Dear Starbucks (and/or Howard Schultz),

Hi my name is Maggie Schmitt and I have been a loyal Starbucks patron for about a decade (half of my life). Before I begin I want to tell you the background behind my loyalty to Starbucks. Starting when I was about ten years old, my grandpa (PopPop) would take my two younger cousins, my sister, and me to Starbucks at least once every time we visited our grandparents overnight.

He would wake us all up at the ungodly hour of nine a.m. and shuffle us into the car and off to Starbucks. Of course at the ages of seven, nine, ten, and twelve the grandkids weren't getting coffee; we each got a smoothie or Frappuccino without coffee and my PopPop ordered a grande Mocha and a Morning Bun.

Ten years later this is still our tradition, except now my sister and I also get coffees. It was my happy trips to Starbucks with my PopPop that led me to love Starbucks to the point of even becoming a shareholder in the company (thanks to my parents).

Unfortunately, I'm not writing you just to tell you this story, I'm writing to explain that Starbucks has stopped being the place that I have such fond memories of. I still go to Starbucks--more often than I would like to admit--but I have noticed some negatives that I hadn't previously seen.

First of all, I have found that after years of ordering basically the same three coffee drinks that would come out nearly perfect almost every time I ordered them, that now more and more they are not being made properly. I do not in anyway blame this on the baristas, actually I blame you (the company) for not aptly training your employees.

The first few times my drink was made incorrectly I brushed it off, however, since it has become more of a regular experience I'm quite disappointed. I usually spend at least $4 each time I go just for my drink alone and I don't mind paying $4 for a good cup of coffee; I cannot justify spending $4 on a bad or incorrectly made coffee.

I know that most Starbucks' have signs saying that if there is something wrong with your drink, the barista will remake it, but if the barista doesn't know have to make the drink, it doesn't matter how many times they make it.

I would understand if they didn't know how to make something off of the "secret" menus, but my orders usually consist of Caramel Macchiatos or Coffee Fraps which are popular items on the menu.

Okay, so improperly made drinks aside, another issue with Starbucks that has recently come up is the extra charge for soy milk or other milk substitutions. My sister (an ex-barista at an independent coffee shop) says that this is because it is more expensive to buy the milk substitutes.

Here's the problem, I, like many people, have a lactose intolerance and have to substitute other milks for dairy and there is nothing I can do about it. You may be thinking "how is this our problem? Why should we eat the cost?" and the answer is that I am paying $4 for a cup of coffee, which is pretty much the top end of the price scale for coffees so whatever milk I want should be included.

You will not have to close your doors because you don't charge people for milk substitution. I understand that other coffee places also charge extra and I know that in theory you don't owe me the courtesy of letting me have soy milk for free, however, you have claimed to be a high-quality coffee company that cares about its customers so I'm just asking you to live up to that.

By now you may be wondering why you should care about any of this and you might even think that I'm just another snob, but I am a loyal customer who loves Starbucks and wants to continue to love it.

It will not be the end of the world if you lose me as a patron, I know, but what will it say about you as a company if you don't take your customers' concerns seriously?

For about a decade I have been going to Starbucks and dragging my friends and family to Starbucks because I believe in the way you take care of your employees internationally and domestically by paying higher wages and because you make some really good drinks; honestly these problems aren't the end of the world, but I think your dedication to patrons is called into question when customers speak out and you must choose whether or not to listen.

Sincerely,

Maggie Schmitt