Okay, quite a few people have said, “Don’t go to Starbucks,” in the context of saving money by making your own coffee, etc.

I think this might be the way to go, moving forward.

No, it’s not about money. As a writer, I need to be in an environment that helps me focus and write. Being at places such as Starbucks has helped in the past. That’s why I keep going back.

After last weekend’s “incident,” however, followed by today’s situation, I might have to re-consider.

Today, I was sitting in the patio area of the Starbucks located in Gastown, in downtown Vancouver. Suddenly, this man was lurking around, looking at the metal rails, eyeballing the rails. It seemed like he had lost something.

I later realized he was some sort of handyman called over by the store. Later, I was rattled by somebody behind me – a guy in Starbucks uniform squatting down on the ground looking at the footing of the rails, apparently. He then got up and was soon joined by a Korean woman who wasn’t in uniform but whom I assumed was an employee. She was on the phone talking to somebody. I thought they – all three of them – had lost something and was looking for it.

But anyway, next thing I knew, the uniformed employee and the Korean woman disappeared, leaving the handyman. He started working on the rails, banging on it as he was working on screwing/unscrewing things. He worked around the entire railings, going from post to post.

Now, during this entire time, none of them had the courtesy or decency to say anything to me or other customers out on the patio, apologizing for (the shaking and the noise of) the rattling of the railings. That, to me, is 100% unacceptable.

If you’re going to be working on the railings and might be banging at stuff and disturbing the customers who are trying to enjoy their beverages or snack items in peace, SAY SOMETHING. Anything. Like, “Sorry for the noise, but we’re…”

There’s Mr. Handyman fixing something on the left of the picture. (By the way, I usually call myself “Kevin” when asked for my name at Starbucks – so that is indeed my drink.)

Does anyone not care about customer service anymore? Or even know what that entails?