This was taken after going through the Starbucks drive thru. The lady at the window had a short conversation with me, and gave me a smile. I got a tall caramel frappuccino.
Not only did a new year ring in on New Year’s Eve, but so did a new Starbucks in Hastings. It is located between Rivals and Runza in a newly built plaza.
Already opened Bling Boutique and Shopko Optical were key witnesses in the opening, as the area was filled with traffic from eager customers waiting to get Starbucks.
Along with attracting customers, Starbucks has also attracted many high school students who want to be baristas at the new location. New job opportunities for students is another positive outcome of the store opening.
“I really enjoy talking with the customers and seeing how happy they get when they get a drink they really like, or when we tell them that we are not out of stock of cake pops,” junior Kara Kennard said.
Starbucks has a drive thru option as well as a dine in. The dining room was decorated with gold balloons for the opening.
“It is a really fun experience so far with the people I work with. It’s very light-hearted. If you have an issue with a drink or finding a button on the computer, there are always people there to help and encourage you,” Kennard said.
Obviously, new employees had to be trained prior to the opening. They had a three day training process of watching videos and completing tasks in real life from those videos.
“We had to know what had more caffeine and what it tastes like,” sophomore Taylor Delaney said.
In addition to their famous drinks, Starbucks offers hot breakfast, lunch options, and bakery items in the store.
“I would very highly recommend working at Starbucks. The environment is non-comparable and everyone is respected and treated equally and with love. It is amazing,” Kennard said.
Starbucks has an app on the App Store, as well as a rewards program. Simply download the app, set up an account, and scan to earn stars if interested. One star is equivalent to one dollar spent, and stars lead to rewards.
“I tend to work about five hours on weekdays, and eight hour shifts on weekends,” Delaney said.
Starbucks is open from 5:30 am until 7:00 pm on weekdays, and 6:00 am until 7:00 pm on weekends.
“My personal favorite drink is an iced white chocolate mocha with salted caramel sweet cream cold foam and extra caramel drizzle. I also love strawberries and cream frappuccinos with four scoops of vanilla bean powder,” Kennard said.
