OPEN THREAD conversation-starter: What's going on with Vivanno in the UK?

This e-mail comes from a Starbucks barista in the UK:

We received our delivery today, and I was helping the driver unload boxes when I saw in the back a huge Vivanno prop, a replica of a cup about 3ft wide and 6ft high. The driver has been scheduled to deliver it to the venue of next week's UK Leadership Conference (the equivalent of the Starbucks meeting in New Orleans). While out on the road he had been told not to deliver it, since Vivanno was being discontinued. He had noticed supplies, the protein powder, cups etc. had been depleted and not replenished in recent weeks. Add to this nugget of information lacklustre sales and turning weather, it seems to me that Vivanno is being cancelled in the UK, which I should point out, is currently the only non-US market with the product.

Discuss this tidbit or anything else Starbucks-related in the weekend open thread.

Comments

I would be surprised. Here in the US, Vivanno sales keep sliding. I remember when my store was doing about 40 units a day. Now its about 15, and thats even with the weather being warm.

[Nolan Matthias]

Not sure if Canada is considered a US Market, but the Vivano drinks are available here as well.

[seventysix [76]]

Since it's an open thread, I'll digress:

What's up with the stock? What's causing the depression?

[STARBUCKS GOSSIP WEBMASTER]

>>What's up with the stock?

It's just crashing along with the entire market. Not just a SBUX phenomenon.

Re: The stock

Analysts are saying that the restaurant/beverage industry is going to take a beating this winter as consumer spending is going to be tight already due to holiday shopping, and disposable income limited.

If you take a look at the major players in restaurant/beverage, everyone is taking sharp declines in their stock price. Even Peets has lost about $7/share since it $29 2 weeks ago. Jamba juice is at 50 cents/share, down from $8 a year ago.

[mass girl]

Just curious, since I've read conflicting accounts--will the peppermint mocha be made this Christmas season with a syrup that includes spearmint? I actually think it sounds pretty good. I am well aware that peppermint mochas are available year round, I was just wondering if they are changing the formula of the syrup for the holidays.

Heard a rumor that Pike Place is going to be phased out too. Anybody heard anything on this?

[Pat Nerr]

partners should be looking at a low stock price as a good thing as the options you will recieve will be like 1990 levels...

give it time, SBUX will go back up. They have cash in the bank and don't need to borrow. They will make it through the credit crunch. That said... it won't be fun to work there for a while

[nycsm]

Pat Nerr...
It hasn't been fun to work here for a while.

[barista lane]

Pat Nerr

agreed about the stock. i just signed up for SIP for this enrollment period.

Also, I'm hoping someone can help me. A couple months ago, I saw a French Press in a wooden case on clearance at a nearby store. It looked like it was gold plated, and came with a little hourglass. I wanted to buy it, but forgot as I was leaving the store.

Has anyone seen anything like this/know where it can be found or ordered?

[ryanawesome]

@barista lane: as far as i know what youre talking about is the bronze coffee press that was offer... maybe it was a year and a half ago...more?.. anyway, it was part of a promotion tied into that whole pike place blend, not roast, movement. i bought one for my dad when it went on markdown, i dont think they can be ordered. as they are not being made for some time now. and i dont see them in any sku glossery for at least this fiscal year.

[LEGENDARY OR BUST]

So, here's the thing. Forget all you heard recently -- Speed of Service is going to be the number one priority in the coming months. Did you hear me correctly? Yes. My word is as gold as Pat Nerr's ;)

[Pat Nerr]

Speed of Service like as in "Vending Machine" speed?

[truth]

There are portions of the stock market that have not 'crashed'.

In fact, there are lots of stocks that have gone up in this period.

The ones, like SBUX, that have gotten hammered are the companies that need to borrow money, for instance to pay for leadership conferences, and giant fake stores, and ovens and yet another round of espresso machines.

To say that sbux stock behavior is simply a result of the greater market decline is foolish and wrong. It's only part of the story.

[P.R.I.D.E.]

In fact, there are lots of stocks that have gone up in this period.~ truth

what a ridiculous claim. After close yesterday, there were 28 stocks up, and 2,657 stocks down. This sounds like something McCain would say...

[conflicted]

i just found out that my region will be getting ovens in april, every single store in my region... except my store.

on one hand, i'm happy because no stupid oven to clean and take over our too-small counter. but on the other hand it will KILL our sales if people can get all the food products at every store (including the one down the street) but not mine.

sigh.

[Coffee Soldier]

The store managers in my district were a buzz today and not with a coffee buzz regarding their raises.....

Would anyone care to speculate why the once a year merit increases did not take effect today as they should have in paychecks for ASM, SM, DM, that are eligible?

[Darleen]

what a ridiculous claim. After close yesterday, there were 28 stocks up, and 2,657 stocks down. This sounds like something McCain would say...

Hahahahaha! God, I've missed that spunk. How are you P.R.I.D.E? Have you had your last day yet? I'm hoping all good things for you! Miss seeing your posts, still come by and let us know how you're doing,okay?

[Darleen]

Good question coffee soldier. I'd love to hear the answer to that one myself.

[truth]

Pride- We essentially agree that the market direction overall has been down.

However, there have been many stocks that have not 'crashed' and those have no need to borrow.

Sbux stock price is tied to its need to borrow NOT to the overall market, generally speaking. And their 'transformative' plan is heavily tied to borrowing, and that's a huge problem in this environment.

[P.R.I.D.E.]

Thanks Darleen! Yes, my last day was a few weeks ago. I do miss my immediate team, but have to say that there are some great people that I work with now too. There is life on the other side!

I still come around once in awhile, I'll make sure to drop a few posts to acknowledge my thoughts. Did you end up landing a new opportunity yourself Darleen? If I remember correctly, you were going to take some time off before getting into something new...

[Gord]

Coffee Soldier and Darleen, I'm not sure what the reasoning behind the delay on the merit increase is, but I do know that they will be retro-active back to September 29th. I'm pretty sure they are set to hit on October 24th, with the retro-pay added to that pay.

[Darleen]

Yes, I accepted an GM position with another retail establishment and start on the 15th. I have to say I've enjoyed having these last few weeks off, but I'm ready to get back to work. You've already landed a different gig? Good for you! Yes, you're absolutely right there is life on the other side......

[Pat Nerr]

I would speculate that Payroll is under-staffed and trying their best to keep from drowning in paper...

[P.R.I.D.E.]

Well, I landed the gig first, and then gave my notice, so I had been working on it for a little bit before I left Starbucks. Good luck to you in your new position!

[barista lane]

thanks ryanawesome!

[Me]

Hi,
does anyone know how close to the actual hiring date the reviews have to take place? Mine was due end of August, but I didn't have it yet. It was already scheduled twice but never happened. Do I get my money retrospective as well? Or do Baristas not get any raises anymore?
Any information is much appreciated.
Thank you!

[spence]

Hi Me,
My Sbux anniversary was in August and I had my review last week. I've been told by partners that the pay is retroactive.
Also, partners can recieve up to 3.5% raise

[Cut Out The Heart]

Pat Nerr,

I had a co-worker for a class do analysis of the balance sheet at Starbucks and the one thing he determined is that the company is cash poor. The fundamental problem with the growth of new locations is that it needs money to add locations and since the company doesn't franchise locations (lic. stores don't really count) they have to fund the growth through cash flow or borrowing. Since same store sales dropped cash flow was down and now that the credit crunch has hit, well that explains the excessive drop in stock price beyond the market drop.

There may be some truth to what the "truth" is saying.

[12yrpartner]

Has anyone heard that they are moving back to pouring the shots into the cups instead of the shot glasses? What do you think of that?

[DTM]

Anyone care to comment on the article at http://www.vnunet.com/business-green/news/2228006/starbucks-turns-taps that states we are shutting off the spoon wells?

Is that everywhere or just the UK?

Has anyone been working and been informed of the change? (I haven't worked since Wednesday.)

[natpark1]

barista lane:

The press that you are referring to was the 35th Anniversary Press that was out in the fall of 2006. I haven't seen one in a store since early 2007. They're basically the standard press that is copper plated in a nice cherry (maybe) box with a matching timer. I picked up a couple when we got our holiday discount in 2006, but think at this point the best bet would be ebay.

[12yrpartner]

Has anyoune heard that we are moving to pouring the shots back into the cups rather than into shot glasses? I am seriously disappointed with this move. We have a mastrena espresso machine and each shot is timed so if I was to put a vanilla latte under it and the shots don't work( which happens often) I would have to throw that out and start all over... and this is to increase speed?

I never understood why putting a cup instead of shot glasses under the spout increases speed of service. It doesn't make the shots pour any faster.

Oh I know why....

It's because of that whole out of sight out of mind type mentality. Managers have no choice but to hold someone accountable for using expired shots....that they can see.

But if it pours directly into a white cup, noone can see that its expired, especially the customers.

AHHHH I love it. The truly colors of the company would come out if this actually became reality. Espresso Excellence? Just excellent PR.

Face it kids, we don't work for Starbucks, the coffeehouse, we work for Starbucks, the cash-cow

12 year partner: How is it that you have a brand new machine, yet the shots dont work? I've been hearing a lot about mastrenas needing a lot of service calls already.

[truth]

Just Google "restaurant credit defaults" and you'll see a lot of buzz lately in that area. The word is that the bank credit defaults were the first wave, and that industrial and restaurant credit defaults are the next wave.

Anyone who overborrowed will get crushed. Just like you and me.

[Wholahay]

yay. truth is back. joy.

The Peppermint Mocha this year is the exact same peppermint syrup as any other year. The only difference this year is it'll have peppermint whip and chocolate shavings, instead of regular whip and red sprinkles.

No spearmint....

[#1]

My guess is that Starbucks is delaying raises until the new fiscal year which begins with the next pay period. (I think)

Your raises are retro-active so you'll receive all of your money but Starbucks will gain a "bump" in their end o' year (and Q4) numbers. Now, all they gotta do, is make sure to earn that money in Q1, which is a much stronger quarter than Q4.

[javabuz]

as to the question about retroactive raises... yes, they will give you back pay. It has happened to me several times in 7 years. You'll get the money.

[Gord]

Yes, shots are going to be poured directly into cups again. This is good in my eyes, as I don't like losing the crema that stays in the shot glass... that should be in my cup man!

I do hope that managers still hold partners accountable for the shot times, although I honestly wonder about that a bit myself. I've tried old shots and I would say they weren't as good, but if I get a double espresso and it sits a few seconds before I drink it, it still tastes good. Weird.

Where are you reading/hearing that shots will be poured into cups again?

[12yrpartner]

re:12 year partner: How is it that you have a brand new machine, yet the shots dont work? I've been hearing a lot about mastrenas needing a lot of service calls already.

Nothing is wrong with the Mastrena it just times every shot so you know if they are good or not. If you timed every Verismo shot the same would happen so we are probaby serving bad shots sometimes with the Verisimo.
The Mastrena also has a the ability to correct the shots itself when they are off a little but it takes about three pulls to do this.
My DM got this in an action item saying due to partner feedback we are switching back. I am wondering how many partners on here agree or disagree with the move.

I can see the point for the crema in the cup but if the shots are sitting longer or not being viewed to ensure they are quality shots what does it matter if a little bit of crema stuck to the shot glass?

[Melody]

[quote]"My DM got this in an action item saying due to partner feedback we are switching back. I am wondering how many partners on here agree or disagree with the move."[/quote]

Oh that's very sad news. So much for romance and theater. I'd gladly wait an extra 2 seconds for my beverage just to watch that step. There really is something very fun to watch a shot going into a shot glass, and not a paper cup. Howard was right about romance and theater.

As for the Mastrena: I've noticed that the temperature of the shot can be very inconsistent, but flavor is consistent. It seems like if the machine sits, after a dead period in the store, the next shot pulled will be substantially cooler than the ones that are during the busy spell - just my own observation.

[Crema the crop]

RE: shots into cups

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Anger, anger anger. Way to cut your credibility out at the roots, guys. What's next...prepping cubes of pre-spoodled filters? Butwait...they'll be spoodled fresh every hour.

1) Visual assurance of shot quality

It's happened to me many times already at my high-volume store..."That shot looked pretty pale, what's goin on? *pull another* Hm...same thing...oh, the hopper's empty."

What if those shots were pulled into cups? Two, three, four completely garbage drinks go out the door. One of those drinks had a customer voice receipt with it and my scores sink like a rock.

2) Speed. I'll out-bar anyone pouring into cups while I use glasses. Cockey? Yeah. But if you learn to do it right, it is faster.

With two machines side-by side you can make a triple or a quad in half the time. Or a double and a single. Two by two, like a good work-flow is supposed to go. How do you know when the pour is finished while you're multi-tasking at the cold bar or steaming more milk, or icing other drinks, or.... gah!! I just don't get it.

[StarbucksBarista90]

Re: pouring shots directly in cups

Will this be enforced or will we just be allowed to do this if we want? I don't think this will me a very efficient method. Yeah, I agree with you crema the crop, no idea how we would be able to multi-task especially if you're making a triple/iced venti, it's definitely easier and faster to pull the shots at the same time.

[BAYAREABUX]

Back to what Howard called the "robotic way of making coffee!"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I'd rather get a corrective action -- hell, I'd rather get five of them -- than pull directly into paper cups. That is 100% COFFEE MONKEY, which is *not* what we are about.

[Save the Shot Glasses]

I'm with Bay Area Bux!

[m.]

count me in too as against pulling into cups - its just lazy and will mean more expired shots in drinks

[houtxbarista]

All the good baristas in my store used shot glasses at least during morning rush before it was mandated. Don't expect that will change. It is faster & more efficient AND better quality if you do it right....

Rinse shot glasses every time.