a feeling Starbucks will continue its descent. Personally after talking with so so many people in NYC where I live I tend to think that management has their heads in the wrong area; diversity isn’t the answer, the answer is the price. By giving late afternoon discounts only if you’ve bought a morning coffee you defeat the goal of trying to bring the masses into local Starbucks. It’s the reason Dunkin Donuts is doing so well….in these economic times you need volume of purchase because those who used to be able to afford a Starbucks coffee have now fled toward a more moderately priced product. The Starbucks cache/status quotient was on its way to oblivion once it was made available ground in bags ready to take home in places like WalMart and at your local supermarket. No one feels ‘cool’ anymore just because there’s a logo on the cup. Bring the price down and they will come, I say….

I agree with Richard. I only drink decaf and liked the frappucino for a treat instead of a milkshake. I’ll start going back to Baskin Robbins or Ben & Jerry’s for my treat. (And I have a hard time believing making a decaf frappucino is more trouble than making a smoothie.)

I like the idea of the smoothie. Especially since I don’t have a smoothie shop nearby. Also, i’ve started adding the protein in my fraps, and VERY happy about that.

It is interesting to hear people talking about how they can’t have caffeine-but they are still consuming it. What people don’t realize is that there is still caffeine in a decaffinated drink-it just has less in it. Therefore, it isn’t so much a question of not taking it in, but limiting it.
Still, I understand the desire to limit the intake-especially in the late afternoon. It’s bad when you need a frap fix and ending up staying up all night because of it!